Pour me a Phony Negroni🍹
By Beck Henreckson, social media and membership strategist
Two weeks into Dry January and I’ve become an expert at the best dupes you can find around town for your favorite adult beverages. Whether you’re taking a break for the month, you’re fully sober or you just like to enjoy the taste without getting the buzz, here are my recommendations for drinks that both taste good and mimic the real thing!
Beer — I’ve found this category to be the easiest to find a satisfying nonalcoholic replacement — most restaurants and bars carry multiple options. For IPA lovers, Athletic Brewing Co. has two that are quite good and easy to find most everywhere. For something light, I recently enjoyed a Stella Artois 0.0, which paired especially well with salty food. My sister, who generally doesn’t care for beer, got really into Blue Moon’s Non-Alcoholic Belgian White during her last pregnancy.
Wine — Let’s get this out of the way — if you like red wine, you’re simply out of luck. To my knowledge, the technology simply hasn’t advanced that far (yet?). However, I’ve had a handful of rosĂ©s this month (shout out GlouGlou and Table Wine!) and found all of them at least passable. The best I’ve tried, by a long shot, is Eins Zwei Zero’s sparkling rosĂ© (I just ordered some of the sparkling riesling to see if it compares). Thanks to the intense bubbles, this fully feels like drinking a light, sweet prosecco. It’s delicious. I’d drink it all year round. Note: I’ve found cans at a couple restaurants in Madison, but thezeroproof.com might be your best bet to stock up…