Our Dry January Experience, we tried 6 different 0% ABV products, see how it went!
- Courtney Bailey
- Feb 1
- 5 min read
Dry January, also known as sober January, is a month-long, alcohol-free experience that people use to kick off their new year, new me resolutions for better health. The incessant advertising of 0% ABV products in our socials had me wondering how good these alcohol alternatives may be. So join us and see who the big winners were in the alcohol-free game.
We'll start with Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey. This whiskey alternative claims that the warm and rich flavors of this award-winning whiskey substitute is specially crafted for cocktails, with all-natural vanilla and oak flavors and a "soul-warming" finish that will sweep you off your feet. I think that the description was optimistic... let's start with the basics.
This is a 5 calories per serving, and one bottle on their site costs $29.99, you can get a better rate if you order on a subscription basis and have it shipped bi-weekly or monthly directly from their site.
Now as for our experience... first this smells bad. It smells like it is fermenting. Not at all like the scent of a whiskey. We tried it first on it's own, I do NOT recommend this. By itself it tastes awful! The worst, it's sour, bitter, and has a crazy pepper finish in the back of your throat, that makes you want to cough. We tried mixing it with a cola, this only helped a little. It just tastes bad. Maybe I don't know how to properly mix this to make it taste at all like a whiskey, but this is a straight up NO for me, it was just bad regardless of what we tried to mix it with. If you have a recipe or idea on how to make this better I am all ears, because we could not make this one work. You can learn more on their website www.ritualzeroproof.com
The next product that we tried was Free Spirits, The Spirit of Bourbon. The Spirit of Bourbon, an award-winning alcohol- free alternative to a traditional Kentucky Bourbon it is made with all natural flavors and functional ingredients to awaken your palate, elevate your mood, and recharge your body. With an oaky-toffee nose, followed by a velvety-smooth, toasted almond and brown sugar palate.
Some basics on this one, it is 20 calories per serving, one bottle costs $27.99 on their website, and again you can get a little better pricing by joining a subscription service.
Also like the Ritual brand, this one is not meant to be enjoyed on the rocks, the smell is only slightly better, it at least smells slightly like bourbon, although still clearly a poor imposter. It has a sharper, bitter flavor, and again a very strong pepper flavor in the back of the throat. This was less aggressive than the Ritual brand, but still pretty pungent. We tried mixing it with cola, and tried making an old fashioned with it, to no avail. It was still pretty bad. I have to say this one is also a NO. You can see more at their website www.drinkfreespirits.com
The third alcohol-free alternative comes in the form of Three Spirit, Livener. Livener claims to taste like fresh and fiery with watermelon, guava and ginger. Bitter notes of ginseng and floral green herbs that combine for a lingering dry finish of rich tannins, hibiscus and an "exotic heat".
The basics, this is 40 calories per serving, and costs $44 for a 16.5 fluid ounce container! One of the more expensive options on our list.
So where to start... Livener was interesting. It still smells really bad. My husband Andrew said it smells like a dusty old closet. Which it is kind of musty smelling. I can honestly say that I was not expecting the large array of bad smells associated with these drink alternatives! Once you get past the smell, the flavor was also kind of not surprising, a slightly sour drink with a pepper flash at the end. Why do all of these companies think alcohol tastes like pepper! It was fruitier and more herbaceous than the Ritual, and Free Spirit options. By itself not very good, but surprisingly when tonic was added it was much improved, it even cut some of that powerful pepper finish. With the tonic this is drinkable. Would it be my first choice, absolutely not! But, if I were served this, I would drink it and simply not order it again, lol.
Our 4th and 5th options come courtesy of the Curious Elixirs company. The first is Curious Elixirs #5, a Smoked Cherry Chocolate Old Fashioned. The second Curious Elixirs $6 was a Coconut Pineapple Painkiller. The first is a take on a smoked old fashioned with a touch of elderberry to boost immunity, and Shatavari for increased balance. The second is a blend of oatmilk, coconut, pineapple, nutmeg and aloe to help you unwind, and provide a beauty boost.
The Smoked Chocolate Cherry Old Fashioned, No 5, has a total of 70 calories per serving. There are 2 serving per bottle. The cost for 4 bottles is $44, certainly the most expensive option in our list. The Pineapple Coconut Drink, No 6, was 55 calories per serving, 2 servings per can, and again $44 for 4 cans.
So, let's start with No. 5, this again has a bad smell, but no peppery finish, you do taste some of the chocolate and cherry flavors, but it doesn't really taste like an old fashioned to me. It was ok, Andrew liked it said he could drink it, but it was just ok for me. It has a weird aftertaste. You take a sip and at first its good, then as it sits in your mouth there is a foul after flavor. As far as No. 6 goes, this one was actually very good, it has a very very mild flavor, it is not carbonated, and in a lot of ways just seems like you're drinking a juice blend. I added some tonic to the No 6 and found it to taste quite good, still a mild bad smell, and there is some pulp in it, but not nearly as bad as all of the others. I can definitely drink this; it's just kind of plain. You can check out more on these products at www.curiouselixirs.com
Last but not least we tried a seltzer alternative. This was a product called Hiyo social tonic. Hiyo states on their site that we’re on a mission to rethink the way the world drinks by creating a movement to unwind in a healthier way. Their social tonics are crafted with organic adaptogens, natural nootropics, and functional botanicals to provide a stress-relieving, mood-boosting lift we like to call “the float.” Apparently "the Float" comes after ingesting approximately 3 of their drinks.
Some facts, Hiyo is 30 calories per serving, you get 12 servings per variety pack, and it costs $39 for 12. This seems to be on par with the average costs for alcoholic seltzers, but in this case, there is no alcohol. Which kind of makes me think it's a little expensive for what equates to seltzer water. Anyway... on to my thoughts.
Hiyo was by far our favorite! It tastes great, it doesn't smell bad, there's no pepper in it. The can looks and feels like a regular seltzer, and all of the flavors were great! No real after taste with exception to the watermelon lime flavor, that one had a little bit of a funky finish, but the others were very clean in the finish. We actually really enjoyed these and will order them again.
So, in the end we did find an alcohol-free dink alternative that we like, but some of these options were downright painful! Watch our full review in the video below, let us know what you think! Thank you for following along!
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