best non alcoholic spirits

January Drinking Inspiration

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Best non alcoholic spirits

Have you been looking for an alternative to wine this January?
January resolutions have been the perfect opportunity for us to have some fun trying the latest non-alcoholic spirits on the market. We invited a local chef to give us her opinion and sampled three well-known brands: Seedlip, Ceders and Borrago. First we sipped each straight with no mixer, then we added Fever Tree tonic, carefully following the mixing recommendations for each drink. We’ve given marks out of ten, tasting notes, and details of where you can buy a bottle. These new non-alcoholic sprits are beautifully packaged. Each offers a luxurious alternative to alcohol should you choose not to drink. See what you think.

Seedlip – Citrus Blend 42 8/10

Nose: citrus, tangerine. Very light taste with no mixer but comes alive when tonic is added. An indulgent drink which we would definitely recommend.
Price: £26, Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco. Also available in two other flavours: Spice and Garden

Ceders Classic 5/10

Nose: Complex and aromatic, with distinct herbal and floral notes which came through in the tasting. Pleasant to drink neat, and light and refreshing with tonic. Botanicals are very subtle once mixed.
Price: £19.99, Waitrose, Ocado, Sainsbury. Also available in two other flavours: Wild and Crisp

Borrago – Paloma Blend 47 7/10

Nose: Juniper, ginger, lemon, rosemary and pepper. Strongest tasting of the three, in fact too strong to enjoy neat. Only 25ml added to the tonic as supposed to 50ml. Dry with a strong, distinctive flavour which makes a really original cocktail. Great for non-drinkers.
Price: £19.99 from borrago.com

We also tried a bottle of T&E Aromatic Botanicals and Green Fruit Notes, which is available from Ocado (£2.31). No need to add tonic to this one. Botanicals are mentioned on the packaging but we felt it was more of alternative to prosecco than gin. It contains grape juice and is quite sweet. Very refreshing. Finally, for something a little different we tried Monte Rosso (£2.55), which is recommended as an alternative to an Aperol Spritz. Quite like a cherry pop; fruity, yet slightly bitter.