Saturday 14 January 2017

Sober Drinks

One of the issues with giving up booze is knowing what on earth to drink.

Most non-alcoholic options are either super unhealthy (Coca-Cola, for example), or make you feel like a child or a geriatric (orange juice/elderflower cordial). It feels as if all 'adult' drinks are alcoholic.

Plus, we have programmed our brains over a period of decades, to equate a 'grown up' drink with winding down at the end of the day, de-stressing, celebrating and so on, so a good alcohol free replacement really helps to fool our brains into doing the same thing.

The trick is to find an alcohol free drink that is enough like the real thing to do the job, but not so much like your favourite tipple that it just triggers all your old thought patterns.

My go-to solution is Becks Blue beer, because I was never a beer drinker. I'm not sure I could have got through my first year without my Becks Blue. During the whole cancer thing I was drinking around six per day! (Now I'm down to around four a week).

Over Christmas I found a half decent alcohol free wine in Sainsbury (for only £2.99). At first this seemed like a really good idea, but within days I was feeling utterly dependant on my AF wine. I drank a whole bottle of the stuff on Christmas day and started to panic about my supplies running out.

Needless to say, I've come to the conclusion (again) that AF wine is just too close to the bone for me.

My latest find (and huge thanks to Dr C for the recommendation) is Seedlip (described as 'the world's first non-alcoholic spirits)They are properly distilled drinks with botanical flavours and taste very much like gin. I drink it with Fever Tree tonic or in mocktails.

(Here's a link to their website)

So, I'm gradually solving the 'what on earth to drink at 'wine-o-clock' dilemma, but it's often still really tough when you're not at home.

More and more pubs are serving AF beer (a recent study showed that one in ten women drink AF beer on a weekly basis, and 31% of people have tried it), but little else for the sober lady out and about other than 'children's drinks' and mixers.

Which is why my old drinking buddy (now sober for nine years), Jamie Walker, is a hero.

Jamie, and his childhood friend Tertia Bailey, are about to open an alcohol free pop-up bar in Edinburgh called DRY. It's in Stockbridge, at 15 North West Circus Place, until the end of February.

DRY will be open all day, serving food (provided by local pop-up food stalls), artisan teas and coffees and a whole host of craft AF beers, AF wines (not for me!) and mocktails. (I did check, by the way, and they are selling Seedlip).

Not only that, but to prove that sober venues are way cooler, more vibrant and more interesting than drunk ones, there's a host of entertainment planned, from cooking demos, poker and ping-pong, to quiz nights, guest speakers, teenage parties and burlesque lessons.

Jamie's even doing a 'silent disco' in the basement, where everyone wears headphones, so can limber up to the best DJs without disturbing the neighbours.

So, if you're anywhere near Edinburgh (I'm thinking of you, Edinburgh Housewife), then please support Jamie and Tertia by taking all your friends to DRY. If it's successful enough it'll hopefully keep trading past February and even roll out country-wide.

Vive la Revolution!

SM x

24 comments:

  1. That sounds amazing and I will try to get down there for a visit. I actually think a lot of young people would love it as so many dont 'drink to get drunk' the way we used to. Don't know about you but most of my friends still like to drink - some a lot and some not so much - and I'm not sure how many would like a night out without a drink. I would however. I would love it! I'm also going to look for seedlip as I loved gin! I've tried af wine and didn't like it. I love af beer now - bavaria malt is my favourite!

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  2. Dry sounds great. I live in Essex but could be tempted to go. Can I also recommend Fitzpatrick's in Rawtenstall it is England's last temperance bar and he make fabulous sasparilla and blood tonic. Not sweet and sickly but you can't drink loads of it.

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  3. So agree - finding something 'special' to drink is so tricky. But I think things are starting to change. It's Bitburger Drive for me and Seedlip is a real find (but expensive). There was a piece in the Guardian Weekend magazine last week on AF alternatives https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/05/alcohol-free-alternatives-gin-whisky-rose-dry-january-fiona-beckett.
    I like the point made that ' "if clean eating can go viral, why not clean drinking" '

    Good luck to everyone who is beginning their AF journey. I am into my second year and feel great.
    X

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  4. Now that is just spooky SM! I have just poured myself my first ever glass of Seedlip Garden 108 (ordered on Amazon). & tonic as I had seen it recommended by you recently. That made me wonder if you'd posted today so as I opened today's post I took my first sip! Talk about timing! Love the Seedlip & tonic as much as I enjoyed your post! Love the sound of Dry too & the idea of combining it with cookery demos!! Visiting friend in Edinburgh in Feb so hope to visit. Day 88 here. Becks Blue has definitely got me here....there's only so much tea & cordial you can drink!

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  5. Hi SM and followers, I have been wondering what to do with myself, as a newly sober empty nester....I love music, would like to socialise more..used to be quite the party planner back in the day...if Edinburgh has a Dry, which sounds brilliant and am sure will do well,,.maybe the southeast would like one too....something to look into....all the best..

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  6. Yes let's have a DRY in the South East - it would be fun to go to and I could take my teenage daughter!
    Useless info - did you know that the former IRA hardpan, Sinn Feinn politician Martin McGuinness is teetotal. He's a member of the wonderfully named Pioneer Total Abstinence Association.

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  7. Thanks for the Seedlip recommendation SM - it's been on my radar since last year (working in the ruddy drinks business as I do) but I'd not found a real person who'd tried it! I shall purchase a bottle. I'm stuck on the San Pellegrino Blood Orange in cans at the mo. It feels like a treat but it's different enough to wine to not be a trigger. I tried Fre de-alcoholism wine on Friday night and it was a massive trigger! Lesson learnt ;-) Red xx ps DRY sounds awesome. Can you ask him to open one in Leeds or York pls!!!

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    1. De-alcoholism wine?? That'd be something!! Meant de-alcoholised obvs.. xx

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  8. Sparkling water is fast losing its sparkle for me. I have some Jupiler alcohol free beer in the fridge but have just discovered Brewdog Nanny State which is a really lovely, dark and bitter alcohol free beer. I have seen a Codorniu do an alcohol free cava which I think I will give a whirl. Sometimes I do miss a glass of chilled fizz. Crodino is good for aperitif too.

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  9. What a great tip! I want to rewire my brain to make conscious healthy choices - I like the idea of Seedlip, I can view it as a fancy, grown up, healthy drink with the foundation of the ingredients based in herbal remedies.

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  10. That's an awesome concept! Please, everyone over the pond support this venture, so he can franchise on a global basis and open one on Vancouver Island. (I'll start scouting out suitable locations!).

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  11. Great post SM ... Will give Seedlip a whirl :-) I have found non alcoholic ginger beer a good alternative, it gives the warm glow as it goes down. Alternatively lime and soda with loads of clinking ice in a nice glass.

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  12. Becks Blue and Eisberg alcohol free red wine have got me through the last 56 days, the wine is quite low calorie too which is a bonus!!! Xx

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  13. My heart is broken, it is not available in Canada, and those bottles are just gorgeous. I've reverted to my tea drinking days, putting aside the Italian soda because it is too sweet. I was a beer drinker - loved the craft beers available at our liquor store - so non-alcoholic beer is not a great option for me. I must admit I sniff Husband's beer every once and awhile... Maybe those spirits are available in European Import shops...

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  14. I found a supplier, and ordered one of each version. This will be so lovely on those evenings when Husband is having a drink and I can have something adult as well. Thank you, this will be very special.

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  15. Thank you very much for this SM. I have posted a link for DRY on the Facebook page for AF Loud and Proud (www.facebook.com/afloudandproud). The revolution is proceeding apace, Vive la Revolution! Love, Nana xx

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  16. Exciting! Have ordered Seedlip. Thanks for the tip. Out of interest SM and everyone - did you see this Times article? Very interesting I thought:

    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/never-mind-dry-january-ive-been-sober-for-a-year-vk6dc33fz

    If you can't click on to it here, it's an article written by Christa D'Souza about her stopping drinking. Very familiar story to us all I imagine.

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    1. Excellent article ... Well worth a read. It struck many familiar bells for me at the same time giving encouragement. Love her quote from Oscar Wilde ... Something like doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result ... In relation to moderating ... Helps banish those 'maybe just one will be ok' thoughts. Cheers 007mum, SM and all :-)

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    2. Oops .... Begging pardon ... Albert Einstein ...

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  18. Such a great article...so glad I found your blog! my Day 1 is today, and I couldn't be happier to be kicking the gross all consuming habit of excessive drinking to the curb! I need to find my new AF beverage ASAP! My only fear going forward is what other people will say??, the pressure from my life-long drinking buddies will be immense, its hard when you hide your drinking so well that no one even knows how bad it makes you feel.....any advice? : )

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    1. Hello Kiwigirlsober,
      I'm quite a newbie as well, I had my last drink in early October. I was able to hide my AF status at home over Christmas by drinking AF wine and beer (my drink was G&T, so it wasn't too much of a trigger). If the table was drinking red wine, then I drank "white", and kept it in the fridge, so nobody topped up my drink - full of good intentions!
      I hid not drinking outside the house by being the driver. Mr JTT loves it!
      This month I'm "doing Dry January", and I'm hoping that people will lose interest in what I'm drinking over the rest of the year.
      Good luck - it is great to see the AF days roll by.

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  19. Kombucha is a great AF drink for me.

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  20. So jealous. We have very little variety in AF beers/wines in Oz. I too got excited when I saw an ad for Seedlip but alas not sold here. No AF bars that I know of either. If you ask if there's any AF beer wine you're looked at like youve a screw loose. Long way to go here.

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