Dry July has become a cleansing ritual of the drinking masses, but it doesn’t have to be the joyless purgatory that it once was. Here are our top drinks picks for Dry July that don’t leave you feeling left out.
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For many, July each year spells a 31-day stint of alcohol abstinence. It’s the opportunity for a mid-year pause, to reset the system and give your body a break from the booze.
It used to be the case that, whenever you went out to a pub or a party, drinks options were so limited you didn’t really feel like going out at all.
Overly sweet non-alcoholic cocktails, truly awful zero beers and wines or soft drinks that ended up giving you a sugar hangover anyway.
These days, that’s all changed.
With more and more drinkers looking for low-and-no alternatives to their drinking repertoire, and younger generations seeming to drink less generally, the alcohol and hospitality industries are responding with some amazing options.
There’s, of course, a raft of health benefits associated with even a month’s break in drinking. Better sleep and more energy, gut health and weight loss, feeling brighter and more lucid — not to mention the financial pluses — they all paint Dry July in a very rosy light.
The only hard thing is not substituting your drinking regimen with something just as bad for you. Chips and chocolate, I’m looking at you guys.
But snacks aside, here are our top picks for swapping out the ABV for something just as good for Dry July, Feb Fast, Sober October or whenever you feel like you need a break.
What To Drink For Dry July
There’s an ever-growing selection of non- and low-alc drinks around, and the quality has improved stratospherically from the days when Guinness brought out Kaliber <0.5% lager. And thank goodness for that.
Zero Alcohol Beer
There are dozens of choices when it comes to beer and it really comes down to personal preference, but our favourites are Capital Brewing’s Alc-Less Pacific Ale, a fruity, hoppy little number, and Four Pines’ Ultra Low.
In fact, if you’re looking for an easy-drinking beer that isn’t too involved, but still feels like you’re drinking a ‘real’ beer, the Four Pines one is our favourite. Bright, light and refreshing, it doesn’t try too hard.
By the way, and this is just my opinion, the worst one we’ve tried recently is a surprise: Coopers Zero is a big disappointment.
Zero Alcohol Wine
Low- and no-wine has come on leaps and bounds in recent years — especially sparkling wines. But for reds and whites, there are no bubbles for off flavours and textural issues to hide behind.
The somewhat comically named Two Hoots Non-Alcoholic Chenin Blanc from South Africa shares all the tasty characteristics you’d expect from this variety.
Lively and full of peardop and citrus notes, there’s also plenty of acidity and dryness to this wine, which is also the variety of choice when you’re in Western Australia’s Swan Valley Wine Region.
For red wine, Next Destination’s Shiraz from the Barossa Valley hits the mark. It’s hard to maintain the depth of flavour and rich texture that Shiraz is known for, but there’s still plenty of both in this zero-alcohol wine from the heartland of Australian Shiraz.
Black cherry and dark chocolate, coupled with the tight spice of new French oak, create a dry, velvety complex drop that matches perfectly with hearty winter meals.
These wines (and plenty more) are available from Sans Drinks, a company dedicated to bringing the best of zero alcohol drinks together in one place and is Australia’s first non-alcoholic bottle shop.
Cocktails
Cocktails — especially the classic spirit-forward ones — are very difficult to replicate in a non-alc format. Lyre’s is the foremost maker of these zero spirits and they do a great job, but their best one to date has to be their version of spritz Aperol.
Check out the Lyre’s Zero-Alcohol Amalfi Spritz Grande Duo Set. It includes two 750ml bottles of Classico sparkling wine and a 700ml bottle of their Italian Spritz amaro. Together they make a very convincing 0% alternative.
Going Out
Bars, pubs and restaurants are all getting in on the growing demand for lower-alcohol refreshments. Many have menus of mocktails available, but few do it quite as well as Sydney rooftop bar Above 319.
Sitting on top of the Vibe Darling Harbour, this bar, which shares the space with the hotel’s pool, looks out over the city and offers one of the most creative lists of delicious alcohol-free cocktails.
The other drinks on the list here are also amazing by the way, and you can order food from the hotel’s restaurant menu too.
Further afield, even some of the world’s most famous bars, whose cocktails have become household names, are finding ways to adapt to this growing market.
Singapore’s Raffles Hotel and its legendary Long Bar is where the legendary Singapore Sling was invented back in 1915. Back then, it was taboo for women to be seen drinking alcohol in public, so the Sling was created to look more like a fruit punch.
To celebrate Singapore Sling Day (27th June each year), Raffles has created the Singapore Sling Zero. Using the signature blend of fruit juices, spices and syrups along with Tanqueray 0.0% gin, the Singapore Sling Zero shows just how far things have come in the world of no-low alcohol drinks.
For more Dry July tips, check out our other stories on non-alcoholic drinks here.