CHRISTMAS WITHOUT THE TIPPLE KATIE CAMPBELL There’s a societal pressure on many of us to drink at Christmas time, but there’s more to the season than alcoholic beverages!
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any of us with children leave a little whisky out for Santa every year, light a brandysoaked Christmas pudding on fire, and spend the month of December attending boozy work nights out or gatherings with friends and family. There’s a correlation between alcohol and the festive season, but for many people who don’t drink, the whole affair can feel a little bit challenging and overwhelming. Thankfully, the availability of non-alcoholic drinks, cocktails and beverages has improved over the years, offering those of us who don’t feel like drinking (or are set to enjoy a Dry January) a wider selection to choose from, even from the local supermarket!
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NO-ALCOHOL PRODUCTS Many supermarkets now carry nonalcoholic versions of “conventional” drinks and spirits that are very easy to come by, and are barely discernible from their alcoholic siblings. No-alcohol products are ones that contain up to 0.05% ABV (alcohol by volume; for reference, a standard bottle of Budweiser is 4.5% ABV), and low-alcohol drinks contain up to 1.2% ABV. Lots of well-known brands offer alcohol-free versions of their most famous drinks: Gordons offer an alcohol-free gin for the G&T lover in your life, Kopparberg produce alcohol-free versions of several of their most well-loved flavours (get the strawberry and lime one, it tastes like Petit Filous yoghurts), and there are a dizzying selection of wines, beers, sparkling wines and spirits available to the discerning buyer in supermarkets across the country. Mocktails are also a lovely option if you have the pleasure of going somewhere with a well-stocked bar, and even if you don’t, ordering something as simple as a grenadine and Diet Coke - which tastes like Cherry Cola and is often called a Roy Rogers - feels like getting something that’s a little fancy.