Tips for a great ‘dry January’

Despite the fact that cities such as New York are once again allowing to-go cocktails, more and more people are choosing to forego alcohol during the month of January. Some folks combine it with New Year’s healthy eating and exercising resolutions while others want to take a break from the excesses of the holiday season. If you are avoiding drinks this month, we have compiled a few resources on how to still enjoy some delicious sips.

There are a bevy of new sources for alcohol-free gins, whiskeys, and other libations that make a dry January much easier to contemplate – just switch out the zero proof spirits for regular ones in your favorite cocktail recipes. The Guardian brings us a list of the best nonalcohol drinks in the UK and The Week does likewise with the best alcohol-free spirits in the UK for your dry January. The New York Post does the same for those living across the pond, as does Variety, which focuses on West Coast offerings.

Even if you do not want to purchase any specialty ingredients you can still make a tasty mocktail. The San Francisco Chronicle brings us a list of naturally alcohol free drinks that are not trying to imitate any spirits, while Forbes offers ten recipes for mocktails that do not require any alternative spirits. Those recipes do involve a few items that might be a challenge to find, however, such as lychee juice and butterfly pea flower syrup. Of course you can head to the EYB Library and search for beverages and drinks without alcohol (with added filter for Entertaining and parties). Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Booze-free toddy with apples shrub from Food52
• Bright side from Observer Food Monthly
• Pomegranate-citrus sans-gria from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
• Southern maid from Delicious (Aus) by Tobie Puttock
• Blood orange with ginger, lime and mint mocktail from Diana Henry at The Sunday Telegraph (pictured above)
• Pomegranate-rosemary shrub from Fine Cooking Magazine
• Passionfruit & elderflower spritz from BBC Good Food Magazine
• Non-alcoholic espresso martini from Food52
• Stars in their eyes from Waitrose Food Magazine
• Khoshaf from Bon Appétit Magazine
• Summer breeze [without alcohol] from Fine Cooking Magazine