Nolo drinks to get you through Sober October | Fiona Beckett on drinks
How's your October sober going? What is that? You didn't even know that was a thing? I can't say I blame you: there are so many sobriety injunctions these days—dry January, dry July, sober September—that you might wonder when and if you're supposed to drink at all. But most of us, I guess, don't want to go that far, any more than we want to give up chocolate or go on a permanent diet, and would rather just reduce our overall consumption. Hence the idea of sober, which is conveyed by many nolo (non- and low-alcohol) brands these days.
It's not necessarily easy. For many people, for understandable reasons, it's all or nothing. Once you start drinking something particularly delicious, it's hard not to have a second or third drink, so if you fall into this category, it may be best not to drink at all.
>But if sobriety is part of the time, it's worth thinking about strategies that will help you get there. The most obvious is to take days off, much like the 5:2 diet, although in the case of alcohol it might be best to aim for 3:4 (i.e. three days on, four days off). A lot of people I know don't drink at all during the week, although the danger with that is that then you might feel justified in hitting hard on the weekends.
Another idea I've thrown around before, which may be better in terms of creating a longer-term habit, is to only have one drink a day. Anything you want, whether it's a glass of cava (or champagne), a pint of bitters, a gin and tonic, a glass of red wine with your pasta in the middle of week, of a last shot of whiskey - and obviously not to compensate for it by pouring larger measures or using taller glasses.
Or try to dilute your drinks: a highball instead of a martini, a spritzer instead of a glass of wine, or a vermouth tonic instead of a full-strength G&T, say.
Get started the evening with a mocktail is another good option. Many restaurants, even high-end ones, now offer soft drink pairings with their menus, including Hjem in Northumberland, the Clove Club in London and, more recently, La Dame de Pic. And help yourself by keeping some decent nolo drinks in the fridge. I always have a few non-alcoholic beers, a gin substitute (Sipsmith's FreeGlider and Pentire Adrift are my current favorites), and some good natural-tasting sodas like Rapscallion's Burnt Lemon Soda. Or try one of the new releases below.
Five new non-alcoholic drinks to help you cut backFirebrand Shorebreak Alcohol-Free Hazy Pale £2.10 ( 330ml can) or £23.95 for 12.05%. Bright, hoppy craft beer bursting with citrus and tropical fruit.
Sheppy's Low-Alcohol Classic Cider £1.30 (500ml bottle) Tesco (£1 for Clubcard members), 0.5%. Made from a mixture of traditional apples and table apples, it has a good cider flavor. Great deal too.
Caffè Carnevale Espress0% Martini £26.99 for 12 x 200ml cans drinkmocktails.co.uk. A good approximation of a full strength espresso martini. Smooth and creamy.
New London Light Midnight Sun £25 salcombegin.com,
How's your October sober going? What is that? You didn't even know that was a thing? I can't say I blame you: there are so many sobriety injunctions these days—dry January, dry July, sober September—that you might wonder when and if you're supposed to drink at all. But most of us, I guess, don't want to go that far, any more than we want to give up chocolate or go on a permanent diet, and would rather just reduce our overall consumption. Hence the idea of sober, which is conveyed by many nolo (non- and low-alcohol) brands these days.
It's not necessarily easy. For many people, for understandable reasons, it's all or nothing. Once you start drinking something particularly delicious, it's hard not to have a second or third drink, so if you fall into this category, it may be best not to drink at all.
>But if sobriety is part of the time, it's worth thinking about strategies that will help you get there. The most obvious is to take days off, much like the 5:2 diet, although in the case of alcohol it might be best to aim for 3:4 (i.e. three days on, four days off). A lot of people I know don't drink at all during the week, although the danger with that is that then you might feel justified in hitting hard on the weekends.
Another idea I've thrown around before, which may be better in terms of creating a longer-term habit, is to only have one drink a day. Anything you want, whether it's a glass of cava (or champagne), a pint of bitters, a gin and tonic, a glass of red wine with your pasta in the middle of week, of a last shot of whiskey - and obviously not to compensate for it by pouring larger measures or using taller glasses.
Or try to dilute your drinks: a highball instead of a martini, a spritzer instead of a glass of wine, or a vermouth tonic instead of a full-strength G&T, say.
Get started the evening with a mocktail is another good option. Many restaurants, even high-end ones, now offer soft drink pairings with their menus, including Hjem in Northumberland, the Clove Club in London and, more recently, La Dame de Pic. And help yourself by keeping some decent nolo drinks in the fridge. I always have a few non-alcoholic beers, a gin substitute (Sipsmith's FreeGlider and Pentire Adrift are my current favorites), and some good natural-tasting sodas like Rapscallion's Burnt Lemon Soda. Or try one of the new releases below.
Five new non-alcoholic drinks to help you cut backFirebrand Shorebreak Alcohol-Free Hazy Pale £2.10 ( 330ml can) or £23.95 for 12.05%. Bright, hoppy craft beer bursting with citrus and tropical fruit.
Sheppy's Low-Alcohol Classic Cider £1.30 (500ml bottle) Tesco (£1 for Clubcard members), 0.5%. Made from a mixture of traditional apples and table apples, it has a good cider flavor. Great deal too.
Caffè Carnevale Espress0% Martini £26.99 for 12 x 200ml cans drinkmocktails.co.uk. A good approximation of a full strength espresso martini. Smooth and creamy.
New London Light Midnight Sun £25 salcombegin.com,
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