You aren’t supposed to drink wine, beer, or spirits — and you’re told to avoid caffeine and even many herbal teas, too! So what can you drink?
Non-alcoholic beer
Saying that any wine or beer is non-alcoholic is a bit of a misnomer since both can sometimes contain trace amounts of alcohol. Beers typically contain less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) in the U.S., which means you’d have to drink nine O’Doul’s to equal even one regular beer.
German-brewed Clausthaler Golden Amber and Buckler by Heineken are two that taste close to actual beer. BeerAdvocate lists 364 low-alcohol beers — one for nearly every day of the year! — at beeradvocate.com.
Sophisticated soft drinks
There are plenty of delicious non-alcoholic beverages to choose from at your local grocery store. Since you’re spending so much less on alcohol (right?), you might as well splurge a little on fancy ginger beer or sparkling lemonade.
And if you’re watching your sugar or calorie intake, check out the DRY line of sodas, available in flavors such as lavender, rhubarb, vanilla bean, juniper berry, blood orange, cucumber, ginger and Rainier cherry.
DRY’s inventor — a mother of four — was inspired to create the low-sugar sodas because she missed the ritual of pairing wines with meals during her pregnancies. Find retailers (including most Holiday stations) and explore food pairings at drysparkling.com.
Fentimans, a botanical brewer based in the United Kingdom, meanwhile, has an interesting selection of beverages that taste a bit alcoholic even though they aren’t, including an indulgent Dandelion & Burdock, a refreshing Rose Lemonade and a splendid Mandarin & Seville Orange Jigger.
‘Whiskey’ sours and beyond
When it comes to making your own mocktails, you have plenty of options, including using ginger ale or iced tea used in place of whiskey in your favorite whiskey sour recipe. Florida-based ArKay, meanwhile, sells an alcohol-free whiskey (online), and it actually isn’t too bad — slightly spicy with a hint of cinnamon.
And with all the inventive and flavorful mocktail recipes out there, you may find you don’t even miss alcohol.
Non-alcoholic wines
These pregnancy-friendly beverages have come a long way in recent years. Sutter Home’s Fre line boasts a variety of reputable bottles, including reds, whites and a rosé. Ariel’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, meanwhile, have received rave reviews for their likenesses to real wines.
And you don’t have to drink them straight: Check out the wine-based mocktail recipes by The Liquid Muse — Natalie Bovis — at frewines.com, including a berry-basil mojito with Fre’s non-alcoholic rosé, basil and strawberries.
Then there’s MADD Virgin Drinks’ alcohol-free wines, virgin margaritas and mojitos and an award-winning craft lager, all sold online with 5 percent of the proceeds donated to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
