Drinks and brands to try this Christmas if you're not drinking alcohol - from Feragaia to Wild Eve and Tennent's

Gone are the days when non-alcoholic options ranged from fizzy juice to water. We now, thankfully, have excellent non-alcoholic or low alcohol beers, spirits and fizz, and mocktails are often as good as their boozy counterparts.

But Christmas can be one of the booziest times of the year. The party season is a time often centred around drinking, with surveys showing alcohol consumption in the UK increasing by 41 per cent in December.

But is this slowly becoming a thing of the past? Data shows Gen Z is particularly interested in non alcoholic drinks, such as energy drinks, bubble tea and coffee. Trends on social media, such as TikTok, are helping to change attitudes, including those who are keen to try cutting out or cutting down on alcohol.

Those becoming ‘sober curious’ has risen in recent years, as more Brits are ditching the bottle and re-evaluating their alcohol use. In fact, Google searches for ‘sober curious’ have increased worldwide by 39 per cent year on year and a staggering 371 per cent when comparing 2017 to 2021. Those who are sober curious think more consciously about their decision to drink alcohol, and approach their drinking habits more mindfully, rather than just going along with the dominant drinking culture. For example, sober curious individuals may often evaluate their drinking habits before alcohol consumption at an event, rather than giving into peer pressure or general impulses.

Feragaia has released their first ever ready to drink cans - ideal for a sober Christmas

Sober curiosity has been around for a while, with many people participating in awareness months such as ‘Sober October’ and ‘Dry January” every year. While we’re only a few weeks from a potentially dry January, new research this year showed more than a third of Brits are saying no to alcohol this month. And businesses are changing menus and offerings to reflect this.

Feragaia, a Scottish non-alcoholic spirit made from 14 botanicals from the land and sea, recently announced a new ready to drink mixed pack, containing cans of Feragaia and Ginger Ale, and Feragaia and Tonic.

The brand has also just appointed Gregor Vimpany as distiller of its distillery, the first fully functioning alcohol-free distillery in Scotland. This comes at a time of strong growth, with the brand being listed across Scotland in many of its Michelin-starred restaurants. Non-alcoholic spirits made in Scotland also include Wild Eve, which is made in small batches from organic flowers, fruits, leaves and seaweeds grown and gathered on the Isle of Harris. There’s also beer from Jumpship Brewing, BrewDog, Genius Brewing and Tennent’s.

All of these are ideal for parties in the home, but what if you are going out? To offer those not drinking more options this Christmas, The Alchemist cocktail bars in Glasgow and Edinburgh have partnered up with non-alcoholic aperitif brand Everleaf to concoct a menu of festive cocktails with the flexible drinker in mind.

The collaboration was forged to cater to people who are sober curious and are searching for non-alcoholic versions of their favourite cocktails. Other independent cocktails bars, such as Lunar, Absent Ear, Panda and Sons, Bramble, Orchid and The Gate, also have a wide range of delicious innovative mocktails.

While there may still be the odd person that questions anyone not drinking this Christmas, you’ll not be short of non-alcoholic drinks in which to toast the season.