How to Choose an Alcohol-Free Drink that Suits You Most

Discover which alcohol-free drink will suit you best, looking at your taste preferences, dietary requirements and the moment you like to enjoy a JOMO drink.

Why the Right Alcohol-Free Drink Matters

There is more to choosing an alcohol-free drink than most people think. Big brand vs small brand and how their creation method impacts your drink. The quality of ingredients inside. How a mixer impacts the alcohol free spirit you choose. Why you might love the alcoholic comparison but prefer different flavours when choosing alcohol-free drinks

Choose your alcohol-free drink here

The Most Popular Alcohol-Free Drinks

From alcohol-free gins, to light and dark rums, alcohol-free wines and ready to drink cocktails, to the incredibly popular bitter aperitifs. Here's JOMO's guide to finding the right one for you broken down into each category.

Italian-Inspired Bitter Aperitifs

The Aperitifs are our favourite - using bitter citrus and offering a great mouthfeel, this category offers a wide selection for the bittersweet spritz lovers. Managing to cut through most mixers, the aperitif is probably the easiest least delicate alcohol-free spirit. Wine glass, ice, tonic water and a juicy wedge of orange.

Type of drinker: bitter - think Campari or Aperol as its comparison.

Occasion: while cooking for pre-dinner as an aperitivo.

JOMO top picks: Franka Nordic Spritz, Wilfred's Orange & Rosemary, Rebels ROSSO, Pentire Coastal Spritz, IESSI L'Aperitivo  

Ginger Focused Drinks

Often coming as concentrates, the ginger focused drinks are thriving given their healthy benefits, their natural invigorating properties for those who want less caffeine and are super versatile to enjoy in different occasions. A long serve with ice and sparkling water. A hot serve with hot water. A ginger hit to your cocktails by adding a splash.

Type of drinker: ginger all the way

Occasion: morning or daytime drink for a natural pick me up or your evening unwind.

JOMO top picks: GIMBER Ginger, Citrus & Lemon Thyme, GIMBER Ready-to-drink cans, Mother Root Feel Good Aperitif

Botanical Gin Inspired Drinks

Okay, we will be honest, this is a tricky category. Why? The process of creating an alcohol-free gin is incredibly complex and yet one of the most difficult to perfect. With aperitifs or bolder spirits you have punchy ingredients to add real body and depth to the drink. Think bitter citrus, ginger, tropical fruits or coastal ingredients. With a gin, we are really focused on botanicals, among some of the most delicate ones - if you were to sip a gin neat, you primarily would taste and feel the alcohol in your mouth and then identify some botanicals such as florals, lemons, juniper, spices. With an alcohol-free gin, we take away the alcohol, distil the liquid longer are left with a botanical infused drink. When sipping it neat, it is thin and therefore requires the mixer to open it up. 

A really positive thing about the botanical spirits is they are often low in sugar - often with 0g. This is also what makes the thin mouthfeel - no sugar, no sweeteners, no artificial ingredients making the experience different to that of alcohol. 

Type of drinker: the G&T lover 

Occasion: the evening unwind moment

Top tip: to get the most from your alcohol-free gin, we would always recommend seeing what the core botanicals are, smelling it neat, maybe even sipping it neat and then adding a splash of mixer. This therefore allows you to identify what is the spirit and what is the mixer - it creates overall a far more enjoyable experience.

JOMO top picks: Smiling Wolf Botanical Feel-Good, Siegfried Wonderleaf Pink Gin, Tarquin's Cornish Alcohol-Free Gin,  New London Light First Light

Alcohol-Free Dark Spirits

Dark spirits are another area doing really well. They may be less popular and more seasonal than the other alcohol-free spirits but there is a lot to explore for the dark spirit lovers. From dark rums that replicate the amazing spiced, sweet elements to whiskeys that create exceptional savoury notes and to spirits that don't even model themselves on anything in the alcohol world. If you are brave enough, there are extremely bold, interesting alcohol-free drinks to discover. One to definitely dig into is the alcohol-free amaretto's - they have done an amazing job!

Type of drinker: rum, whiskey, tropical cocktails or the adventurous drinker

Occasion: winter warmer, post-dinner serve or those who love experimenting with cocktail making

JOMO top picks: The Pathfinder Hemp Spirit, Feragaia, Rebels Malt Blend, Rebels Amaretto, Bel Nada Tropical Rum

Ready-To-Drink Cocktails and Drinks

Ready to drink cocktails are absolutely having their moment. With more of us opting for alcohol-free drinks, ready to drinks are a great way to take on the go with you to festivals, parties, BBQs, on the train - pre-made and ready to rock. JOMO's core goal is to ensure you never feel left out, and ready to drink cocktails do this well. From beers, to cocktails, to canned wines, to fermented drinks - there is a lot to explore. 

Type of drinker: the social, on-the-go drinker

Occasion: anywhere outside your home - perfect cocktail anytime, anywhere

JOMO top picks: Franka Nordic Spritz, GIMBER Ginger cans, Lime & Yuzu Mojitos, Hazy Grapefruit Lager, Smiling Wolf's Functional Cocktails, Mood enhancing botanical drink, TIDE Collagen Water, SKIP CBD Drinks.  

Alcohol-Free Wines

It's safe to say, alcohol-free wines have burnt a lot of bridges. With the poor quality of non-alc wines at the beginning, people lost faith that a good alcohol-free wine could exist. Overly sweet. No length. No point. Too expensive. We've heard it all and it was fairly warranted we'd say. Wine is hard to master - centuries old techniques which create such complexity of flavour that was often lost when the alcohol was removed. Sugar was added to make up for the thin result and we were left feeling disapointed. If we are being 100% honest, the non-alc wines aren't as evolved as non-alc spirits. There is a way to go, but just as it did in the beginning with spirits, we are seeing more amazing results and more winemakers from popular wine regions starting to create alcohol-free wines. We expect more to launch in the UK over the coming year. Here are a few alcohol-free wines we think are genuinely worth trying out:

JOMO top wine picks: Society De La Rassi, DIVIN Sauv Blanc, Zeronimo Austrian White, DIVIN Pinot Noir,  Wild Idol Sparkling White

The JOMO Wine Club is a quarterly wine club hand selecting three quality alcohol-free wines for you to discover. This is a great way to receive the best collection without selection.

You can subscribe to the wine club here >