Over alcohol? Here’s HerCanberra’s ultimate guide to our favourite alcohol-free tipples and where to find them
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Was 2025 the year you drowned your sorrows, maybe to excess? We don’t blame you. But if you are sober-curious or even just want to swap a few drinks for the non-alcoholic kind in 2026, we are here to make things easy.
A couple of years ago, I went cold turkey alcohol-free and outlined the reasons here. Meanwhile, our content creator Sammy doesn’t drink and our beloved founder Amanda is happy to take breaks in Dry July and drinks less than she used to.
As many of you may have already read, when I stopped drinking back in October 2021, I never put a date on how long I would stay off alcohol. Now I would definitely call it a lifestyle change rather than a temporary break.
So in the spirit of collaborative journalism, and in anticipation of some of you making a New Year’s Resolution to drink less in 2026, I have made some new discoveries on my alcohol-free journey and want to share them with you in our updated guide to alcohol-free options in Canberra.
This is also a celebration of all our local barmen and women who are diversifying their cocktail menus to offer low Alcohol by Volume and Alcohol-Free drinks, not to mention some inventive Australian producers also making taking a break from alcohol easier for all of us (including some stellar local ones) here’s a list of what we like:*
*This is by no means an exhaustive or even slightly scientific list! It is based entirely on personal taste and a good couple of years trying to sip as many non-alcoholic cocktails as we can. You are welcome. Hopefully you can enjoy a dry month or year yourself, or even just swap a couple of alcohol-free days into your existing routine.
Canberra cocktails with all the excitement but none of the headache
Award-winning barman Soumi Tannous from Bar Beruit remains the man to see if you are gagging for a cocktail but trying to stay sober. His mastery of flavour profiles and botanicals means he produces amazing alcohol-free concoctions, including a brilliant espresso martini and a mango mojito worth getting excited over. He’s also up for a challenge, so if you tell him what you like, he can whip up the alcohol-free version or as close to as you can get.
Soumi Tannous at Bar Beirut. Photo credit: Zachary Griffith
Similarly, another internationally-recognised barman with a genius for making things taste divine with or without alcohol is Volstead Repeal’s Stu Inger. Just ask him to mix you something special, sans the alcohol and you may be surprised at how good it tastes. We love the Boston Tea Party, using a tea base, verjuice, strawberry and vanilla–think a soft, fruity martini.
Stu Inger’s Boston Tea Party at Volstead Repeal. Photo by Pew Pew Studio
I was absolutely blown away by the inventive elixirs available for the non-drinkers at Raku. My new favourite is the Shobu’s Delight which is legitimately the most beautiful drink I have drunk in quite some time. Combining butterfly pea syrup, aloe vera, lemon, and coconut milk, it is a completely different experience to the clear, fizzy and fruit-based drinks I am usually served. But you know what? I simply love it. I also noted with delight the mocktail menu includes not just this, but six other thoughtfully concocted drinks.
Raku has one of the best and largest mocktail menus in the city and I can vouch for them all! Photo by Ashley St George
At one of our favourite team lunches earlier this year, Sammy discovered the joy of Koto’s Zen Ringo mocktail, a delicious and surprising mix of Granny Smith apple, wasabi, white chocolate and mint – carbonated! The whole team couldn’t stop talking about it so maybe they need to go into commercial production…
Koto’s Zen Ringo
The Inn at Ainslie has a solid respect for non-alcoholic diners, even though the restaurant sits on top of a bustling pub! Not only stocking Altina Sparkling wines and Heaps Normal beers, but they also have mocktails that include the Yuzu and Verjus Highball, and the Sicilian Spritz. But our award for best drink goes to the house-made Blood Orange soda that tastes every bit as good as it sounds. This is another one I would like made in take-home batches!
Trust the QT Capitol Bar and Grill to deliver the best AF mojito in the city. Honestly, it’s hard to pinpoint where the alcohol has gone in this tangy take on the classic. It tastes disconcertingly close to the real thing.
Capitol Bar and Grill’s alcohol-free Mojito.
Monster unsurprisingly creates botanically complex cocktails that come out looking picture-perfect and make the drinker feel part of the party.
Keeping spirits high at home
Tomas, the fabulous barman at Shaw Estate introduced us to Crodino earlier in the year, and it shot to the top of our list as favourite mocktail material. The only problem is it is so popular it is very difficult to procure! Developed in Italy in 1965, this is an Aperol spritz without the alcohol but with all the summery, orange bitter vibes. Truly the closest you can come and perfect with a slice of orange and an ice cube. You can find this for sale at DeVINO in Woden or online at Dan Murphy’s when they have stock! Worth the hassle to track it down (she writes, knowing full well that it’s only going to be harder to get her hands on it once the word is out!).
Crodino is so delicious, it’s hard to stop at one. But then again, why would you?
In terms of grabbing a can out of the fridge for a pre-dinner drink, we cannot go past Notting Hill Stroll’s G&T, premixed and ready to go. This doesn’t taste exactly like a gin and tonic, but it has a lovely citrus flavour and enough bitterness to make it interesting. We have it in a large glass with crushed ice and a slice of lemon.
Started by two Aussies based in the UK, Lyre’s is a popular pick for providing the sort of complex spirit experience with none of the alcohol. We love the summery vibes of the Italian Spritz, the London Pink Spirit and the Aperitif Rosso. They also have lots of pre-mixed can options available.
Fizz without the Fuzz
HerCanberra resident TikTok queen Georgie introduced us to the most fabulous AF champagne alternative last year and many, many bottles of the Beechworth Sparkling Honey Nectar drink have been consumed in our household as a consequence. This is my favourite “bubbly” for its fine bead and not overpowering fragrance of honey. Also, it is not too sweet despite the honey base. Even committed alcohol drinkers (i.e., my husband) finds it pleasant to drink over lunch if it feels too early to crack out the real stuff. Serve extra cold! And at $51 for six bottles, this is a virtual steal (please tell us why so many non-alcoholic drinks are priced around the same mark as their alcoholic counterparts???)
Lyre’s is so good you may need to sip twice to make sure you haven’t picked up someone else’s Aperol Spritz.
Amanda is partial to Polka Sparkling and De Bertoli Fizzero both of which come in Sparkling Rosé. Plus Minus Prosecco is also fun and great to mix with your faux spirits. Look, it’s not the same as uncorking a bottle of Veuve, but it is refreshingly indulgent in a temperate way, if you get our drift.
Wine without Whining (the next morning)
We have to be brutally honest from the outset and admit that not all wine or champagne substitutes work, and it really has been a hit-and-miss affair as we have experimented our way through several brands. But just as alcohol tasting is subjective, so too is sampling non-alcoholic wine. Here’s what does pass the taste test for us.
Sometimes you want to sit down with a beautiful wine glass and sip on something cold and dry. Paradox is one of a number of worthy zero alcohol wines on the market.
Established in Canberra in 2018, we have relied on Altina’s pre-mixed cans over summer, and the La Vie en Rose is a lovely floral experience either in its own or used as mixer with a splash of Lyre’s if you want to make a cocktail. We also enjoy the Sangria in the colder months which gives more of a complex red wine substitute feel if you like the idea of sipping something from a wine glass.
Edenvale has also proven to be a fairly reliable brand, and its Shiraz is a reasonable accompaniment to a cheese platter on a chilly night.
We have also enjoyed Paradox’s Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc despite those varieties not being our usual choice in an alcoholic version. Sadly, neither of us has come across a beautiful buttery chardonnay that doesn’t contain alcohol and which would really be the holy grail. But we will keep searching.
Finally, while none of us at HerCanberra are too into beer, Heaps Normal really does have a good reputation for providing that refreshing beer experience with none of the after-effects, and Capital Brewing has just released its first full-flavoured non-alcoholic beer: ALC-LESS.
Meanwhile, Out Here Beer, from the Southern Highlands, gets the thumbs up from resident beer drinkers in our household for being the most authentic-tasting beer without the grog in it!
Keen (as AF) to go dry?
Hopefully, some of the above provides inspiration for you to consider a long or short break from alcohol. No judgement either way, but it has been really heartening to see some of our top restaurants embrace zero alcohol cocktail lists as a matter of course, while more grog shops are opting to provide non-alcoholic wines, spirits and beers, among their shelves.
If this article raises any issues for you, you can contact the National Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline, or find free support online, such as at Hello Sunday Morning and counselling online, or join support groups in your area, such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Main Image of Volstead Repeal by Pew Pew Studio
