Stop Drinking

Bitters, soda, and lime is a good slow it down intermittent n/a drink that every bar has. And it looks like a regular drinking. I stopped drinking for a few years and it was my go-to.

Man, being single and not drunk when I was out socializing was good times. Paying zero dollars and not being hung over even if I stayed up all night was wonderful. I could go to another city, stay up til 4am, drive home, sleep for 6 hours, and still have a full day left when I woke up, with money in my pocket.

Now if I stay out I am worthless for at least a day, anxious, and kinda annoyed with how expensive it was. Luckily I don’t go out often anymore.

My go to is usually club soda when I’m out and SodaStream at home. I don’t like mock tails because I don’t want the sugar and could care less what other people think of me being sober. Most bartenders don’t even charge you, but I tip as if I was drinking.

This is just my personal experience, but drinking less was worse for me than drinking more. It can take 10 days for alcohol to leave your system so if your going to have drinks more frequently than that you’re just punishing yourself with constant withdrawal and anxiety cycles. After reading This Naked Mind it really changed my views on alcohol and I realized I was way better quitting entirely. I’m over five years sober and don’t regret a single day.

I really want to be able to enjoy myself regardless of how drunk I am, but I do like the variety of flavors when it comes to drinks. Do you guys have any suggestions for NA/low alcohol drinks?

If flavors is your thing then try to find a canned water that you like. "Liquid Death" makes some fantastic flavors, and they come in "tallboy" cans. There are tons of mocktails, try those out to.

If you want to drink less the easiest way is to not take the first drink,.

If to switch to gin or vodka and soda, get them in tall glasses rather then shorts.

This way you start hydrated through the night, and being a larger class you won't drink them as fast.

Craft non-alcoholic beers. Everything from IPA's to Sours to Lagers taste pretty similar these days.

There is also a good selection of mocktails - gin & tonics, rye & cokes, mojitos, etc that have come on the market in the last couple years that taste surprisingly similar to the real thing.

Kombucha and tepache. Both are fermented drinks so they have a tiny amount of alcohol (usually not enough to be labeled as "alcoholic," although lightweights can get tipsy off it after multiple pints). I drink but have family members who don't, and they're my go-to substitute.

Both have fizziness like beer and a sour/tart/astringent edge that's a little like the cut of alcohol, so I think they share more in common with "hard" drinks than "soft" ones in terms of taste and mouthfeel. Tepache is similar to pineapple-based cocktails. Kombucha can range in similarity to a variety of drinks depending on the brand, flavor, and how old the drink is (I think they turn more alcoholic-tasting over time, sometimes even turning a little skunky like an expired beer). Most kombucha is similar to fruit ciders, with some of the sweeter ones approaching cocktails. Some of the less fruity ones are similar to beer, especially the hops-flavored ones (e.g. Townshend's citrus hops). The honey-based ones are close to mead (e.g. Huney Jun). There are also kombucha sodas that have a bit more sugar, but way less than regular soda, which makes it a much healthier substitute (e.g. Live Soda). Homebrew kombucha tastes even more like an alcoholic drink, with the caveat that it might actually be alcoholic if it wasn't brewed properly! For a safer bet, find someplace that has it on tap: here in the Pacific Northwest where kombucha is especially popular, I've seen it on tap at brewer headquarters/taphouses, grocery stores, and even some bars (if they're not great about cleaning their keg lines then it will really taste like alcohol!) But if you can't find it on tap, bottles or cans will do just fine; cans especially are great if you're missing the sensation of popping open a tallboy, but pouring a bottle into a pint glass will also produce a similar sensation IMO.

Alternatively, I've had success at bars requesting virgin-ish cocktails that include bitters. Reduces the alcohol content without completely eliminating it, plus you get to really experience the taste of the bitters without overwhelming it with hard liquors. Plus it can give a fun challenge to the bartender, which some appreciate and others find obnoxious (they'll probably be more into it if you go on a slower day/time). If you're out at a bar, do tip as if you were drinking; the same effort was put into procuring your drink after all.

EDIT: forgot to add, if what you miss is trying new drinks, Asian markets have you covered! East and Southeast Asia have a large range of drinks very different from what those of us in North America are familiar with: we're talking fruit- yogurt- tea- aloe-based drinks, as well as what can only be described as sugar-based (e.g. ramune). The best stuff is usually in the refrigerated section.

kombucha, exotic sodas (local/imported), drink shit loads of water - also ice teas, bobas. There are so many drinks out there to try, once you start looking.

There’s loads of non/low beers out there too. Order a mixed 6 pack online somewhere to get the variety.

Good luck, btw - you can do it!

Budweiser zero has more flavor than bud light imo

La croix. Has substantially reduced my drinking. Having something in my hand, carbonated, a little flavor but not much, all contributed to reducing my drinking.

topo chico it's crisp and refreshing.

I occasionally have to go out to bars with my wife's and my friends. Almost every bar carries non alcoholic beer around me in Northern Rhode Island. We found a great place that has Guiness 0.0. I love that stuff.

When the available na beer is crap, and there are no mocktails, my go to is a soda water with cranberry and a lime.

I like to blend in and have something in my hand when I'm out.

Craft NA IPAs are really getting yummy. Athletic Brewing company, Lagunitas are the first that come to mind. And I just had NA Coors last night, it was great - tasted like the real thing, made me nervous for a second after the first sip

Thank you all for your suggestions. I've tried a few of them so far and have been great!