The Non-Alcoholic Cocktails That Food & Wine Staff Actually Drink

Even if (especially if?) you're fond of cocktails, there are probably times when you want to take a break from booze. Whether it's for health reasons, designated-driver reasons, or just-wanting-to-take-a-beat-after-holiday-revelry reasons, it's always helpful to have an actually enjoyable non-alcoholic drink order on standby—not just for dry January, but all year round. From fancy shrubs to good old-fashioned soda, here are the dry drinks we lean on most.

“我已经痴迷了蚕豆ever since I came across it on the menu at Oxalis, in Brooklyn. My favorite non-alcoholic drink is actually from Oxalis’ menu, and it’s called Jasmine. It has just three ingredients: Seedlip grove, 'champagne acid,' and green tea. Perfectly balanced, a little fizzy, and not at all sweet. Goes with literally everything."

—Oset Babur, Associate Restaurant Editor

我曾经每天喝真正升级的饮食可乐量，但我学会了爱自己。但是，我无法戒掉泡沫，并交换到邪恶的泡沫水量，撕裂我的牙釉质，但毫无疑问仍然是一个更健康的选择。我的意思是，所有焦糖着色的地方都在哪里？Anyhow, seltzer, soda, carbonated water, whatever is great and I could drink it in my sleep, but sometimes I like to add a little oomph with some bitters (Angostura is dandy, but I’ll switch it up to celery, rhubarb, or mixologist mustache hair bitters) and a squeeze of whatever citrus is around. I don’t care what kind; I’m a rebel and I’ll never ever be any good. Not that it’s anyone’s business what anyone else is putting in their mouth, but it looks like a cocktail if anyone is wondering and you don’t feel like answering questions about why you’re not drinking, and also bartenders understand it as a code for “I’m not drinking right now (or maybe ever—again, no one’s business), but I still wanna hang,” and they’ll make sure you’re hooked up all night, you bubble-loving maniac.

—Kat Kinsman，高级编辑

"Everything comes full circle: When I was a kid my go-to fancy drink was always Coke and grenadine: a Roy Rogers. Specifically, I’d only order it at a beloved Mexican cantina in my hometown where they’d always accommodate a request for extra maraschino cherries. But as I’ve since come of drinking age, I explore and appreciate all sorts of flavors from sweet to citrusy to spicy in my cocktails. But as I’ve come of, well, just age in general with my twenties a distant dot in the rearview mirror, I’ve had to pace myself. So when my wife was pregnant and I was going mostly alcohol-free in solidarity, I got a hankering for a cherry Diet Coke while at bar birthday party. I asked the bartender if they could make that possible and they immediately replied “Yeah, grenadine and Coke. A Roy Rogers.” So here I am, nearly thirty years later, ordering the same fancy drink I did when I was coloring the placemats. Okay, I still color the placemats. Considering how few places actually serve Cherry Diet Coke (let alone Cherry Coke), you could even consider reviving this booze-free beverage named for a Hollywood cowboy a life hack."

—Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Associate News Editor

“在冬天，当我觉得长期脱水并始终需要维生素C升压时，我的去刚刚获得了家门从工作饮料是一个简单的葡萄柚Spritz：一块高大的玻璃杯里面有冰和葡萄柚汁中途然后用塞尔兹和一些破折号加入费的大黄苦味剂. Way more tonic than a Gin & Tonic ever could be."

—Adina Steiman, Deputy Digital Editor

"I usually take a chunk ofpreserved lemon, some fresh lemon juice, and sugar or honey, muddle it and top with soda water. It also works without the preserved lemon and with a big pinch of sea salt, but I like it with simple preserved lemon. Lime or lime pickle is also nice, which then makes it a kissing cousin ofChanh Muoi.. It's basically Gatorade, but fresh."

—Mary Frances Heck, Senior Food Editor