Booze Alternatives – Spirit of Dee

Booze Alternative: Fentimans Dandelion & Burdock

15 June 202115 June 2021 Dee Leave a comment

This is a booze alternative I tried when Geth and I accidentally found ourselves in a pub last summer (it was genuinely an accident as we only stopped off to buy some drinks from their brewery, but they showed us down to a secret beer garden instead). I took the opportunity to sample some flavours of Fentimans that I hadn’t tried before!

Unfortunately I really didn’t like this one as I wasn’t keen on the flavours. Nothing to do with Fentimans as I’ve loved lots of their other drinks – I think I just don’t like dandelion and burdock!

Booze Alternative: Fever Tree Sicilian Lemonade

1 June 20211 June 2021 Dee Leave a comment

I’ve tried a few Fever Tree drinks over the last couple of years, mainly various forms of ginger beer and ginger ale. This Sicilian Lemonade was something a bit different.

It’s a lovely, sweet drink and very refreshing! I need to start looking out for it again now that I’m gradually poking my nose back into pubs.

Booze Alternative: Freixenet 0.0% Alcohol Free Sparkling White

18 May 202118 May 2021 Dee Leave a comment

My other favourite! It comes in second to the rosé version, but then the rosé version is outstanding.

*Freixenet 0.0% Alcohol Free Sparkling White.*

This one has a slightly drier taste, but I’d still describe it as medium. Like the rosé it’s a very different taste to alcoholic fizz, which is a good thing in my book, as it feels like a different kind of treat. Sober treats are important!

Booze Alternative: Freixenet 0.0% Alcohol Free Sparkling Rosé

4 May 20214 May 2021 Dee Leave a comment

This is my favourite booze alternative of the last two and a bit years of sobriety. It’s an absolute go-to…

*Freixenet 0.0% Alcohol Free Sparkling Rosé.*

…and in recent weeks Asda have stopped selling it, so I can’t get it regularly anymore! Oh well.

It doesn’t taste quite like alcoholic fizzy, but that’s what I like about it (it means it’s not triggering). Instead, it’s got a distinctive taste all of its own – perfect sweetness, very refreshing. I hope I find another local source for it soon.

Booze Alternative: Fre Alcohol-Removed White Zinfandel Rosé

20 April 202120 April 2021 Dee Leave a comment

Another light summer alternative.

*Fre Alcohol-Removed White Zinfandel Rosé.*

I was a bit nervous about drinking something that tastes like wine (sparkling wine is different, because I only ever had a glass or two to toast something when I was a drinker, whereas regular still wine was generally a fairly dangerous thing for me to drink). While it did taste lovely, and very light and refreshing, it felt a bit too close to the real thing for comfort. I’m okay with using alcohol-free red wine for cooking and so on, but for actual drinking I’ll stick to the fizzy stuff.

Booze Alternative: Belle & Co Sparkling White

6 April 20216 April 2021 Dee Leave a comment

The white version of the rosé I reviewed a couple of weeks ago!

I would generally grab the rosé if I had a choice, as this one pretty much tastes like every other alcohol-free sparkling white out there. Still a perfectly pleasant drink though.

Booze Alternative: Belle & Co Sparkling Rosé

23 March 202123 March 2021 Dee Leave a comment

I first tried this alcohol-free sparkling rosé last summer, but it’s become a regular buy recently as it’s always in stock at the big Asda where we do our weekly shop.

I’ve tried a few non-alcoholic rosés, but this one really stands out because the rosy taste is very strong. It’s also quite light so another good summer option.

Not to be confused with the similarly-named leggings company!

I also regularly drink the white version, which I’ll review next time.

Booze Alternative: M&S Alcohol-Free Bucks Fizz

9 March 20219 March 2021 Dee Leave a comment

This is another alcohol-free option that I picked up to try last summer. In my drinking days Bucks Fizz was a Christmas drink in my eyes, but I think it’s important to break those kinds of habits and attitudes in sobriety (it is taking a LONG time to get used to the fact that I can drink ‘special’ alcohol-free drinks at times when I wouldn’t have drunk the alcoholic equivalents, e.g. while working, but I’m going to keep working on that). I actually think this alcohol-free version works better as a summer drink, because it’s nice and light.

It was very tasty (and also felt quite celebratory according to my notes, though I can’t remember what I was celebrating), but I think the next time I feel like Bucks Fizz it’d be nicer to make my own with one of my favourite alcohol-free sparkling wines. Maybe a project for summer 2021.

Booze Alternative: Fizzero Zero Alcohol Sparkling Rosé

23 February 202123 February 2021 Dee Leave a comment

Along with the white version of Fizzero, I also picked up the rosé version from M&S.

I’m really pleased that so many alcohol-free wines have rosé versions because rosé was always my favourite type of wine when I still drank alcohol. I find non-alcoholic still wines uncomfortable to drink* because they ‘feel’ too much like their alcoholic counterparts, but I’ve really come to love the sparkling versions, as I’m able to perform that mental separation and so they don’t put me at risk of wanting ‘real’ wine.

The Fizzero version, like its white counterpart, tastes very grape-y – a bit like grape juice. The rose flavour is a bit too subtle for my liking, but it is there. Another nice light alternative for summer.

*They’re great for cooking though!

Booze Alternative: Fizzero Zero Alcohol Sparkling White

9 February 20219 February 2021 Dee Leave a comment

This sparkling alcohol-free drink was one of a selection I picked up at M&S last summer.

It doesn’t have quite as much of a ‘fake booze’ taste as other zero alcohol sparkling wines I’ve tried, and so it feels lighter. It has an interesting grape-y medium taste, which is very pleasant.

I’ve not been in the local M&S Food for a while, but this one is well worth picking up again.