I tried four ways to cut down on alcohol – here are the tactics I’d actually recommend
It feels like booze has never been less in fashion. Our writer tries to stay relevant, and healthy, with a variety of techniques designed to cut her alcohol intake
Nine out of 10 of us are apparently looking to moderate our drinking, and this is one statistic I’m happy to accept without argument. Whether trying to organise a catch-up with friends or hearing about colleagues’ weekend plans, examples of abstinence abound. I’m starting to feel like a relic (a pickled one) around younger co-workers, and a bad example to my teenager. That’s not to say I’m permanently sozzled – far from it, as I’m a health editor! I’m generally within the guideline of 14 units, spread across the week. But, I’m also aware that ‘little and often’ can easily become ‘a bit more, a bit more often’, and in mid-life, there’s a lot that can drive you to drink. So, here’s how I approached reducing my intake, and just some of the 50 or so products from an ever-expanding market that I tried in the process.
Let’s address my main resentment about going alcohol-free right off the bat: it doesn’t save you any money. Considering the duty on a bottle of 12% ABV wine would be £2.66, the wine alternatives I most enjoyed were still costing £17. And, while a bottle of mid-range branded gin costs around £20 (of which £9 is duty), most of the 0% options I tried were also around the £20-25 mark.
This means that you need to be viewing these alternatives as a ‘treat’ in the same way you might look at a glass of wine with your dinner or Aperol spritz on an evening out. Choose something you can savour so it’s worth it, and serve it properly: chill, garnish, use plenty of ice – make it with as much care as you would if serving G&Ts at a dinner party. Just as with alcoholic drinks, they suffer if they’re lukewarm or mixed with cheap tonic.
With that as our starting point, here are the different approaches I tried for cutting my units:
1. Try to hang out with other non-drinkers
On nights with sober friends, the lack of alcohol was never an issue. When I was pregnant a decade or so ago, I was irritated by being in the pub and watching other people getting gradually sozzled when I wasn’t drinking. Maybe it had been the hormones, but more likely it’s that you don’t miss what you aren’t seeing! I was very happy to prop up the bar with abstinent friends and didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything.
We made the most of my new-found interest in booze-free options by trying out each others’ recommendations, an experiment that led me to discover a few new favourites (see below) as well as finally finding a drink I like that works with Japanese food. (Weirdly, that turned out to be a can of lemon soda, and I’d never have known that if my non-drinking hosts hadn’t made the suggestion.)
Going out late but not feeling rough the next day was the icing on the cake.
What worked for me:
Take a bottle of something interesting round to friends that you can all enjoy trying, and make the alcohol-free option central to proceedings.
Drinks to try:
The stunningly packaged Saicho jasmine sparkling tea (£19.50) makes a great dinner party gift. It looks fabulous, and the combination of sparkling green tea scented with jasmine blossom will have everyone intrigued.
Pathfinder was among the most recommended, even being enjoyed by committed drinkers, as it’s the most alcoholic-tasting of all the 0% ‘spirits’ I tried. It's reminiscent of a Martini Rosso with a dash of Campari. Other popular options among the Good Food teetotallers (which I’m also happy to vouch for) are Mother Root ginger aperitif, Infinite Session pale ales and Lyre’s amaretti for a sweet something at the end of the evening.
2. Give ‘zebra striping’ a go
Mentioned in several trend reports last year, zebra striping is when you alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. I tried this at a big birthday party, in a pub that served a few alcohol-free beers. Although I was very good at buying myself a 0% pint on my rounds, I did find it tricky to request these (whether from lack of memory, fear of judgement or assumptions about my usual order) as often as I should have.
Having those few drinks, plus the general excitement of a big night out, also meant my motivation faltered – and by the time shots were being bought, any level of sobriety was a lost cause. However, at least a few alcohol-free drinks had been subbed in, so strictly speaking my total units for the evening were lower than they might have been. Just tell that to the next day’s hangover…
What worked:
Start on a 0% to quench your thirst and get you off to the right start. Otherwise, you might as well forget it!
Drinks to try:
If you’re in a bar or pub, you’ll be limited by what it offers. Guinness Zero is increasingly stocked and has more of a developed ‘mouthfeel’ than a lot of 0% lagers, so it tends to be my go-to. Big Drop’s Galactic milk stout is also very tasty, with various beers in the range available in big-chain pubs.
3. Go 'low' rather than 'no'
‘Coasting’ is an alternative to zebra striping – drinking mid-strength throughout the evening. It turns out I’ve been coasting for years without even realising it. My absolute favourite at-home beer is the Kernel table beer – a drink that loses nothing with its session-style 3% ABV. According to founder Evin O’Riordain, ‘it drinks like a beer should.' As well as the taste, I like the gentle buzz while not pushing it too hard for an evening in.
My current main objective, summer spent in the pub garden, has generally meant diluting full-strength drinks to make them less potent in the heat. Wine spritzers (white wine and soda) are refreshing in the sun, and I’m also partial to a lager shandy (lager and lemonade), even if it’s not the most fashionable option.
What worked:
This is undoubtably the easiest way to reduce units, albeit not cutting them as much as if you opted for 0% drinks. Low-alcohol options taste similar to their full-strength counterparts, so, if like me, you like the taste as well as the effects of alcohol, this is the way to start. It took me a while to understand that non-alcoholic alternatives often wouldn’t taste like I expected without that booze ‘kick’, so session or half-strength is your gateway drug to sobriety.
Drinks to try:
While most session beers tend to be around the 4% mark, if you’re mid-strength curious, 2-3% should be what you’re looking for. If you like Beavertown’s Neck Oil, its lower-strength Satellite (2.8% ABV) could be a winner. Small Beer also produces a range of tasty and award-winning ales and lagers at 2.1-2.6% ABV.
A revelation to me were mid-strength spirits, which I didn’t even know existed. Session Spirit London Dry is a 25% ABV gin (gin is usually around 40%), while Quarter Proof’s gin, tequila and vodka alternatives weigh in at 15% ABV. The former made a delicious G&T, while Quarter Proof tequila is great for spicy margaritas.
4. Try another mind-altering substance
As CBD drinks have become mainstream (Trip was recently the fastest-growing soft drink brand in the UK), manufacturers have explored other mood-enhancing and functional drinks that promise to deliver the buzz or relaxation benefits of alcohol.
SENTIA drinks, developed with former government ‘Drug Tsar’ Prof David Nutt, claims to harness a neurotransmitter known as GABA that moderates your nervous system to help you feel more relaxed and calm. ON beer is based on the same principle, and contains many of the same ‘adaptogens’, like ginseng, rhodiola and damiana.
What worked:
I’m not sure whether any of these magic ingredients had any effect on me – it’s more the vibe and company that make me feel sociable or relaxed.
Drinks to try:
The woody, citrussy, mellow Nightcap is a lovely drink to wind down with at the end of the day. Maybe it’s the valerian, lemon balm and hops inducing a calming effect, but I did sleep well after one of these.
Described as a ‘functional wine alternative’, I also enjoyed Three Spirit’s Spark (with caffeine, L-theanine and guayusa) and Sharp (electrolytes, amino acids and vitamin D).
Read more:
Top 30 non-alcoholic drinks ideas
Non-alcoholic drinks collection
Mocktail recipes
What I discovered when I gave up drinking for a month
All health content on goodfood.com is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local health care provider. See our website terms and conditions for more information.
Sponsored content
Comments, questions and tips
