Editor's Choice Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Why we chose it

We picked this white for its weight. Albariño and Airén from Spain, dealcoholized to 0.0%, with citrus, orange peel and stone fruit carried on a genuinely dense body and a long, dry finish. It's the white we reach for with food — seafood, roast chicken, a good salad — because it has the structure to keep up, at about ten calories a glass.

Why we chose it

The bottle we choose for a toast. Jennie created it while planning her own wedding, when the toast had to be alcohol-free and she wanted something truly worth raising. Made in France at 0.0%, with white peach, pear and a hint of vanilla over a fine mousse, and a dry finish that carries on through dinner. Weddings, milestones, New Year's Eve: this is our celebration bottle.

Why we chose it

The bottle we choose when the pour itself is part of the occasion. A sparkling rosé from Italy, dealcoholized to 0.0%, with violet and raspberry over white peach and a dry, faintly mineral finish. It looks beautiful in the glass, tastes grown-up, and suits everyone at the table — exactly what an aperitif hour, a shower or a summer evening calls for.

Why we chose it

The red we pour to show what alcohol-free wine can do at a real dinner. A true Bordeaux pairing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot — cherry and cassis over cedar and oak, with a smooth, polished finish that stays composed through a main course. Beef Wellington, grilled portobellos, a long table with everyone gathered: this is the bottle we'd put at the center of it.

Why we chose it

Our pick for a celebration for two. The same dry French sparkling as the full bottle — white peach, pear and vanilla over a fine mousse, at 0.0% — in a half bottle that pours about two flutes. Open it for an anniversary, an aperitif before dinner or any evening worth marking, and finish it the same night while the bubbles are at their brightest.

Why we chose it

The first bottle we'd add to any alcohol-free home bar. Classic cocktail bitters are made at high proof; these are made entirely without alcohol, and certified organic. Cinnamon, clove and allspice over cinchona bark — two dashes give an Old Fashioned or Manhattan its backbone, and a few in sparkling water make an aperitif of their own. A small bottle that changes every drink it touches.

Why we chose it

We chose Monday for the ritual of a slow evening pour. Roasted coffee, caramel and molasses, then orange peel and a long, spicy finish — real warmth, with zero calories and zero sugar. Over a large cube after dinner, beside dark chocolate or an aged cheese, it gives the evening a proper close.

Why we chose it

This is the gin alternative we build our own G&Ts with. Twenty-four botanicals, blended without alcohol from the start, give it herbal depth and bright citrus, with a lightly sweet finish that meets tonic halfway. Over ice with a twist of peel, the glass smells like a proper gin and tonic before the first sip.

Why we chose it

Our favorite canned cocktail to hand someone at a party. Grapefruit and lime with a salted edge, in an eight-ounce can made without alcohol from the first step. It gets the Paloma's salt-and-sour balance right, it's ready the moment it's cold, and the can is the perfect size for one drink. Over ice with a lime wedge: nothing to measure, nothing to mix.

Why we chose it

This is the beer we pour for people who love craft beer. From Japan's Hitachino Nest, an ale brewed with yuzu and ginger: bright citrus peel and a gentle warmth over a crisp, clean body, under 0.5%. It has the character craft drinkers look for, and it's wonderful with dumplings, sushi or anything with a little chili.

Why we chose it

Our pick for the dark-beer drinker. Coffee and chocolate at the center of a roasted, full-bodied stout from Athletic Brewing, under 0.5%. It's the beer we reach for on a cool evening — with a bowl of chili, a slice of chocolate cake, or on its own as the last glass of a long dinner. Vegan, and deeply satisfying.

Why we chose it

Sparkling tea is the strongest argument in the shop that alcohol-free can have structure of its own, and one bottle will not settle it for you — the three differ enough that picking wrong puts you off the whole category. This is the only way to try the case properly: tannin, red fruit and citrus, from one producer working the same idea three ways.

Why we chose it

Michelin kitchens pour this, and not as a gesture — it holds its own on the table, through a course, against food. The Darjeeling first flush leaves a real tannin at the back of the palate, doing the work grape skin does in wine, while the jasmine and white teas carry the aromatics. This is tea making its own case, not standing in for something else.