Dry January is here. The increasingly popular annual ritual that collectively sobers the nation after the traditions (read: excesses) of the festive period means that somewhere between four and 10 million of us Brits will be attempting to go cold turkey for the following 31 days. A sobriety challenge offering both a mental and physical reset might sound like a health kick, but going without the sauce shouldn’t mean missing out on the fun.
While not drinking at all is probably the best for the body, staving off booze for a month only to begin a binge in February will probably do you more harm than good. So we suppose it's best to ease into a glut of low and no alcohol options so that by the time February rolls around, session drinking won't have quite the same appeal.
The best of London’s cocktail bars have wised up to the growing no-and-low alcohol demand and offer a range of both modern and classic cocktails. All are concocted with the same care and creativity as any stronger, boozier offerings but don't bring the hangover.
Forget the lime sodas, here’s what to drink and where to drink it this January.
Euphoric Life at Nightjar
Nightjar has built a well-deserved reputation for meeting the needs of London's cocktail-drinking set, but it’s the boozeless beverages on the revamped menu which caught our eye. Specifically, the Euphoric Life, made with Three Spirit livener and EDI endorphin (yes, a drink laced with the hormones released during sex). The Peruvian marigold syrup and Franklin & Son mandarin soda keep everything balanced in this zingy little number.
Kingly Court, W1F 9PY, barnightjar.com
Menta at Nipperkin
There’s no getting around it, Nipperkin is one of London’s finest bars right now. The menu is inventive, flowing and imaginative (without being pretentious). The Menta is emblematic of the bar's overall ethos, containing as it does a non-alcoholic distilled spirit, Norfolk mint cordial and London essence ginger ale. It’s creative yet simple, there is wonderful technique and just three key components. Go here, and drink this.
20 Berkeley Street, W1J 8EE, instagram.com
Muri: Yamile at the Mulwray
The words “non-alcoholic wine” quite rightly fill even the most adventurous drinkers with dread. Enter Copenhagen-founded Muri, a brand set up by Murray Paterson and Loakeim Goulidis (an alumni of the Noma Fermentation Laboratory). Made from raspberry mead, smoked rhubarb and goldenrod kefir, Yamilé is a refreshingly dry and approachable libation with a lightly playful flavour and familiar, almost natural wine-like funkiness. The kefir in the drink creates a mouthfeel and texture that can be hard to find in non-alcoholic drinks, perfect for maintaining the illusion of a rich and alcoholic libation.
First Floor, 28 Rupert Street, W1D 6DJ, theblueposts.co.uk
Soft Spot at the Connaught Bar
The Synergia menu at the Connaught bar might seem esoteric at first, but the individuality speaks to how much the team — Giorgio Bargiani, Maura Milia and Ago Perrone — has put into each creation. The sections of the menu each have a non-alcoholic drink on offer, and the Soft Spot, made with Sipsmith Freeglider, London Essence peach and jasmine soda and house made leaf cordial is self described as “a tender surrender”. Ideal for a dry January, then.
16 Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, the-connaught.co.uk
El Nodo Matto at Los Mochis
The Agaveria at Los Mochis is, as the name suggests, best suited for ploughing the depths of agave-based spirits with gusto, but the short, considered list of non-alcoholic cocktails on the menu will satisfy any non-drinkers in the group.. The El Nodo Matto is the best of these, made with pineapple, wasabi, sesame and lime, resulting in a fresh, hugely drinkable tipple.
2-4 Farmer Street, W8 7SN, losmochis.co.uk
The Goldblum Whiptail at Lyaness
Instead of crafting new cocktails sans alcohol, the joyful Lyaness bar by Ryan Chetiyawardana opts to create non-alcoholic versions of some of its best sellers. It’s proven a success with the best of the bunch being the Goldblum, a lightly vegetal, citrusy number made with tree caramel, burnt pea pods, lime and lime blossom. At just £8, the boozeless version of this drink might be one of London’s best value glasses.
20 Upper Ground, SE1 9PD, lyaness.com
Guinness (0.0) at The Lucky Saint
Sometimes, only a pub will do. The Lucky Saint is the 00 beer brands first bricks and mortar site, opening in the middle of 2023, yet it looks and feels just like a normal pub because largely it is. A range of rotating taps of alcoholic beers mean that for anyone not going dry this January, The Lucky Saint won’t feel laborious, but for anyone taking part, the multiple no-and-low options will do the trick. As the 0.0 Guinness is the best alcohol-free beer around, this one should be on everybody’s Dry January radar.
