 Non-alcoholic drinks on test
Going to a wedding, party, office do? No need to drink lemonade
all night when there are some great non-alcoholic drinks available.
Here's how to celebrate without touching a drop of alcohol...
We put six drinks to the test, with four pregnant babyworld members offering their
opinions on which they would be most likely to take to a party while those around them
were drinking alcohol. We were looking for a special drink for a special occasion, rather than something you
might put on the dinner table every day.
The name at the end of each comment is the tester’s babyworld username. All drinks
for the test were kindly supplied by Safeway.
Sparkling elderflower made with fresh
elderflowers and Belvoir spring water. Costs around £1.57.
"An attractive looking bottle, with a very strong smell. It has a
strong and unusual, but
not unpleasant, flavour – quite nice." fiona
"Light, refreshing, fruity and fizzy – very nice." jennifertrotman
"Strange aftertaste. Definitely an acquired taste." babymaynard
"This one had a slight citrus flavour which was far more pleasant than some, which tasted
of cider." dturvey
Sparkling fruit drink with herbs
(original). Costs around £2.05.
"A lovely bottle but very disappointing contents, with a very strange melon smell and
an extremely unpleasant strong melon flavour – really quite horrible and very
disappointing since the bottle looks so lovely." fiona
"Lovely! Unusual but pleasant taste. Will definitely drink again."
babymaynard
"Distinctive taste of honeydew melon. I didn’t like it." dturvey
"Sweet, fizzy and tastes a lot like honeydew melon – very nice."
jennifertrotman
Sparkling white grape juice. Costs around
£1.42.
"Quite nice. The bottle is masquerading as champagne and not succeeding.
The
drink itself has a very sweet grape and honey smell and a very sweet and strong flavour
– quite nice." fiona
"Very grapey, not very fizzy, and very sweet – way too sweet for me."
jennifertrotman
"Very sweet and could become sickly in large quantities." babymaynard
"Not bad, but quite like cider." dturvey
Sparkling white grape juice drink. Costs
around £1.77.
"A rather boring bottle, but a pleasant smell and fresh flavour, however, a rather
average drink and not perhaps something I would buy particularly as a treat."
fiona
"Very sweet and a bit sickly." babymaynard
"Tasted like the Safeway sparkling, but not as syrupy and fizzier, so a bit nicer."
jennifertrotman
"Reminded me of cider rather than wine – not bad but couldn’t drink more than a
glass." dturvey
A lightly sparkling non-alcoholic drink
containing fruit juices, spring water and a unique blend of eastern herbal extracts. Costs
around £2.05.
"Very refreshing with a pleasant taste." babymaynard
"Hard to describe – it’s sort of fragrant, but quite refreshing, and not too
sweet." jennifertrotman
"Posh-looking bottle with an interesting fruity smell and flavour – a very nice drink."
fiona
"Lovely and refreshing – I really felt like I was about to drink a cold glass of
rosé." dturvey
Grape spritzer with lemon and elderflower.
Costs around £1.52.
"Very 80s looking bottle, with an odd fruity smell and a strong lemon flavour –
not unpleasant but surprising." fiona
"Didn’t really enjoy this one, it tasted quite artificial."
dturvey
"Smells and tastes like cough medicine!" babymaynard
"Smells like apples, tastes of grape and elderflower, is light and quite sweet but quite
nice." jennifertrotman
Top of the tests was Amé Rosé, but each of the testers had
very different opinions of the drinks. One tester praised Aqua Libra
for its melon flavour – two others hated it for the same reason!
Fiona’s favourite is the Amé: "I would personally
buy the Amé as my drink of choice. The bottle looks very much like a wine bottle
and the drink itself is very pleasant and interesting. I actually polished off the
whole bottle in an evening. I only really drink non-alcoholic drinks when I'm pregnant, usually cola, although
I think that treating yourself to something special over Christmas or New Year is a very
good idea."
Babymaynard says she would plump for the
Amé or the Aqua Libra as her drink of choice over festive periods: "I usually drink cola or sparkling mineral water when not drinking alcohol, although
at the moment my favourite tipple is fresh milk! I would definitely consider the Amé or Aqua Libra as an alternative
for celebrations. I have steered clear of alcohol so far through my pregnancy, but
might have a glass of champagne for very special occasions, even if I don’t
manage to drink it all."
Jennifertrotman says: "Normally I have to admit liking my drink, but obviously, being pregnant,
that’s gone out of the window. I do have the odd glass of wine here and there, though.
I wouldn’t normally drink a non-alcoholic drink to replace it, but when
pregnant, you don’t have much choice! These days it tends to be an apple drink or
tonic water for me. When I went off tea and coffee, diet cola went too! If I had to pick one to drink instead of wine, the Belvoir wins."
Dturvey likes Amé best. She says: "I haven’t missed alcohol in the slightest and tend to
stick to water during the daytime and treat myself to a glass of fruit juice in the
evenings. Amé's good for Christmas and New Year celebrations."
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