My Dry Bar
The leading alcohol-free review site
A couple of years ago there was an epiphany within the sober crowd … that alcohol-free drinks were boring. The choices to those who wanted to remain sober but still enjoy an alternative to beer, wine or spirit were very limited.
Suddenly a number of leading drinks brands began to create alcohol-free beers, followed by smaller craft brewers, followed by new and exciting challenging brands … and now the world of alcohol-free drinking looks a lot different … and this is where My Dry Bar comes into its own.
A quick summary
Created in 2021 My Dry Bar is the brainchild of James, a London-based entrepreneur who found that there weren’t any particular comprehensive resources that reviewed all alcohol-free drinks. Sure, there were sites that focused on beers or wine but there wasn’t a catch-all review site for non-alcoholic drinks … which is exactly what My Dry Bar is.
Featuring the latest no-bull sh*t, and honest reviews on alcohol-free drinks My Dry Bar scores each drink out of 50 on a number of factors from taste and aroma through to packaging and availability. Offering over 100 drink reviews and growing, it’s now become a destination site for those who want to know what the best tasting alcohol-free IPA beer is or where to find a tasty non-alcoholic gin cocktail. In addition to the site’s growth in visitors, there is also a burgeoning social media following across Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
So how did My Dry Bar come to be?
As mentioned My Dry Bar was created by James who wanted to enjoy the taste of alcohol (especially beer) but didn’t want the additional loss of inhibitions. As an artist, James needed to ensure he could focus even after having a few beers … so alcohol-free drinking came to be an important factor in his life. In addition, James enjoyed staying fit, regularly going on 5 KM runs, this simply wasn’t possible if he were drinking lots but alcohol-free drinking is a lot healthier with fewer calories and sometimes added vitamins and ingredients (Isotonic beers being an example).
James wasn’t alone in his thinking. Health-conscious Millennials and Generation Z are also drinking a lot less, avoiding bingeing and benders compared to their parents. Alcohol-free drinks also cater to more specific groups of people. Pregnant women can now enjoy a guilt-free drink, those who want to become tee-total have an alternative to strong liquors and even in certain Middle East countries where drinking alcohol is frowned on, drinking alcohol-free is permitted.
My Dry Bar’s success comes from the fact the content uploaded by James is genuine. The photos are taken by him and there is always an image of him drinking the drink in question. People trust the opinion of someone who has genuinely tried the beer or wine. In addition, people are more willing to subscribe to the service (there is a fortnightly newsletter) which highlights the best alcohol-free drinks over the past weeks.
What alcohol-free drinks are available?
Well, the good news for beer drinkers is that there is now a huge selection on offer from existing known brands (such as alcohol-free Guinness and Heineken) through to emerging craft and small-batch brewers from around the world such as Nirvana and Divine Brewing. You can now find literally hundreds of alcohol-free beers from across the globe (the US, UK, Germany being leading markets) across a range of types including IPA’s, pale ales, lagers, wheat beers and crazy hipster creations (see Mash Gangs collection). As expected along with the number of beers on offer there is an increasing number of alcohol-free retailers that specialise in beer (i.e. Sober Sauce) so locating and buying these beers has become a lot easier.
Although alcohol-free beers continue to dominate the market there has been great publicity around the increase in companies attempting to create alternatives to alcoholic spirits that taste almost identical to the real thing; CleanCo and Lyre’s are two example retailers of non-alcoholic spirits. Alcohol-free gin variations are the most popular but there are also some great examples of rum, vodka and even whisky.
Along with the spirits, you’ll normally need a top-quality tonic or mixer and again a number of businesses have catered to this demand by producing tonics that naturally complement the spirit. Another interesting trend is the rise of pre-mixed alcohol-free cocktails. If you are strapped for time or simply want an efficient treat for a picnic or barbeque, these handy-sized cocktails in a can are generally really tasty.
The creation (and to some extent reputation) of alcohol-free wine is still particularly challenging. In part, this is due to the amount of alcohol that needs to be removed from the wine which has a profound impact on the body and taste of the wine. There is new technology coming onto the market helping alcohol-free wine creators produce better-tasting wine but it still has quite far to go to match the quality of non-alcoholic beer and spirits.
Along with the various online specialist mentioned above, a number of leading supermarkets are beginning to stock alcohol-free varieties of drinks, generally sitting aside alcoholic products on the shelves – and there is no sign in this slowing down. Another way there has been increasing publicity around alcohol-free drinking is the advent of pop-up stores and bars which allow people to experience these drinks for free and ultimately go home with a carrier bag of beers and cocktails they’ve already tasted and enjoyed. We can expect that this trend is going to increase and if you have the opportunity to open up a pop-up store then you’ll be inundated with enthusiastic drinkers.
Future of alcohol-free drinks
At the end of the day, alcohol-free drinking is here to stay. Not only is there a demand from a health-conscious young professional customer, there is also an increase in the variety and quality of the drinks on offer. My Dry Bar is perfectly placed to offer all the advice, reviews and promotions that alcohol-free drinkers are looking for and will continue to go from strength to strength.
