The 14 Best Nonalcoholic Drinks, According to a Legendary Bartender
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Our list of favorite picks includes juicy wine alternatives, nonalcoholic craft beers, and a spicy canned spritz.
Food & Wine / Wilderton
Cocktail hour is looking a bit less boozy these days. Whether you do your aprés at a bar, restaurant, or at home, nonalcoholic cocktails are having a big moment. Nonalcoholic drinks have come a long way since the old “soda water and lime” routine, with alcohol-removed spirits, nonalcoholic beers, juicy wine alternatives, and refreshing spritzes leading the way.
Nonalcoholic drinkers can choose their format, too. You can buy alcohol-free canned rosé for a packable picnic or invest in a large-format bottle of zero-proof liquor to add to your home bar cart. The best nonalcoholic drinks come in two different categories: spirits with the alcohol removed, or beverages that replicate the taste of alcohol but were zero-proof from the start. But they all have one thing in common: this new wave of drinks is so good, even folks who drink alcohol are raising a glass.
After researching and tasting some of the most popular, newest, and best nonalcoholic drinks on the market, we found 14 brands that stand out from the crowd. We also asked a few bartenders and industry experts from across the country to weigh in on their current favorite nonalcoholic picks.
Best Aperitif: Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo
This Aperol-adjacent aperitif comes from Wilderton, the nation’s first nonalcoholic distillery and tasting room combination in Portland, OR. It’s a new player to the scene but has already earned accolades from Jim Meehan, a bartender, journalist, and author of two cocktail books. Wilderton specializes in bottled nonalcoholic spirits, with three different offerings.
The Lustre and Earthen are worth trying, but the Bittersweet Aperitivo earns top marks on its list for its grown-up flavor. We also appreciate its gorgeous natural coloring — it comes from vegetable juice — and bittersweet balance of flavors. We think it tastes best in a spritz over ice and is one of the most versatile nonalcoholic spirit options we’ve tried.
Price at time of publish: $37
Size: 25.4-ounce bottle
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol (trace amounts added for stability)
Tasting Notes: Bitter and herbaceous, with grapefruit, orange blossom, rhubarb, and sandalwood
Best Bundle: Seedlip Trio
“There are two camps [of NA beverages]: drinks that taste like their counterpart, and the ones that don't have a boozy analog,” says Ryan Chetiyawardana, an award-winning cocktail professional and the owner of multiple bars spanning London, Amsterdam, and D.C. Seedlip falls into the latter category, tasting unlike anything else on the market.
Seedlip’s bundle of three NA spirits is the best way to build a no-booze bar cart. One of the very first nonalcoholic spirits to hit the market, Seedlip’s been an industry leader since 2015. Their collection of Grove 42, Garden 108, and Spice 94 is arguably all you need for an at-home cocktail hour because the flavors are so varied. Their versatility is unparalleled, too. You can drink any Seedlip variety over ice, or use it in a mixed drink. And because Seedlip is distilled from botanical ingredients, not traditional spirits, it’s zero-proof from the start.
Price at time of publish: $90
Size: Three 23.7-ounce bottles
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Grove 42: bright and citrusy with orange, lemon peel, lemongrass, and ginger; Garden 108: complex and herbal with rosemary, thyme, and spearmint; Spice 94: aromatic with allspice and cardamom
Best Spritz: Ghia Le Spritz Variety Pack
Ghia is proof that you don’t need alcohol to make a “for adults only” drink. Everything about this tastemaking, innovative brand is grown-up, from the herbaceous, floral flavor profile to the gorgeous branding. Like all aperitifs, NA and boozy alike, Ghia’s Le Spritz is made with a variety of botanicals for a drinking experience that’s made to awaken, not dull the palate. We love that you can build a custom variety pack with a mix of your favorite flavors.
Ghia is also very versatile. We’ve enjoyed it straight from the can and poured over ice, but it’s a knockout in cocktails, too. Ghia is also sold in a larger format bottle, which can be used like any aperitif to replicate the flavor and intensity of the Le Spritz. Commerce editor Danielle St. Pierre recently tried Ghia’s newest Sumac & Chili flavor and says she keeps craving it. “I think it's Ghia's most interesting spritz flavor so far," she says. "Sumac & Chili is sharp, sour, and refreshingly tart at first, with a good amount of heat that washes over my tongue at the end. She’s spicy!”
Price at time of publish: $60
Size: Twelve 8-ounce cans
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Ghia Ginger: spiced and sweet with ginger, honey, and fig; Ghia Soda: floral and balanced with elderflower, yuzu, and lemon balm; Lime & Salt: zippy and refreshing with lime juice and sea salt; Sumac & Chili: earthy, spicy, and sharp
Best Mood Booster: Kin Euphorics Kin Spritz
Make no mistake about it: Kin Euphorics is not an intoxicant, but it can boost your mood. This canned drink is fizzy, lightly caffeinated, and made from a grape juice base. It’s infused with a potpourri of good stuff, like nootropics, adaptogens, and botanicals that are meant to soothe, calm, and gently elevate your state of mind. It’s also low in sugar — just 6 grams per 8-ounce serving — and flavored largely with natural ingredients, like orange peel and hibiscus.
Kin Euphorics also makes a handful of other blends, including Actual Sunshine, a turmeric-infused, vitamin-boosted bev, and Kin Bloom, which is made with relaxing botanicals, like damiana, for a peaceful state of mind.
Price at time of publish: $22
Size: Four 8-ounce cans
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Grape juice, orange peel, licorice root, hibiscus, and ginger
Best Wine Alternative: Proxies Bestseller Starter Set
Yay for NA rosé! And NA white wine! And NA red wine! One of Meehan’s picks for the best wine alternative, the Proxies brand is unique in the NA booze industry. It offers a more authentic “wine experience,” down to the look, branding, and packaging of its nonalcoholic wine alternatives. All of Proxies drinks are made with a base of wine grape juice (think: Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon), but they’re not alcoholic.
The secret to their wine-adjacent flavor is in the all-natural botanicals, like white tea, herbs, and aromatics, such as vanilla extract. Any Proxies is a good Proxies, but their Bestsellers Starter Set is a perfect place to start: it contains a bottle each of their Passion Brut, Tart, Blanc Slate, and Red Ember bottles. Also excellent: the canned sparkling rosé, which is so popular that it often sells out.
Price at time of publish: $98
Size: Four 25-ounce bottles
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Passion Brut: carbonated nonalcoholic Riesling, passion fruit, lime, pineapple; Tart: nonalcoholic Gewurztraminer, pear, lychee, lemon, elderflower; Blanc Slate: nonalcoholic Sauvignon Blanc, grapefruit, kiwi, verjus, lemongrass, habanero; Red Ember: nonalcoholic Cabernet Sauvignon, blackberry, blueberry, pomegranate, black pepper, coffee, oak
Best Negroni Alternative: St. Agrestis Phony Negroni
Brooklyn-based St. Agrestis does traditional negronis as well as the Phony Negroni, their NA version, so you know they’re serious about getting the booze-free version right. We’ve been fans of St. Agrestis for years, ever since their boxed negroni hit the scene (it’s boozy), with 20 cocktails per box.
The Phony Negroni looks and tastes just like the real thing. Hot tip: although it comes in a convenient-to-take-with-you-can, for an authentic experience you’ll want to pour it over ice in a pretty rocks glass and garnish with an orange twist. These drinks are gently carbonated, which helps replicate the assertive bite of a regular Negroni. If you love the bitterness of a Negroni, you will love the grown-up flavor of this booze-free option.
Price at time of publish: $20
Size: Four 3.4-ounce cans
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Juniper, citrus, and floral notes
Best Nonalcoholic Beer: Athletic Brewing Company Run Wild Non-Alcoholic IPA
Surely, you’ve heard of Athletic Brewing Co.? This NA beer has coast-to-coast influence, with breweries in both California and Connecticut. It’s by far the biggest nonalcoholic craft beer on the market, and with good reason: it’s delicious. Meehan says it’s one of his favorites.
Beer drinkers praise it for its “Whoa, this tastes like a brewski” flavor, which is perhaps best sampled in one of their popular IPAs. We like the Run Wild, made with real Northwest hops. It drinks like a session in terms of everything but the alcohol content and calorie count (there are just 65 innocent little calories, and it’s guaranteed to be under 0.5% ABV).
Price at time of publish: $14
Size: Six 12-ounce cans
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Alcohol removed
Tasting Notes: Citrusy, hoppy, and piney
Best Sparkling Wine Alternative: TÖST Sparkling Non-Alcoholic Beverage
So fizzy! So fun! Even the name of this sparkling wine alternative suggests party-ready. Töst is packaged like wine and provides a “pop that bottle” experience. But instead of grape juice, it’s made from a mix of natural botanicals with white tea, cranberry, quinine, and ginger leading the pack. The water used for blending is triple-distilled for a fresh, clean flavor, and there’s just enough sweetness (thanks to agave) to make this a “fun” drink option.
The finish is refreshingly dry, just like a Brut Champagne, making it a good option for drinkers who don’t like overly sugary wines or drinks. Töst is also available in a rosé option if you prefer your bubbly blush.
Price at time of publish: $33
Size: Three 25.4-ounce bottles
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: White tea, cranberry, ginger, and quinine
Best Hemp-Infused: Aplós Hemp-Infused Calme
Although drinkers often reach for alcohol to unwind, it can be aggravating and stressful to your system. Aplós has cleverly flipped the script with their hemp-infused spirit that’s truly relaxing without the negative effects of alcohol. Aplós uses broad-spectrum hemp for a non-psychoactive calm (full-spectrum hemp can contain THC, so Calme ensures you won’t experience any mind-altering effects), and there’s a moderate 20mg per 2-ounce serving.
Added to that is a truly unique cocktail of botanicals and herbs that gives a sophisticated taste that’s delicious over ice, topped off with fizzy water, or used in a mixed drink.
Price at time of publish: $48
Size: 19.4-ounce bottle
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Bright with yuzu; herbaceous with rosemary and basil; earthy with dandelion and gentian root; fresh with mint, cucumber, and shiso
Best Botanical: Three Spirit The Livener
Buy at Us.threespiritdrinks.com
The Livener from Three Spirit may be alcohol-free, but this is no wallflower of a spirit. Its name is apt, thanks to the natural caffeine from guayusa and energizing power of schizandra berry. Ultimately, The Livener leverages the power of botanicals to do the thing that alcohol wishes it could: boosts your mood, while making you feel more alert. It’s also downright good for you, with an ingredient list that includes apple cider vinegar, watermelon, and guava. A little pomegranate molasses and cane sugar give it a pleasant taste without sending the sweetness levels off the charts. We love this one.
It’s worth noting too that Three Spirit is committed to sustainability. The brand’s ingredients are ethically sourced, and the packaging is environmentally-friendly and sustainable.
Price at time of publish: $39
Size: 16.9-ounce bottle
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Pomegranate, hibiscus, guava, schizandra, ginseng, guayusa
Best Celebrity-Made: De Soi Variety Pack
Forget the “Last Friday Night” Katy Perry you thought you knew: the popstar has officially entered the nonalcoholic drinks world with some of the most complex, interesting blends of ingredients we’ve ever seen in a nonalcoholic wine alternative. De Soi makes three different blends: Purple Lune, Champignon Dreams (yep, that one’s infused with adaptogenic reishi mushroom), and Golden Hour. These are seriously crafted drinks, with flavors like balsamic vinegar and date syrup providing well-balanced, surprising sips.
De Soi is sold in screw-top bottles, but we love the variety pack of cans. Order by the dozen and try all three. If you’re more into pink “wine,” you’ll want to check out the canned Très Rosé, which launched earlier this summer, and is crafted with uplifting mood boosters like lion’s mane mushrooms and L-Theanine.
Price at time of publish: $75
Size: Twelve 8-ounce cans
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Purple Lune: berry-forward with blackberry, black currant, peach, date syrup, and balsamic vinegar; Champignon Dreams: jammy and fruity with apricot, strawberry, birch syrup, reishi mushroom, and tulsi; Golden Hour: citrusy and herbaceous with pear, yuzu, earl grey tea, rosemary, lemon balm, and elderflower
Best Gin Alternative: MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin
It’s not very often that a spirit gets to wear a health halo, but Drink Monday’s zero-proof gin gets a positively glowing nutritional report card: it’s calorie-free, zero sugar, vegan, gluten-free, and sans alcohol. Don’t count it out in terms of flavor, though: it’s made with the traditional botanicals that make gin so floral and herby (juniper, coriander, and cucumber). This is a bottle to buy and keep on your bar cart for at-home cocktails like G&Ts, gimlets, and gin fizzes. It’s a perfect fit anywhere gin would be welcome.
Drink Monday also makes a mezcal and whiskey variety, which are both NA. We’ve also gifted their high-end cocktail kits (a product of partnerships with some of the other brands on this list!) for special occasions.
Price at time of publish: $40
Size: Twelve 8-ounce cans
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol (trace amounts remain)
Tasting Notes: Juniper and coriander
Best Whiskey Alternative: Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative
It can be tricky to replicate the complexity of brown spirits, due to the flavor they take on when barrel-aged. But Ritual has done it, and they’ve done it without alcohol! Their whiskey alternative has the look and flavor of traditional American whiskey. Not only is it free from intoxicants, but it’s also surprisingly low carb and calorie (just 5 calories and 2 grams of carbs per 1.5-ounce serving.
This is a bottle worth having at home. Whiskey drinkers note that there’s a pleasant burn similar to traditional whiskey. But this stuff shines in mixed drinks, especially in a classic Old Fashioned.
Price at time of publish: $30
Size: 25.4-ounce bottle
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Oaky and smoky with butterscotch and caramel notes
Best Mezcal Alternative: Optimist Botanicals Smokey
The smokey, charred notes in mezcal can be polarizing, but if you love it, you love it. You’ll also love Smokey from Optimist Botanicals, an alcohol-free alternative to Mezcal. The secret here is Lapsang Souchong, a smoky black tea that’s made by drying the leaves over a fire. But tea isn’t the only exciting thing Smokey has going on: with bitter orange, cinnamon, clove, and habanero in the mix, complexity is the name of the game here.
Crafted with flavors that are reminiscent of Mexico and the California desert, Smokey is truly transportive. It’s designed to be mixed, so brush up on your mezcal cocktail list and have fun experimenting.
Price at time of publish: $35
Size: 16.9-ounce bottle
Alcohol removed or zero alcohol?: Zero alcohol
Tasting Notes: Smoky, campfire-scent with spiced notes
Factors to Consider
Versatility
Building a bar cart can be a little trickier with nonalcoholic spirits, says Meehan. “Unlike alcoholic spirits like vodka, gin or tequila, most NA spirits aren’t interchangeable from brand to brand in the way many spirits are (like Beefeater, Tanqueray, and Bombay gins).” Meehan explains that this makes most NA spirits “specialty,” and suggests consumers find a recipe they’d like to make and seek the correct NA spirit for the job. (As the industry grows, he notes, a wider variety of options will make bottles more interchangeable).
Mixing and Usage
No surprise here that NA beverages make great NA cocktails. But, says Meehan, you don’t have to be sober to get creative with these newer offerings. “My biggest revelation was that NA spirits can also be used in recipes with alcohol to both bring down the overall proof of the drink and add complexity.” He notes that although the NA world has (understandably) distanced itself from alcohol, “the reality is that many people choose moderation instead of being hard drinkers or being sober, so adoption doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”
Ingredients
What sets many premade NA drinks apart from, say, a can of seltzer, is the presence of naturally occurring mood-altering substances. Many of them, like L-theanine and CBD, are included for their relaxing properties, but others (caffeine) can be stimulants. “Even sugar is a mood-altering substance,” says Andrew Zimmern, the Emmy- and James Beard Award-winning TV personality and chef. “If you are avoiding all mood-altering substances, 100% for whatever reason, then make sure to ask your bartender or check the labels.”
Joey Smith, the beverage director at Zou Zou’s and its cocktail lounge Chez Zou, says that as with alcohol, moderation is key when consuming drinks with things like CBD or caffeine: “Always start small. You can always try a little more later, but you can’t ingest less!”
Flavor
When judging NA spirits and wine/beer alternatives, it’s best to set aside your expectations. Says Meehan, “You have to look at [these products] as their own flavor experiences and evaluate them accordingly. This means judging them for what they are instead of for what they’re not: alcohol.” That said, many NA products aim to be reminiscent of the drinking experience, with bottles and cans made to replicate the look and feel of traditional alcohol packaging. That can go a long way to enhancing the drinker’s perception of flavor.
Format
You can take one of two routes when buying NA drinks: Go for the large-format investment (like a bottle of zero-proof whiskey) or a single-serving can. Cans are great for packing with you for summer adventures, like concerts and beach trips. If you’re the type to mix up cocktails for a crowd, you’ll want to buy a few bottles of nonalcoholic spirits in the major categories. And here’s a tip for outfitting your bar cart: you’ll also want a variety of drinkware options, including cocktail-specific glasses like these to elevate your experience.
Storage
“It's important to look at expiration dates and refrigeration needs with NA spirits,” says Jodie Battles, the beverage director at Faccia a Faccia and Bar Pallino. She notes that “unlike standard spirits, most of these are not shelf-stable and can't simply be kept on a shelf for an open-ended period of time once opened.” (Alcohol is a preservative, after all.) For canned NA drinks, like spritzes, you’ll want to store those in the fridge, anyway: they’ll be cold and ready to drink whenever you’re ready for cocktail hour.
Our Expertise
Rochelle Bilow is a food writer and editor with over a decade of professional experience. Previously a senior associate editor and social media manager at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines, Rochelle is also a novelist, a culinary school graduate, and a former professional baker and line cook. In researching this article, she consulted cocktail experts, as well as sober folks in the food and beverage industry.
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