Dry January Drinks: What to Sip, and How to Get Through the Month

You don’t need a 40-bottle shopping list. Pick a beer, a wine and one mixed drink you like, know what you’ll say at the bar, and you’re most of the way there.

• Dry January is a month off alcohol. The official campaign is run by the UK charity Alcohol Change UK.
• Have a plan: a default order, a stocked fridge and a one-line answer.
• “Non-alcoholic” isn’t always zero. On a US beer it usually means under 0.5% ABV.
• Safety first: if you might be dependent on alcohol, talk to a clinician before you stop.
• Easy first picks: Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA (#1 NA beer, 4.6/5) and Giesen 0% Sauvignon Blanc (#1 alcohol-free wine, 4.4/5).

Dry January® is a campaign to take January off alcohol. The official version is run by Alcohol Change UK, which owns the name, the sign-up and the resources. Plenty of people also do their own unofficial dry month.

It isn’t a medical treatment. It isn’t a test you fail if you have a drink on January 12, either.

We won’t make claims about what a dry month does for your sleep, skin or liver. Our job is the practical part: what to pour, and how to keep your social life feeling normal.

If you drink a lot, or you’ve struggled to stop before, a sudden dry month may not be the right move.

The NHS says it can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you’re dependent on alcohol, and to get medical help first if you get withdrawal symptoms.

Talk to a clinician, or start with Alcohol Change UK’s own advice, before you use this page as a plan.

Rethinking drinking more broadly? Our sober curious pages and alcohol assessment guide are better starting points. The standard drink calculator shows what’s in a pour.

This is Alcohol Change UK’s campaign, so here’s their account:

• 2011: Emily Robinson gave up alcohol for January while training for a half marathon.
• 2012: She joined Alcohol Change UK and did it again that January.
• 2013: The official Dry January campaign launched. The charity says 4,000 people took part that first year.

Want the official version and its support? Sign up with Alcohol Change UK. We’re a drinks site, not a partner or fundraiser.

Decide before you leave what you’ll ask for: a non-alcoholic beer, a soda and lime, or a bottle you already like. If the bar has nothing good, soda water with citrus is still a complete order.

The first weekend is when the fridge suddenly looks empty. Grab one beer, one wine and one mixed option you enjoy. If evenings are your usual drink time, add something caffeine-free.

“I’m taking January off” is enough. So is “I’m driving,” or no explanation at all. For more on the social side, see how to socialize without alcohol.

• On a US beer, “non-alcoholic” usually means under 0.5% ABV, not zero. Our label explainer breaks down the wording.
• Some desserts, extracts and fermented drinks have a little alcohol too.
• Swapping every drink for juice or a sweet mocktail can leave you sluggish for a different reason. Try our lower-sugar mocktail recipes.

None of this is medical advice.

Birthdays, work drinks and quiet Sundays are the usual tripwires. Decide ahead: host, go late and leave early, or skip it. A planned skip isn’t a failure.

This is a hub, not a new ranking. Every product named here is already on a live ranking, at the rank shown.

Run Wild is a hoppy IPA, not a lager. If you usually drink something lighter, scroll the rest of the beer ranking. For the nutrition side, see Is Non-Alcoholic Beer Healthy?

Cans are the lowest-effort option. If you’d rather mix, these recipes are easy places to start:

• Non-alcoholic margarita, three ways
• Non-alcoholic Moscow mule
• Non-alcoholic spritz
• Non-alcoholic espresso martini
• Virgin mojito
• Festive Christmas mocktails, if you’re easing in early

• Hop water: bitterness and fizz without the weight of a beer.
• Kombucha: an everyday fridge staple. Some fermented teas still have a little alcohol, so check the label.

Sometimes you just want something to hold at 10 p.m. Browse drinks for sleep and functional beverages. We link those as categories only and don’t claim any drink will help you sleep.

Try new sober drinks, the best non-alcoholic drinks roundup or summer non-alcoholic drinks.

A month-long break from alcohol in January. The official campaign is run by Alcohol Change UK, which launched it in 2013. Anyone can try a dry month on their own.

Alcohol Change UK launched the official campaign in 2013. Its story traces the idea to Emily Robinson, who took January 2011 off alcohol while training for a half marathon.

Sometimes, a little. In the US, a beer labeled non-alcoholic must also say it contains less than 0.5% ABV. If you need zero, read the number on the label.

No. If you might be dependent on alcohol, or stopping suddenly could be unsafe, talk to a clinician first. We’re a drinks site, not a medical service.

No. A week or a weekend is still a break. The useful part is having a plan for what you’ll drink and what you’ll say.

1. Alcohol Change UK, “The Dry January story,” for the campaign history, the 2013 launch and the first-year figure of 4,000 people. Official campaign history
2. NHS, “Alcohol-use disorder”: “It can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you’re dependent on alcohol. If you get withdrawal symptoms, get medical help before you try to stop drinking.” nhs.uk
3. Ranks and ratings come from our live pages: Best Non-Alcoholic Beers (Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA, #1, 4.6/5) and Best Alcohol-Free Wines (Giesen 0% Sauvignon Blanc, #1, 4.4/5; Noughty Alcohol-Free Sparkling Chardonnay, #6, 3.8/5).

Pick the drink you’ll actually use this month. Ignore the rest until you need it.

• Non-alcoholic beers
• Alcohol-free wines
• Canned NA cocktails
• Mocktail recipes