MANY of us are planning a booze-free January to recover from recent festivities when it's easy to over-indulge. If that's you, there are plenty of alcohol-free variations of popular alcoholic tipples on supermarket shelves. We gave booz-free tinnies a go just in time for Dry January. From gin and lemonade to passion fruit martinis, you can get booze-free versions of many favourites these days. We tried several options from big-name brands to see which ones are worth buying this dry January. We gave them a score out of 10 for taste and a score out of 10 for value for money.
Funkin Nitro Cocktails No Alcohol Passion Fruit Martini
£2 can for 200ml at Morrisons
94 calories
Funkin has become a well-known brand for cocktails-in-cans
A passion fruit martini is my go-to and I was impressed with how similar this tastes – it was difficult to tell the difference between the real thing. It was slightly too sweet for me, but had a nice smooth texture to it. The only drawback is this was more expensive than other cans I tried at £2 each in Morrisons, plus it was a smaller can compared to the others.
Taste: 8/10
Value: 6/10
Total: 15/20
J2O Mocktails White Peach & Mango Daiquiri 250ml
£1.10 for 250ml can at Sainsbury's (with Nectar)
45 calories
J2o is a popular brand for soft drinks
J2o is a popular brand for soft drinks and there are several tinnies in its range – I gave the daquiri a go. It's apple, white peach, mango and lime flavoured. As soon as I opened the can the smell was the first thing I noticed, it tasted more like a juice than a classic cocktail mix. It was very sweet and lacked the peach promised, as the mango was quite overpowering.
Taste: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Total: 15/20
Belvoir Non-Alcoholic Lime & Yuzu Mojito
£1.49 for a 250ml can at Good Food Company
83 calories
This tasted better than a regular mojito
The Belvoir Farm 0% alcohol cocktails looked the fanciest of all the one I tried so I had high hopes. The classic mint taste was immediately noticeable. It actually tasted better than a regular mojito, likely down to the addition of the lime and yuzu. I found it was sweet but also refreshing, a worthy alternative to the real deal.
Taste: 10/10
Value: 7/10
Total: 17/20
Kopparberg Gin Strawberry & Lime Alcohol Free
£1.10 for a 250ml can at Morrisons
83 calories
This can was the cheapest one I tried
This Kopparberg can tasted the least like a cocktail. Instead, it was more like a flavoured lemonade. Not a bad thing, but not really an alternative to a true gin and lemonade. The addition of the lime with the strawberry was a nice combination and reminded me of the Kopparberg ciders. It was also the cheapest one I tried (not including loyalty prices) which is a bonus.
Taste: 7/10
Value: 9/10
Total: 16/20
Belvoir Non-Alcoholic Peach Bellini
£1.45 for 250ml can at Good Food Company
78 calories
The bellini tasted a bit more like juice than a mocktail
This can tasted the most natural of them all, like it was packed full of fruit. It's made with a blend of real peach and grape juices and was really refreshing. I didn't feel it resembled an alcoholic peach bellini that closely though, it was more like a flavoured juice drink than a mocktail.
Taste: 9/10
Value: 7/10
Total: 16/20
Meanwhile, we also tried supermarket G&T cans – a Gordon's rival only costs 95p but tasted like water. Plus, we tested supermarket Quavers dupes.
