There is an overwhelming number of options when it comes to not drinking, whether you want to replicate the experience of your former favorite cocktail or try something uniquely satisfying and wine-adjacent. Not every NA drink is made equally, so we talked to 20 bartenders, chefs, restaurant owners, and writers to find the best of the best. Some have full NA programs at their bars, while others are just beginning to explore the possibilities that the nonalcoholic and alcohol-removed categories offer. All of them said they would drink these any day, no matter if they’re currently on or off booze, for flavor, mouthfeel, mixability, and above all else: crushability!

Check out 14 of our collective favorite nonalcoholic drinks below.

This New Zealand-based winery was started by a trio of brothers in 1981 and had decades of award-winning wines before they branched off into the NA space. They now make seven distinct varietals of dealcoholized wine, a process that keeps all the flavors, aromas, and mouthfeel of a wine while removing the alcohol content. Hilary Sheinbaum, author of The Dry Challenge and Going Dry: A Workbook, loves Giesen for their “range of well-balanced NA wines” that are both delicious and accessible to anyone, even available at grocery stores like Whole Foods. “In general, nonalcoholic wines—especially those without bubbles, and reds in particular—are really hard to do right. When the alcohol is removed from wines, often the body, mouthfeel, and flavor are…different. Giesen is a traditional wine brand that knows what they’re doing when it comes to wine, and they’ve used their knowledge and know-how to remove alcohol while maintaining the wine’s integrity.” Sheinbaum adds that their NA Sparkling Brut is a great “cork-pop moment” that’s great for a fancy-looking gift that can also be mixed to make nonalcoholic French 75s, mimosas, or bellinis.

Studio Null has worked with family-run vineyards in Europe since 2021 to create premium dealcoholized wines that they hope people will connect to. Each bottle includes the harvest year/vintage, varietals, source region, and vineyard so it can be “traced from vine to glass.” Multiple wine professionals say it is the closest to the “real thing” that they’ve tasted. “It is the first NA wine that looks, feels, and tastes as complex as wine and, most importantly, adds to the dining experience as a perfect partner with food,” shares Abra Berens, culinary director at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan. Austin Hennelly, bar director of Kato in Los Angeles, adds that their Prickly Red blend stands out for its “aroma and palate that is robust and assertive, texturally satisfying, and has a gentle frizzante and medium-plus tannins that more than compensate for the lack of alcohol texture.” (Frizzante means “lightly sparkling” in Italian.)

Non is not at all what you’d expect from an NA wine, and that’s what makes it so exciting. The Melbourne, Australia-based company was created with food in mind and developed by chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, food scientists, and winemakers. Fresh, seasonal produce is the starting point for every creation, which is roasted, stewed, steeped, and cured in-house, then combined with verjuice (unfermented juice of young, unripened grapes) before filtering and bottling. Unlike dealcoholized wines, which can legally contain up to 0.5 percent alcohol, all of their products are completely alcohol free at 0.0 percent, yet look just like rosé (Salted Raspberry & Chamomile), white wine (Toasted Cinnamon & Yuzu), and red wine (Stewed Cherry & Coffee). The complex and refreshing varietals pair excellently with food, thanks to their counter-balancing acidity and light-bodied bubbliness, and are served at fine dining restaurants such as n/naka in Los Angeles and Alinea in Chicago and cool-kid wine bars around the country. “I’ve swapped around favorites in the past, but my first love is my truest love—the Non1 Salted Raspberry & Chamomile,” says Caleb Ganzer, managing director at La Compagnie in New York City. “It’s great by itself as a refreshing session beverage, but I also love it with 'nduja and soft cheeses to make it an extra special moment to savor.”

When you think of a “wine alternative,” you probably don’t immediately jump to “tea,” but a few bartenders say that you’re missing out if you don’t try a cuppa craft kombucha. Unified Ferments is a Brooklyn-based company that transforms tea into “nonalcoholic offerings that sit comfortably in stemware.” They currently have six kombuchas in their lineup, with a variety of tea styles from jasmine to oolong, but the resounding favorite among bartenders is a rare Chinese tea called Snow Chrysanthemum (a flower aptly named for being buried in the snow of the Kunlun Mountains). “My favorite NA products are ones that are naturally NA,” explains Christopher Lemperle, beverage director at Crane Club in N.Y.C. “Most kombuchas you find on the market focus on the flavors they add and never mention the tea, but Unified Ferments does, sourcing amazing single-origin teas. While I love everything they produce, the Snow Chrysanthemum is what made me fall in love with them. It’s floral, complex, and great with food.” Dylan Capello, director of brand experience and culture at Nami Nori in N.Y.C.’s West Village, adds that he loves to pour a glass for NA guests whose dining partners are enjoying a bottle of sake, to create a similar pairing experience.

Trying to replace your favorite craft brewski isn’t easy, as different beers have key characteristics that stem from the brewing process. Best Day Brewing brews all of their beers to full strength before gently removing the alcohol using a temperature-controlled process that preserves the aromas and flavors, much like the process for dealcoholizing wines. Their lineup changes with exciting limited edition flavors but always includes multiple variations of IPAs, a German-style kölsch, and an intensely hoppy malt to scratch whatever itch you need. “They do a terrific job achieving the flavor and texture of the styles they release,” explains Hennelly. “They calibrate the structure and level of bitterness to accurately correspond to their alcoholic counterparts.”

Japanese brewing and distilling company Suntory does it all, including whiskey, vodka, gin, beer, and now, completely nonalcoholic beer, which rings in at 0.0 percent alcohol guaranteed. “I drink a Suntory All-Free every day when I get home from work!” says Hennelly, whose NA bar program is a multi-page menu at Kato. He describes it as “refreshing and gently bitter” in flavor, with a bonus of it having zero calories and truly zero alcohol for those who absolutely cannot ingest it for allergies or other reasons.

Bero is a premium nonalcoholic beer founded by British actor Tom Holland (of Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise) that has a mission to be “not a substitute [but] the new gold standard of beer.” The base malts for all three of the brand’s varieties (Noon Wheat, Kingston Golden Pils, and Edge Hill Hazy IPA) are brewed at higher temperatures to enhance and concentrate the flavors, which Lucas Robinson, beverage director at The Corner Store in N.Y.C., says are “rich and full-bodied.” He adds that Bero is a “refined, upscale offering that fills a slight void in the NA space,” and the majestic gold can is excellent for “presenting tableside at restaurants or serving friends at home.”

Out of all the drinks recommended on this list, no brand came up more than St. Agrestis. The Brooklyn-based distillery creates booze-forward and booze-free versions of handcrafted cocktails and spirits that are served at bars in their eye-catching, colorfully labeled bottles. Half of the people polled mentioned at least one of the company’s “phony” cocktails, which replicate bitter-leaning drinks like a Negroni (St. Agrestis calls it a Phony Negroni and offers White, Mezcal, and Espresso versions as well as an Amaro Falso). You can drink the alcoholic and nonalcoholic versions side by side and not detect a difference because of the “remarkable complexity and authentic flavors” using “real, raw ingredients—30 different organic botanicals in their Phony Negroni alone—to create that characteristic bittersweet balance and texture that cocktail enthusiasts expect,” shares Ambrose Chiang, general manager at Acru in N.Y.C. He singles out the innovative Phony Mezcal Negroni, which uses smoked cactus and “pushes boundaries while honoring traditional spirits.” Bryan Schneider, creative director at Twin Tails and Quality Branded, also in N.Y.C., appreciates the “smoky aromatics and potently bitter bite” of the faux mezcal. Last but not least, David Muhs, co-owner and head bartender at Monkey Thief in Hell’s Kitchen, says what seals the deal for him is the “slight carbonation—it gives you that familiar ‘zip’ you typically get from alcohol, making it even more satisfying.”

Free Spirits started as a company that was dedicated to reconstructing the “unique nose, flavor notes, and mouthfeel of the world’s great liquors” using natural ingredients and no alcohol. Instead of booze, there’s Vitamin B infused inside their NA liquors (Spirit of Gin, Spirit of Bourbon, and more) and NA aperitifs like the sweet Spirit of Vermouth Rosso. If you’re not ready to stock up on a whole bar cart of NA options or are not a great mixologist, Sheinbaum recommends Free Spirits’ canned cocktails for their array of “traditional and fun flavors,” including negronis, margaritas, espresso old-fashioneds, and more. She says they are “an instant crowd-pleaser and a no-brainer that’s easily transportable to make any party NA-inclusive—all you need to do is just pop open the tab and pour over ice!”

Curious Elixirs’ mission is to share bold, adventurous, and unusually delicious craft cocktails without any booze. Created with bartenders, herbalists, and food scientists and using a mix of botanicals and adaptogens (said to enhance body function like serotonin and circulation), they take drinks that aren’t typically crafted in NA form—like a pineapple painkiller, pomegranate Negroni sbagliato, and juniper cucumber Collins—and make them bigger and better. Their bottles are 11.5 ounces versus a traditional 5- to 8-ounce canned cocktail, making the NA fun last longer. Nathalie Durrieu, head bartender at Experimental Cocktail Club in N.Y.C., has poured many of Curious Elixirs’ concoctions, but she plays favorites. “I love Curious No. 4, the Sicilian Blood Orange Spritz. It’s very versatile, and I like to drink it over ice or with a mixer. It has a light bitterness that makes it more complex and enjoyable to savor with the same mouthfeel, smell, and taste of an alcoholic version.” 

Multiple bartenders rely on Lyre’s to replicate the boozy ingredients of classic cocktails. The Australian brand launched in 2019 as one of the first to create an NA London dry gin, and since then they have sourced natural essences, extracts, and distillates from all around the world to recreate 14 different NA spirits. Oscar Reyes, bar manager at Citrin in Los Angeles, praises Lyre’s for their “huge selection—gin, whiskey, amaretto, and even ingredients for NA old-fashioneds and Negronis.” But more importantly, it’s the flavors, which are “realistic, use high-quality ingredients, and they don’t taste watered down.” Michael Lay, beverage director at Bourbon Steak New York and Mina Group, adds that Lyre’s exact replications allow him to make 1:1 swaps in any cocktails. “Lyre’s puts a lot of care into providing the same look, taste, and smell, so you don’t have to sacrifice flavor when opting for an alcohol-free libation.”

The biggest challenge in crafting NA cocktails at home is getting your ratios right. Brynn Smith, beverage director at Bar Next Door in West Hollywood, says that Ritual Zero Proof’s Whiskey Alternative is the key ingredient for a proper NA Manhattan because it is virtually indistinguishable from its alcoholic counterpart. “It’s hard to make an aromatic nonalcoholic-forward cocktail because NA spirits are weighted differently than liquors and liqueurs,” she explains. But by combining the Whiskey Alternative, Ritual’s Aperitif Alternative, cherry syrup, and All the Bitter’s NA Aromatic Bitters, she says she’s able to achieve “the same taste and mouthfeel for this classic cocktail.”

If spritzes are your thing, finding the right nonalcoholic aperitif is the key to success. Wilderton Aperitivo Co, an Oregon-based brand founded by two spirits professionals in 2019, uses old-world Italian techniques and four types of distillation and extraction to get the most flavor out of their botanicals. Katie Niebling, beverage director and head bartender at Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge in Gold Beach, Oregon, says that Wilderton’s Bittersweet Aperitivo is her “favorite NA product on the market right now,” describing the grapefruit and orange blossom botanical blend as feeling like a “sun-soaked day in Tuscany. Nothing in the NA department gives such authentic Italian bitter spritz flavors quite like this product. It is very similar to Campari or Aperol, minus the alcohol, and with Fre Wines’ NA Sparkling Brut in a wine glass over ice with an orange slice, it feels like a holiday.”

Ghia was created by French-born Melanie Masarin in the height of the pandemic in 2020, inspired by family memories and aperitif culture in the Mediterranean. With no added sugar and a distinct bitterness (akin to amaro), Ghia’s Original Aperitif can give robust flavor to a spritz without alcohol, but it can also elevate many more NA cocktails. “In a 1:1 ratio, Ghia’s Aperitif gives our zero proof Negroni the same flavor components that Italian sweet vermouth brings to a traditional Negroni,” shares Sean Stewart, bar manager at Stella Ristorante in West Hollywood. But its potential extends far beyond that. “It’s a very versatile ingredient and can be used in so many different ways—as a simple spritz with club soda, or a more nuanced, shaken cocktail with extra ingredients to play along with,” adds Christian Ryan, bartender at Lady of the House in Detroit. “The flavor profile is layered and beguiling in a really fabulous way: fruity, botanical, and bitter. I love Ghia paired with fresh berries, lemon, and green herbs. The flavors complement and lift each other up in a really fun way. Also, the bottle is absolutely gorgeous.”