Dryanuary inspiration

A SOFT TOUCH

Want to lay off the booze for Dryanuary, but can’t face a month of sugary soft drinks? Here are some refined alternatives, all made in Cornwall.

Jack’s Kombucha Slow-fermented kombucha has been revered as a revitalising, healthsupporting elixir for over 2,000 years. Tim Orr of Jack’s describes it as "refreshing and moreish with none of the sugar crash or after taste that comes with so many soft drinks”. Produced between The Helford and River Fal, Jack’s is a delicious, feel-good fusion that deserves posh glasses. Lightly sparkling and brimming with active, gut friendly cultures, this enlivening concoction is vegan and gluten-free too. With layers of complex, fermented flavour and a tart, clean finish, it’s a satisfying hangover-free alternative to beer, wine or fizz. Unopened, it keeps in the fridge for months. jackskombucha.co.uk

High Point Drinks Launched in October by Eddie Lofthouse, founder of premium craft brewery Harbour, each High Point bottle is a month in the making, crafted without artificial flavours or colours - just Cornish spring water, tea leaves and natural ingredients. Ruby blends hibiscus, lavender, wormwood, pink peppercorn, orange and pink grapefruit zest to produce a wild herbal aroma, while Amber draws upon ginger, clove, vanilla, cacao nibs and gentian root, all cold smoked and aged for one week, producing notes of freshly stoked embers and toffee. £19.99, 70cl. highpointdrinks.co.uk Pentire Drinks Pentire Drinks of Port Isaac make botanical non-alcoholic spirits for active, healthy living. Plants native to local headlands are distilled to produce two delectable tipples: Adrift, easy-drinking with a coastal taste, herbaceous and fresh; and Seaward, invigorating with zesty and verdant notes. Add ice and tonic, or explore the list of cocktail recipes online. £26.80, 70cl. pentiredrinks.com

R-Chi Tea Archie Boscawen grew up on the UK’s only tea estate, at Tregothnan near Truro. He and the camellia bushes recently celebrated their 21st birthday, and Archie marked the occasion by creating R-Chi Iced Tea, a refreshing soft drink that not only tastes good, but also maximises the natural, antioxidant-packed health benefits of the leaves. No. 1: Earl Grey with blackcurrant; No. 2: Manuka with ginger, turmeric and lemon. www.r-chitea.com Wild Life Botanicals #BubblesWithBenefits is the slogan of this sparkling wine, ultra-low in alcohol yet ultra-high in goodness. Available in ‘Nude’ and ‘Blush’, it has just 0.5% ABV and 60% fewer calories than champagne or prosecco. One 125ml glass delivers a minimum of 15% of the daily reference intake of eight active vitamins and minerals. A 75cl bottle in a stylish gift box featuring abstracts from an original piece of artwork (Ecosystem by Sarah Trewhella) costs £15. www.wildlifebotanicals.co.uk

Doom Bar Zero The first scale 0.0% amber ale in the UK market, Doom Bar Zero is based on Sharp’s flagship bottle. It shares the same moreish and balanced character as the ‘mother’ brand, and stays true to the amber ale style with a sweet roasted malt flavour and a subtle green hop aroma. With succulent dried fruit, lightly roasted malt and a subtle bitterness, it is as deliciously moreish as its alcoholic counterpart, yet drives a new flavour profile all of its own due to its alcohol-free nature. The team spent two years fine-tuning the formula, and it paid off, winning a silver gong at the coveted World Beer Awards 2020. www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk