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If you decide to go to a bar or pub without drinking you are often left facing a choice of what to drink. Luckily, there are many non-alcoholic drink options. You can actually plan before you go out. Some major bar and restaurant chains have their menus on their websites and you can look before you go if you are worried about whether they have non-alcoholic drinking options.
The key thing is to choose drinks that you enjoy drinking and fit the mood or context of your situation and where you are. If you are going to be in one place for a long time and can choose the place maybe it is worth going somewhere where there are many options.
Non-alcoholic Drink Options:
If you will be barhopping then you can mix the options you choose.
Soft drinks: Drink beverages like Coke, Pepsi, lemonades and other “fizzy drinks.” There are a couple of things to consider though:
- Avoid excess sugar. This is a major issue if you choose Coke or orange juices and then knock back two or three during your evening out.
- Avoid excess caffeine. In some bars and clubs, you can actually have teas and coffees in place of alcohol. Whether you have this or Coke, be aware of excess caffeine consumption. Having a lot of Red Bull can also be similar to the excess stimulation from caffeine.
Non-Alcoholic Beers and Wines: Alcohol free beer which I have spoken about before in this blog, is always an option. There are more and more options depending upon where you live. You can also order cases of these beers over the internet or purchase them from your local supermarket or liquor store. Just about every major beer maker has alcohol free versions from Becks Blue to San Miguel 0.0%.
Don’t worry about feeling like a fool – here in London at least, non-alcoholic beers have become very common and as I have said before, some bars even offer a choice of at least two non-alcoholic beers!
Another option is alcohol free mulled wine and it is a great choice during winter and Christmas time. The same goes for other wines although the options are less likely to be as widespread as beer for now.
“Virgin” Cocktails: If you look at the drinks menu of many upscale bars and clubs, they will have a section on non-alcoholic cocktails, so-called “virgin” cocktails. You can also ask for your previous favorite alcoholic cocktail, just without the alcohol. I went to one amazing bar in London and the barman spent about two or three minutes making an amazing tasting non-alcoholic cocktail. I was sure that he had misheard me and it must have been an alcoholic cocktail but it wasn’t.
Water: Many people overlook this one option. You of course can order sparkling or still mineral water in a bottle and pay for it. However, there is no shame in ordering the odd glass of tap water – especially if you are feeling thirsty. In fact, in London, one of the local newspapers once had a campaign to encourage people to order tap water rather than bottled water because of the environmental waste of drinking the bottled water.
Everyone needs 2 litres of water per day, so why not got at least some of your intake when you are in a bar! You will get used to peoples’ comments by saying it is in-between your other drinks.
Mixers: You can also consider mixing drinks such as ginger beer and cranberry juice or other wonderful combinations.
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