I tried 75 low- and no-alcohol drinks: here are my favourite beers, wines and spirits

Was your Christmas a little too merry? Maybe you’re giving Dry January a go; maybe you fancy trying more zebra striping (alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks) this year; or maybe you want to steer clear of alcohol for a while for health reasons. Whatever the motivation, many of us will use the new year as a chance to re-evaluate our relationship with booze and look for alternatives to the hard stuff.

Luckily, the low- and no-alcohol category is increasingly better; these days there’s no excuse to serve you a sad lemonade just because you’re the designated driver. The world of low-alcohol beer is particularly excellent, with loads of brilliantly brewed lagers, pilsners, stouts and ales that are just as exciting and tasty as their alcoholic counterparts. Spirits are good, too, with delicious agave-based liquids and dozens of gin-adjacent spirits I’d be happy to drink in a 0% G&T. Wines can be more challenging, I find, but there are some that taste more than passable, and sparkling wines, teas and the like are often excellent.

So, whether you’re in the market for an alcohol-free fizz, fancy trying some award-winning cider without the headache, or need a thoughtful gift for a teetotal friend, there’s plenty of great stuff out there if you know where to look.

I’ve worked my way through 75 different booze-free beers, wines, spirits, kombuchas, premixed drinks and everything in between to find the best the category has to offer.

To make it into this list, I was looking for drinks under 2% ABV (the mid-strength category hovering above this volume is also better than ever, but not so good for expectant mothers, drivers etc) that tasted genuinely delicious and worked as an alcohol alternative. While there are plenty of tasty shrubs, juices and sodas that can make Dry January a doddle, I didn’t consider them for this list.

Here, then, is my pick of the best low- and no-alcohol drinks to raise a glass to, safe in the knowledge there’s no hangover in the post.

The best non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks for 2026

Cheers to enjoying a tipple without paying for it the next day. Photograph: wilpunt/Getty Images

Best low-alcohol red wine

Moderato merlot-tannat cuvee revolutionnaire, 0.5%

Of all the low-alcohol alternatives, a decent red wine is probably the hardest to find. Some taste like plasticky grape juice, while others try to replicate the complexity of an alcoholic red by introducing rogue flavours such as beetroot and herbs.

No one will mistake this Moderato for a fully fledged merlot, but it does have the characteristic dark fruit notes of that grape, and its structure puts it firmly on the wine spectrum, rather than juice. Overall, it tastes extremely pleasant. Using grapes sourced from vineyards in south-west France, this wine is cold-distilled in the country’s first de-alcoholising centre, where they keep a careful eye on retaining the structure and aroma of the original wine. A decent food wine with rich casseroles and warming tagines, or enjoyed alone.

Best alcohol-free gin

Cygnet Infinity, 0%

Welsh gin brand Cygnet (co-founded by singer Katherine Jenkins) recently launched an alcohol-free expression. It’s created using the same 22 botanicals as Cygnet 22 gin – though the brand insists it’s a stand-alone spirit rather than a gin imitation. It’s then further infused with all sorts of health buzzword ingredients, such as lion’s mane and Siberian ginseng, along with the manuka honey the gin is known for. The overall taste is honey-led with delicate florals and berries; deliciously light and botanical, and definitely nothing like a gin. It’s designed for sipping or mixing with soda, and I vastly prefer the latter of the two serves; drink with plenty of ice, a splash of soda and a berry garnish.

Best sparkling tea

Fortnum & Mason sparkling tea, 0%

I’m a big fan of sparkling teas – they have a good level of complexity and tend not to be too sweet. This one from Fortnum’s is a favourite I return to often for giving as a gift and celebrations. It’s dry and tannic, thanks to the blend of rare black, white and green teas, while being fresh, fruity and fragrant with herbaceous notes. It tastes properly luxurious. Rose Pouchong sparkling tea is a new addition to the range, brewed with a single black tea and rose petals; if you like things sweeter and deeper, then this won’t disappoint.

Best dealcoholised sparkling wine

Bolle blanc de blancs, <0.5%

Sparkling wines are probably the safest bet in the low and no category. Whether Nozeco or Vilarnau, I liked almost all of the low-alcohol fizzes I sampled, and many were truly excellent. This one edged ahead because of how expensive it tastes. It’s made in Spain using chardonnay grapes and is double fermented (as with champagne and cava) before being dealcoholised, and it’s a real treat however you look at it. It had a recognisable blanc de blancs profile – crisp orchard fruit and brioche notes – along with a properly persistent champagne-like mousse and a dryish finish. I’ll be buying this again.

For more booze-free bubbly, read our guide on the best low-alcohol prosecco, champagne and sparkling wines

Best mocktail

Belvoir Farm non-alcoholic lime and yuzu mojito, 0%

Belvoir Farm is better known for its nice cordials and soft drinks, but it now also has one of the biggest mocktail ranges in the UK. There’s passion fruit martini, peach bellini and more to choose from, but my pick is the Great Taste Award-winning lime and yuzu mojito, which is fresh, zesty and aromatic. Luscious-tasting and super-cooling, this mocktail is good on its own, but when muddled properly with fresh mint and lots of ice, no one would miss the real thing. I loved the unexpected edge that the yuzu brings.

Best alcohol-free spirit

The Pathfinder hemp and root non-alcoholic spirit, <0.5%

Smoky, medicinal, herbal, bitter, citrusy, spicy: just some of the words I’d use to describe the taste of the Pathfinder, and I wouldn’t come close to defining its flavour. Darkly complex and intriguing, this new US-based alcohol-free spirit uses hemp, angelica root, juniper, saffron and other wild botanicals distilled into a liquid that works alone or in cocktails – as seen at the London cocktail bars Lyaness and Satan’s Whiskers. If you’re a fan of negroni, fernet or other amaro, then this is likely up your street. Try stirred with bitters, ice and a twist of orange for an alcohol-free twist on your favourites.

Best alcohol-free tequila-style spirit (yes, really)

Almave Blanco blue agave spirit, 0%

A zero-proof tequila-style spirit may not be the first thing you’d think to turn to when you’re not drinking, but this was an unexpected hit. Almave was founded by Lewis Hamilton in partnership with Mexican spirits group Casa Lumbre, and it has an immediately distinctive agave aroma, smelling and tasting extremely convincing. It’s genuinely nice even for sipping straight, but when made into a spicy margarita or mixed with grapefruit in a paloma, it’s fantastic.

Best low-alcohol lager

Bero Kingston golden pils, 0.5%

Beer is one of the best places to explore the no- and low-alcohol lifestyle from: there are more good 0% beers than there are bad these days. Bero Kingston pils is a newcomer that’s well worth a look if you fancy something fresh. It’s a big, bold malty lager, with enough bitterness and richness of aroma for you not to mind the lack of alcohol. Founded by actor Tom Holland, who has been sober since Dry January 2022, when he couldn’t find something to fill his Dry January with, Bero has a range of styles, from hazy IPA to wheats. This full-bodied and flavoursome pils variety was my testers’ favourite.

Best low-alcohol ale

Firebrand Brewing Co Shorebreak hazy pale ale, 0.5%

When summer finally arrives, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better drink to enjoy on the beach than this Cornish IPA. Ridiculously smooth, light and zingy with hoppy flavours, Firebrand Brewing’s Shorebreak bursts with hazily chilled tropical fruit flavours, such as pineapple, guava and banana. You might struggle to tell if it’s alcoholic or not – and when it tastes this great, with just 32 calories a can, who cares?

Best low-alcohol cider

Chance Clean cider, 0.5% (12 x 330ml)

The alcohol-free cider category has gone from strength to strength. I’m impressed with new brand Chance, which joins the lineup of great-tasting low-alcohol ciders that don’t just taste like apple juice. This is the UK’s first dedicated alcohol-free cider and has won a slew of awards for its crisp, citrussy taste. It’s bursting with British apple flavours and has a woody, grownup aftertaste that sets it apart from many others. Made by removing the alcohol from a punchy 8.2% cider, Chance manages to taste light yet retain the mouthfeel of a real alcoholic cider. It’s low in sugar, too.

For more:
The best no- and low-alcohol wines
The best mid-strength drinks

Joanne Gould is a food, drink and lifestyle writer with a decade of experience. As well as enthusiastically eating her way through London’s best bars and restaurants, she’s also a keen home cook and can often be found trying a new recipe or kitchen gadget, while taste-testing anything from South African wines to speciality coffee or scotch. Luckily, she also enjoys walking, running and keeping fit and healthy in her spare time – for balance

This article was originally published on 4 February 2025. Reviews published in the Filter may be periodically updated to reflect new products and at the editor’s discretion. The date of an article’s most recent update can be found in the timestamp at the top of the page. This article was amended on 7 January 2026; four new drinks were added after testing, and prices were updated throughout.