Everyone likes drinking; not everyone likes drinking alcohol. Thankfully, the nonalcoholic beverages market grows stronger and deeper each year. These recommendations include canned cocktails with terroir-specific vibes and larger bottles that emulate the best of what wine and aperitifs can do.
Any-occasion warm-up:
Ritual Zero-Proof Aperitif Alternative
Aperitifs are, by design, low-proof beverages. They are meant to gently ease you into the evening or a meal. Well, Ritual has shaved off that slight boozy edge off for their aperitif bottle. Think of it like a straight-edged pal of Campari: great on its own or with (n/a) vermouth, or use it as one-third of a n/a Negroni.
Tropical-inflected canned cocktails:
Caleño
Light & Zesty; Dark & Spicy: These are the two spirit alternatives bottled by the Colombia-inspired beverage company. The first is a gin substitute flavored with pineapple and, of course, juniper. The second is a rum alternative flavored with kola nut and vanilla. Play with those Dark 'N Stormys and Tom Collinses.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mixed-fruit wine-ish beverage:
Zerozzante Cuvée Nr. 4 Grape Rhubarb
A good nonalcoholic beverage can be made from grapes alone. Still, a delightful synergy occurs when a producer mixes grapes with another fruit. The rippling edge of rhubarb adds ballast to this unpasteurized sparkling drink from Germany.
Southwestern desert–inspired drinking:
Parch
Love tequila but ready to come at agave from a fresh angle? These canned cocktails come in two iterations: Spiced Piñarita, a take on, yes, a Margarita with prickly pear juice and mole bitters; Prickly Paloma, spiky with hibiscus and grapefruit.
Kicky, hearty sodas:
Casamara Club Amaro Leisure Sodas
The inspiration for the four bottlings in this collection swerves from Sicily to the Alps. Each has strong botanicals to conjure the moodiness of a good amaro, plus the refreshing effervescence of a great sparkler or beer.
Beefy, quaffable red wine cousin:
Nuala by Muri
The style of chilled red wine called glou-glou has been a drinkers' warm-weather favorite for some time. Nuala, a stylistic nonalcoholic peer to glou-glou, was born in the fermentation hotbed of Copenhagen and is made with black currants, oak kombucha and pine kvass.
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictatorIn the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Video games to curl up with this fall, including Ghost of Yotei and LEGO PartyThe Week Recommends Several highly anticipated video games are coming this fall
-
10 upcoming albums to stream during spooky seasonThe Week Recommends As fall arrives, check out new albums from Taylor Swift, Jeff Tweedy, the Lemonheads and more
-
A Spinal Tap reunion, Thomas Pynchon by way of Paul Thomas Anderson and a harrowing Stephen King adaptation in September moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Spinal Tap II,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘The Long Walk’
-
Don't fly by the seat of your pants. Do it the healthy way with these airborne tips.The Week Recommends Yes to stretching. Even more yesses to hydration.
-
'The Office' spinoff, a 'Mare of Easttown' follow-up and the Guinness family royalty in September TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include 'The Paper,' 'Task' and 'House of Guinness'
-
One great cookbook: 'Jam Bakes'The Week Recommends A guide to pristine jam-making, plus the baked goods that love them
-
September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosisthe week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
-
6 products and apps to help fight jet lagThe Week Recommends Don't let travel fatigue drag you down
