Alcohol-free spirit alternatives are growing in popularity - and it's about time! As more and more people choose to reduce, or eliminate, their booze consumption, that doesn't mean we just want to drink soda or juice. Thankfully, a number of creative entrepreneurs have begun to fill the void with all kinds of delicious alcohol free spirits. After many hours of tasting the products available, here are our top picks.
One note before we dive in: non-alcoholic spirits are all made to be mixed into cocktails. They do best in highball or citrusy style drinks. It's very challenging to find any that do well on their own or in more spirit-forward recipes such as a Manhattan or Martini.
Best Alcohol Free Gins
Gin is the most common alcohol free spirit you'll find, perhaps because it's relatively easy to mimic the traditional gin production process of infusing a base distillate with juniper and other botanicals. What's NOT easy is creating the right balance of flavors and achieving the same character as the alcoholic version. Our favorites are:
-
Ritual Zero Proof Gin Alternative: London Dry with a vegetal note and spicy kick. Our favorite for an alcohol-free Gin & Tonic.
- Ceder's Classic: London-Dry style that's great for a wide range of cocktails, like a French 75.
- Abstinence Cape Citrus: A citrusy, spiced gin alternative that works great in a Negroni-style mocktail.
Best Alcohol Free Whiskey
It is HARD to imitate the distinctive taste of whiskey, which is probably why so few are available. The best we've found are:
- Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative: Similar to a blended Scotch in taste with some smokey cherry notes and nice burn on the finish. We like it in a Ginger-Whiskey Sour or with ginger beer for a Whiskey Mule.
- Spiritless Kentucky 74: This alcohol-free bourbon makes a solid alcohol-free Old Fashioned as well as a classic Whiskey Sour.
Best Alcohol Free Tequila
Tequila is another alcohol-free spirit option that is hard to recreate. It takes skill to find just the right balance of sweet agave and subtle smoke. Our favorite is Ritual Zero Proof Tequila Alternative: Fresh agave and a spicy kick that will please all the blanco tequila lovers and delicious in a virgin Margarita or Paloma.
Best Alcohol Free Rum
Our favorite non-alcoholic rum so far is Ritual Zero Proof Rum Alternative, which is similar to Gosling's in flavor: lots of caramel and banana flambee. It's great with ginger beer for a Dark 'n Stormy or in a virgin Mai Tai.
Best Alcohol Free Vodka
By definition, vodka is a neutral spirit, which means it's very hard to create an alcohol-free version: once you remove the alcohol from it you're left with ... water. Here are some alternative options:
- Bax Botanics Verbena and Sea Buckthorn: The Verbena makes a delicious citrusy vodka-soda alternative while the Sea Buckthorn is great in an herbal Cosmopolitan.
- Seedlip Grove 42: Another citrusy-forward option that makes a good alcohol-free Lemon Drop or vodka-soda.