A lot of Irish people take on the alcohol-free challenge that is Dry January each year and this year is no different.
Some do it as a means of getting into their overall health kick for the New Year, while others just need a break from the booze after the heavy Christmas season.
I am in the latter category and even though I drank on New Year's Day, I've convinced myself that I'm still on a good run for the month. New Year's Day doesn't count anyway!
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As I pushed my supermarket trolley past all the usual alcoholic drinks this week, I was pleasantly surprised by the zero section. I was in Dunnes Stores but all stores and independent off licences stock a lot of choice nowadays.
From wine and spirits to beer and cider, there was plenty on the shelves and lots of variety in flavour. Some pubs could do well to follow suite and offer more choice for zero alcohol drinkers.
I picked up a random collection of drinks and headed to the tills. I got some funny looks over my eclectic haul for the safest binge of all time but made my way home, bottles clinking in the boot of the car just like Christmas week (almost).
I cracked them open and it's fair to say I enjoyed some more than others. The charge levelled at most zero alternatives is that they just can't quite replicate the same flavour as their alcoholic cousins, but I was shocked by the results of my taste test.
Here's what I thought of the drinks I tried and remember, there is huge variety available beyond these examples:
Heineken Zero
Heineken Zero is one of the most popular non-alcoholic drinks and is probably the most widely available in pubs as well as shops. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge lager drinker but this isn't bad at all. It's noticeable fruitier compared to the real thing and sweeter too which might stick in the craw of real beer drinkers. It's easy to drink and smoother on the palate than the real tangy taste of Heineken but it loses out to Peroni for me. The genuine taste and feel is lacking and the head died in the glass within minutes so it looked a little sad as I drank it.
Price - €6 for six small cans
Peroni Zero
This is actually very good. The real Peroni is very popular at the minute and this zero version is very close to the real thing. The minute you pop the bottle and hear the fizz escape from under the cap, you get a lovely strong smell. The malt, the fruit, the sweetness; everything is there and it's really nice to drink. It keeps its head well too and stands up to its boozy brother. It is by far the best non-alcoholic beer I've tried.
Price - €5.75 for four bottles
Rheinbacher Pilsner Zero
This one is not for me, I'm afraid. It is a cheaper alternative to your Peroni or Heineken but it doesn't stand up to them. There is no real smell from the bottle but the taste is strong, just not in a good way for my palate. It leaves an unusual aftertaste and I think it might be down to the level of malt. There's just too much. It almost tastes like watered down Shreddies with that sweet note on the back of the throat not really making it too pleasant to drink. It also went flat in the glass in seconds.
Price - €3.99 for six bottles (in Aldi)
Guinness Zero
I'm a stout fan and Guinness in particular so I was dubious of this stuff. Let's start out honestly; it's not the same as the pint you get from a pub but it's not dissimilar to a regular can. If it's ice cold in the right glass, Guinness Zero is fine. It has those coffee notes and the flavour but it lacks in texture. It it more watery than a proper pint of creamy Guinness, but if you're the designated driver, you could do worse than sipping a few of these. As you can see in the picture, you get plenty of bubbles in the head which is far from ideal and the head diminishes quickly too - but you expect that with a can anyway.
Price - Four cans for €6
Nozeco
I find with regular Prosecco you are left with a very sharp aftertaste and dry feeling on your throat but this doesn't have that at all. It is absolutely sweeter and fruitier than the real stuff and reminds me of Schloer, that long-held stable of the non-drinker at an Irish family gathering. If you like that, you'll like this. With that said, it's a bit too sweet to pass for the real thing. If you are on the dry, you still get to pop a bottle and get the bubble experience so it's not bad overall.
Price - €4 a bottle
McGuigan Zero Chardonnay
This is a nice looking product and smells very like a nice bottle of Chardonnay when you open it. It's a bit fruitier, maybe peach, on the nose and there's a sweet aftertaste but it kind of wears off after a while. This grows on you with each sip but don't look too closely at the glass if you're trying to trick yourself into thinking you're having a real glass of vino. There are noticeable bubbles in it that you definitely don't get with other non-sparkling wines. I'm not a wine man and I didn't mind a glass of this at home if that's anything to go by!
Price - €7 a bottle
Saoirse non-alcoholic gin and tonic
Saoirse has been around for a while and is a non-alcoholic spirit based on gin. It actually does smell like gin and you can really make yourself a nice guilt-free G&T or mocktail with this stuff. It's sweet and strong so you get that feeling of having a unique drink. These products are helped by the mixers so they don't have to stand up to too much scrutiny on their own as you add mint, tonic, lemons, limes, etc. The one thing I did notice was that it almost felt like the drink had sat with ice melting into it for a while even when it was freshly made. Then again, my rarely-used bottle of tonic may have been flat resulting in that watery texture on the tongue.
Price - €9.99 a bottle (in Aldi)
Hugo mocktail
I also made this refreshing mocktail with the Saoirse non-alcoholic gin and Nozeco and it was a winner. Mixed with both zero drinks, as well as lemon or lime, mint, elderflower cordial and soda water, this is really nice. Get loads of ice in the glass and give it the works and you've basically jazzed up a typical G&T. This would be ideal as something special for someone not drinking at an event or family function when sometimes the fourth degree can be unleashed over their reason for steering clear of alcohol.
Bulmers Zero
Cider is probably the easiest alcohol to replicate in zero form and that's borne out by the result of this taste test. Bulmers Zero is very close to the original but I have to say, it's not perfect. It has the distinctive colour, fizz and feel as you drink it but the taste needs a little bit of work. Firstly, a positive, you don't get that slightly catching dryness on the throat that you do (or at least, I do) from the original and that makes it easier to drink. This may come as a surprise but Bulmers need to send someone up a few more trees in Tipperary because this needs more apple flavour. It needs to be dialled up to get that sour note that is so synonymous with an Irish summer. Other than that, this is a nice tipple to have if you're on the dry this month.
Price - €6 for four 330ml bottles
Kopparberg Mixed Fruits Zero
Kopparberg has a few zero alcohol options but I tried the mixed fruit bottles on ice. If you want a refreshing, strong and sweet drink to get you through January, this is really good. It's very close to the original and packed full of the fruit flavour (take note, Bulmers). The back notes of apple are there but the most pronounced flavour is the blackcurrant. It really stays with you afterwards and can become a little sickly as a result but you can't fault the product itself. The strawberry and lime version is also popular but it's worth noting that Aldi has a generic brand version of low alcohol strawberry and lime cider for €0.99 a bottle. It too is very nice!
Price - €1.65 per bottle
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