It’s well documented that the consumption of alcohol is declining. And this is global. Many people 50+ are starting to moderate alcohol consumption to maximise health benefits. Meanwhile younger people are drinking less. So there are structural shifts going on in the drinks market. This is having a negative effect on all the large drinks groups : companies such as Diageo, Pernod-Richard, Bacardi and Brown-Forman. Between them they own most of the major spirits and liqueur brands that you could name.
Drinking trends
You Gov notes that the proportion of UK adults who drink alcohol fell from 78% in August 2024 to 72% by December 2024, indicating a “meaningful behavioural shift.”
The Guardian reported that the average UK adult alcohol consumption dropped to 10.2 drinks per week in 2025, the lowest level since records began in 1990 and down more than 25% from the peak two decades ago.
Younger people are driving this change. 26% of 16–24‑year‑olds reported not drinking at all in 2022, up from 19% in 2011. Dry January participation doubled from 4.2 million (2019) to 8.5 million (2024), reflecting a growing interest in alcohol‑free periods.
Non-alcoholic sector is increasing
So recently I started to build my collection of non-alcoholic spirits and liqueurs. I’m keen to experiment with this new growing part of the drinks market. I have noticed that even in the last year, there is a wider selection of drink ingredients available. This is crucial to be able to develop a wide range of non-alcoholic cocktails. I’m still a long way from having the 100+ options and history that I have with the alcoholic collection but given that many of these have been around more than 100 years, the alcohol free sector has a lot of catching up to do.
Incidentally, cocktails without alcohol used to be known as mocktails. Often they still are, but the idea is now to move non-alcoholic drinks to something more adult orientated. With limited ingredient choices, mocktails often contained a range of fruit juices.
Some of the new products are intended to be non-alcoholic versions of their better known counterparts. Tanqueray makes 0% gins, Captain Morgan makes a spiced 0% rum. These are established, trusted brands encouraging you to simply swap. A fairly safe and obvious marketing strategy for them. It is relatively easy to make alcohol-free cocktails with these products as I simply swap the non-alcoholic for their traditional sister products.
In contrast though there are many other products which don’t set out to be comparable to anything alcoholic. The new brands Everleaf & Pentire with their range of plant based aperitifs aren’t a direct replacement for anything. So this requires a bit more experimentation. I look at the ingredients list on the bottle and work out what other flavours I think will complement these ingredients.
Price difference
Unsurprisingly these non-alcoholic ingredients are cheaper too than their alcoholic brethren. So making this type of drink saves you money too. That said, that’s only if you compare them with the highly taxed spirits and liqueurs. Compared with other types of non-alcoholic drinks, these alcohol-free new spirits and liqueurs are pricey. I also find that I drink more of them in a session as they’re alcohol free so the cost saving is probably eroded.
I’ll post some recipes over the coming weeks and I’ll write about some particular products.
What’s your take on non-alcoholic cocktails. Have you found any great ones? I’m always interested in new recipes. Post your thoughts or recipes to hello@middleenglandmixologist.co.uk