Like many of us, last year I got into the routine of a regular glass of something of an evening to unwind at the end of the working day, or to relax on the weekend. Lockdowns, tiers, lack of social contact, lack of anything better to do in general and working from home, combined with more daily exercise, all gave me a good reason to treat myself of an evening (thank goodness I didn’t have to home school, I would probably have started at 10am!).
But as these treats started to border on most nights, I saw Dry January as a good way to re-set and start the New Year on a healthier footing. Having never done it before (usually we have our Christmas party in January so there was little point) it all seemed like an excellent plan and perfectly achievable – it is only a month after all. Then of course came lockdown 3, sadly we lost my Grandma to Covid and had to postpone our wedding for the third time, whilst in happier news we took on a Spiced Rum client who was kind enough to send samples, but still I stood strong, convinced that it would be a slippery slope back, should I give in now.
As the end is in sight, I am proud to say that I didn’t waver (nor do I intend to). Don’t get me wrong, I will be returning to my Sav Blanc, G&T and even the odd smokey whisky, but I plan to try to make them more a weekend thing from now on (like they used to be). What I have discovered during this January are a few decent alcohol replacements including: Heineken 0.0, McGuigan Zero Sauvignon Blanc, M&S Alcohol Free Rose and Prosecco and Ceder’s and Cotswold’s gin alternatives, a mixture of which have seen me through Zooms and winter evenings in (as if there is any other kind these days!). So, should you feel like cutting down or even cutting out booze, the good news is there are now some pretty passable options on the market since the low & no trend really got into its stride. Here’s to week night sobriety made easier and weekend treats in 2021!
