The 16 Best Nonalcoholic Drinks to Try in 2024, According to Taste Testers
Ready-to-drink cans and alcohol-free spirits and wines everyone can enjoy.
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It used to be that the alcohol-free options at most gatherings were seltzers, juices, sodas…and that’s about it. For the best nonalcoholic drinks, you’d have to go someplace with a good bar program, where the mixologist concocted mocktail recipes and charged you $17 a pop for the privilege. Now, we’re in a golden age of zero-proof bevs that you can enjoy in the comfort of your home. A search for “nonalcoholic drinks” on Amazon delivers a staggering 2,000+ booze-free results. But how many of them actually taste good?
To find the best nonalcoholic drinks we sampled over 140 products, from pre-made spritzes to nonalcoholic wines, alcohol-free beers and spirits to ready-to-sip libations that made convincing stunt doubles for cocktails.
Our top picks:
We found winners in every category that were every bit as balanced and complex as their boozy counterparts. We’re talking elevated, grown-up drinks that aim beyond Shirley Temples and sparkling apple cider. If you’re going dry, even just for a night, we’ve got something to whet your whistle for every occasion.
FYI, many nonalcoholic drinks on the market contain herbal extracts, which help give these beverages their flavor and structure. “In general, the safety of these ingredients has not been established for pregnant women,” says Stephanie Sassos, MS, RD, Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Director. It’s not that the herbal extracts are necessarily unsafe, according to Sassos; rather, it’s unethical to test these ingredients on pregnant subjects. Since the research isn’t present or extensive, most medical professionals advise their patients from partaking. If you are pregnant or have other medical concerns, it’s best to consult your doctor before consuming these products.
The latest release from Katy Perry isn’t a new album but a delightful spritz in a can called Trés Rosé. Just like her greatest hits, this little number is a banger. Carefully crafted with adaptogens, like lion’s mane and L-theanine to “support a mood-boosting buzz without the booze,” this mouthwatering aperitif tastes like a more interesting Aperol spritz.
Size: 4-pack of 8-ounce cans
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Bright fresh grapefruit and lychee with a bitter edge that’s not too dry; gently sparkling and slightly floral
Best Way to Drink It: Poured over ice
Give a raise to the marketing genius who named this booze-free riff on a Negroni. Just like its namesake, the Phony Negroni is complex and bittersweet but the fizz makes it more flirty and fun.
Size: 200-ml bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Grapefruit pith bittersweetness offset with mouthwatering spiced citrus and herbaceousness
Best Way to Drink It: Straight from the single-serving bottle or poured over ice with an orange twist
Pentire Seaward Botanical Nonalcoholic Grapefruit Gin
This lovely, clear concoction bills itself as a “nonalcoholic grapefruit gin” but it’s actually much lighter in body — more like a refreshing gin cocktail. Pentire Seaward is distilled from plants native to the headlands of Cornwall, England (such as sea rosemary and sea buckthorn) and you can totally taste the coastal terroir in each sip.
Size: 700-ml (1.5-pint) bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Botanicals, spices and marine complexity in a light-bodied refresher
Best Way to Drink It: Poured over ice; mixed with tonic or sparkling water with a citrus twist
Caleño Dark & Spicy Nonalcoholic Tropical Flavorred Rum Alternative
This amber-hued nonalcoholic spirit evokes the sun-drenched tropical flavors of Colombia, where the founder hails from. It’s not so much a rum dupe as it is a sultry rum-inspired cocktail that you can enjoy over ice for a more saturated experience or cut with ginger beer to mimic a Dark & Stormy.
Size: 500-ml (16.9-ounce) bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): Less than 0.5%
Tasting Notes: Molasses and orange peel on the nose; tropical fruits with warm and inviting baking spices on the palate
Best Way to Drink It: Poured over ice or mixed with ginger beer and garnished with lime
Seedlip Garden 108 Nonalcoholic Spirit
One of the OG nonalcoholic spirits, Seedlip walked so today’s booze-free offerings could run. Their Garden 108, as crisp and clean as a linen suit, calls to mind a spring day.
Size: 700-ml bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Vegetal (peas and mint) and slightly floral with a mild peppery bite and briny finish
Best Way to Drink It: As a stand-in for gin or poured over ice with tonic water or seltzer with cucumber or citrus twist
Wilderton Nonalcoholic Bittersweet Aperitivo
Think of this bright-red N/A aperitivo as a kinder, gentler Campari — just as lush and herbal but without the bracing bitterness. Like a good pre-dinner drink, the Wilderton will make your mouth water.
Size: 750-ml bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Bittersweet and complex like Campari but smoother
Best Way to Drink It: As a substitute for Campari (mixed with seltzer over ice with a citrus twist)
Three Spirit The Livener Nonalcoholic Alternative Spirit
Crafted with an apothecary's-worth of botanical ingredients, this bottle from Three Spirit is designed to energize and make you feel good. Schisandra berries give vibes of watermelon hard candy while ginger provides a zingy sensation in a way that simulates the burn of alcohol. The caffeine from guayasa will help fuel carousing all night long.
Size: 500-ml bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Watermelon hard candy punctuated with ginger and peppery bites
Best Way to Drink It: Poured over ice with tonic water
Studio Null Nonalcoholic Sparkling Verdejo
There's something about removing alcohol from wine that's like throwing the baby out with the bath water: It strips away the aromas, tannins, body — basically all the things that can make a wine tasty. Not so for this sparkling Spanish white made from dealcoholized Verdejo. It tastes like it has alcohol, but more importantly, it has complexity and flavor. In a blind sampling, it could pass for a funky natural wine.
Size: 750-ml bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): Less than 0.5%
Tasting Notes: Tart green apple, kombucha-like funk
Best Way to Drink It: As an aperitif or paired with funky cheeses
French Bloom Le Rose Alcohol-Free Sparkling Wine
If it didn't say so on the bottle, you may not even know the alcohol has been removed from this refreshing sparkling French rosé. It's got everything you'd expect in its boozy counterpart: minerality, tasty fruit notes and good acidity.
Size: 750-ml bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Light and crisp with aromas of white peach, rose and tart strawberry
Best Way to Drink It: As an aperitif or paired with seafood, especially shellfish
Athletic Brewing Company Nonalcoholic Upside Dawn Golden Beer
Athletic Brewing Company started in 2017, brewing beer with a trace of alcohol instead of removing alcohol from full-octane beer. The result is delicious craft beers, like Upside Dawn Golden, that are every bit as satisfying and nuanced as the real deal. As a side benefit, Upside Dawn achieves the "tastes great, less filling" goal of light beers, clocking in at just 50 calories per can.
Size: 6-pack of 12-ounce cans
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): Less than 0.5%
Tasting Notes: Crisp and light-medium body; aromas of ripe tropical fruit and coriander; rounded out by slightly floral hoppy bitterness
Best Way to Drink It: Poured into a glass
Bravus Brewing Nonalcoholic West Coast IPA
Started in 2015, Bravus in Anaheim, California, is North America's first nonalcoholic craft brewery. Their production process closely resembles craft beer methods to create brews that taste true to their inspiration. For instance, the refreshing West Coast IPA is as dry, bitter and hop-forward as you'd expect and want from this style of ale.
Size: 12-pack of 12-ounce cans
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): Less than 0.5%
Tasting Notes: Crisp, dry and light-medium body; citrus-tinged with piney, floral hop bitterness
Best Way to Drink It: Poured into a glass
Best Day Brewing Nonalcoholic Hazy IPA
The hazy IPA from Northern California–based Best Day Brewing tastes so much like a real beer, tasters had to double-check the label to see if it's nonalcoholic (it is).
Size: 12-pack of 12-ounce cans
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): Less than 0.5%
Tasting Notes: Dry, crisp and luscious medium-body; pleasantly bitter and hoppy with hints of cardamom, pine and refreshing grapefruit
Best Way to Drink It: Poured into a glass
Töst White Cranberry, Ginger and Spice Sparkling White Tea
Unlike nonalcoholic wines that start as wine, then get stripped of alcohol, Töst is formulated from the ground up with nonalcoholic ingredients: white tea, white cranberry, quinine and ginger. The end result is a fizzy refresher that calls to mind pet-nat (natural sparkling wine) and ginger beer.
Size: 750-ml bottle
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Sweet (but not overly) tropical fruit and zingy ginger; gently sparkling; finishes with refreshing dryness
Best Way to Drink It: Chilled in wine glasses
The latest flavor from Ghia's line of canned nonalcoholic spritzes is sumac and chili. And, yes, you will definitely taste those two ingredients but that's against an aromatic backdrop of yuzu juice, white grape juice and elderflower. There's also gentian root for some pleasant bitterness along with lemon balm and lemon verbena for botanical intrigue.
Size: 4-pack of 8-ounce cans
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Sultry, slightly floral and citrusy; finishes with gently smoldering heat
Best Way to Drink It: Poured over ice
Pilot Kombucha Celery Juniper Kombucha
It's not clear if Pilot designed their kombucha to taste like a cocktail but it could convincingly pass for one. Made from white peony tea–based kombucha, the supporting ingredients (juniper, celery seed and lemon peel) provide savory depth and complexity — not to mention, a probiotic boost.
Size: 6-pack of 12-ounce cans
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0.5%
Tasting Notes: Savory, vegetal and pleasantly bitter; slightly fizz
Best Way to Drink It: Straight from the can
Curious Elixir No. 6 Coconut Pineapple Painkiller
It's no coincidence that many nonalcoholic drinks have a dry flavor profile with a bitter edge (often from the botanical ingredients that lend these drinks their structure and complexity). But sometimes you just want an easy-drinking fruity tropical drink, y'know? Enter: Curious Elixir's No. 6 booze-free cocktail. The flavors approach a Coconut Pineapple Painkiller — it's like a trip to the beach in a can.
Size: 12-pack of 12-ounce cans
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 0%
Tasting Notes: Sweet, fruity and hints of nutmeg; medium-body from oat milk, which lends a little creaminess
Best Way to Drink It: Poured over ice with a cocktail umbrella
Why do some nonalcoholic drinks say they contain "less than 0.5% alcohol?"
Certain nonalcoholic drinks, such as N/A wines, start off with the full amount of alcohol that's later removed, leaving a very trace amount behind. Less than 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) can still be classified as "nonalcoholic" because at that percentage, your body can metabolize the alcohol before it feels any of the boozy effects. But did you know it's not just N/A drinks that have traces of alcohol? You can find a tiny amount of alcohol in fermented foods, like yogurt, soy sauce, vinegar and yeasted bread, as well as in nonfermented foods, like fruit juice, sodas and ripe bananas in ABV amounts from 0.2%, up to 1.9% in some breads!
Susan (she/her) is the recipe editor at Good Housekeeping, where she pitches ideas, parses words, and produces food content. In the Test Kitchen, she cooks (and samples!) recipes, working with developers to deliver the best written versions possible. A graduate of Brown University and a collaborator on several cookbooks, her previous experience includes stints at Food & Wine, Food Network, three meal kit companies, a wine shop in Brooklyn and Chez Panisse, the pioneering restaurant in Berkeley, California. She enjoys playing tennis, natural wines and reality competition shows.
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