Alcohol Alternatives

Alcohol Alternatives at vomFASS UK

Fourteen options sit in this collection, in four groups: the Zero range, built on familiar drink styles; two shrubs and a punch; two sparkling teas; and one wine. The way in is to ask what you want to end up holding. For a long drink in a tall glass, the Spritz Zero or the Hugo Zero. For something to sip like wine, the Kühling Zero Winery. For a soft drink with real sharpness, a shrub.

One thing worth saying plainly first: alcohol-free and low alcohol are not the same thing in British law, and the difference is printed on the bottle rather than in a collection name. There is a section on that below.

The Zero Range

Seven products carry Zero in the name, each built around a drink style you already know:

• The Basil Smash Zero, with basil and lemon. Herbal and sharp rather than sweet.
• The Spritz Zero, citrus, for the long bitter-orange style of drink.
• The Hugo Zero, elderflower and basil. Elderflower is the most British flavour here.
• The Longwood Zero Gin, for the botanical direction of a gin and tonic without the gin.
• The Pornstar Martini Zero, the passion fruit cocktail that is now a fixture of British bar menus.
• The Limoncino zero, a lemon direction.
• The Vermouth Zero, the one that behaves most like an aperitif.

Serve these the way you would serve the drink they are named after. A spritz wants a large glass, plenty of ice and soda. A vermouth wants a small glass, one cube and a strip of orange peel. Glassware does a surprising amount of the work when there is no alcohol carrying the aroma.

Shrubs and Punch

Three products sit outside the Zero naming: the Calamansi Elderflower Shrub, the Mango Mint Shrub, and the Apricot Punch.

Shrub is an old name for an acidulated fruit drink. Sharpness is the whole point: it gives a drink the sour edge that normally has to come from alcohol or from a lot of citrus. Both name their fruit, so the Calamansi Elderflower is the citrus-and-floral one and the Mango Mint the tropical-and-fresh one. The Apricot Punch is the rounder, sweeter of the three.

Sparkling Teas

Two sparkling teas are listed: the Infinitea Rooibos Sparkling Tea and the Infinitea Black Sparkling Tea. Both state less than 0.5% ABV in their product names.

Sparkling tea answers a real problem at a British dinner table: what to give the person not drinking, when a soft drink is too sweet to sit through three courses. Tea brings tannin, and tannin is what makes a drink work with food. The rooibos is the softer of the two; the black tea the more tannic.

Alcohol-Free Wine

The Kühling Zero Winery is described on its own label as alcohol-free. It is also listed with the white wines at vomFASS UK, which is where it is best understood: it is there to be poured at a table where other people are drinking wine.

Alcohol-Free or Low Alcohol: Check the Bottle

In the United Kingdom, alcohol-free and low alcohol are separate, legally defined descriptions with different thresholds, and a drink can be very low in alcohol without qualifying as alcohol-free. If you are avoiding alcohol completely, a collection name is not the thing to rely on. The label is. Of the products here:

• The Kühling Zero Winery is the one that states alcohol-free on its own label.
• The two Infinitea sparkling teas state less than 0.5% ABV in their names, which is a stated figure rather than a claim of alcohol-free.
• For everything else here, including the products named Zero, check the product listing and the bottle before you buy. Zero is the name of a range, and a range name is not a legal declaration.

Non-alcoholic drinks are made either without alcohol from the start, or with the alcohol removed or reduced to almost zero. Those are different routes that land in different places, so if it matters to you, the bottle is the only thing that settles it.

About vomFASS UK

vomFASS pioneered the refill concept in 1994, and the model came to Britain from Germany, where the name means "from the barrel". Empty vomFASS olive oil, balsamic vinegar and spirit bottles can be brought into the Stamford shop in Lincolnshire and refilled from the cask, the model vomFASS has run on for over 30 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What alcohol alternatives does vomFASS UK sell?

Fourteen. Seven are the Zero range: Basil Smash Zero, Spritz Zero, Hugo Zero, Longwood Zero Gin, Pornstar Martini Zero, Limoncino zero and Vermouth Zero. Three are the Calamansi Elderflower Shrub, the Mango Mint Shrub and the Apricot Punch. Two are Infinitea sparkling teas stating less than 0.5% ABV. One is the alcohol-free Kühling Zero Winery, and one is the Quadra Set 2 vinegar gift set.

Which of these are alcohol-free?

The Kühling Zero Winery is the product that states alcohol-free on its own label. The two Infinitea sparkling teas state less than 0.5% ABV in their names, which is a stated figure rather than a claim of alcohol-free. For everything else here, including the products named Zero, check the product listing and the bottle before you buy. In the United Kingdom, alcohol-free and low alcohol are separate legally defined descriptions, and a range name is not a legal declaration.

What is a shrub?

Shrub is an old name for an acidulated fruit drink. Sharpness is the point of it: a shrub gives a drink the sour edge that would otherwise come from alcohol or from a lot of citrus. The Calamansi Elderflower Shrub and the Mango Mint Shrub are the two here.

What can I serve someone who is not drinking at dinner?

A sparkling tea is the most straightforward answer, because tea brings tannin, and tannin is what lets a drink work alongside food where a sweet soft drink struggles. The Infinitea Black Sparkling Tea is the more tannic of the two and the rooibos the softer. The alcohol-free Kühling Zero Winery is the other option if you want something poured from a wine bottle.

The Quadra Set 2 vinegar gift set is also grouped into this collection, alongside the drinks above.