Last year 6.5 million people took on the biggest Dry January to date. As we welcome 2022, the month continues to grow and many take it as an opportunity to assess their relationship with alcohol and take a break from the effects on both body and mind. 

Launched in collaboration with Alcohol Change UK to raise awareness around alcohol harm, 200,000 children in England live with an alcohol dependent parent with alcohol costing the NHS £3.5 billion in England each year. We are not against alcohol, but we are against alcohol harm.

For us, Dry January is also the perfect month to experiment with new alcohol-free spirits, mixers, garnishes and cocktails while having the perfect excuse to make them for friends and family too (like we needed an excuse)! You can officially wow them with all the flavours out there with more people sober in January than any other month in the year. 

Mocktails are doing just that. Wowing everyone, one cocktail at a time. Named as the official cocktails of Dry January for 2022 and in JOMO Club’s Dry January Box (it’s almost as if it was planned or something!) members tried three of the four varieties - Mockscow Mule, Mockarita and the Mockapolitan.

The Mockscow Mule is made using Sicilian and Argentinian lemons giving the drink a slightly tart flavour with a kick of ginger. The Mockapolitan is a sweeter drink with cranberry, juniper and citrus. The Mockarita has flavours of limes and oranges running through it. Pick the cocktail that suits you the most or perhaps get the whole range in for a night with friends with the addition of the fourth Sansgria. 

Launched in 2018 by ex-Wall Street Executive, Bill Gamelli and two co-founding partners, the three families had all experienced lack of alternatives to alcohol at social occasions first hand. Looking for something that ticked the health box, they also wanted a sophisticated flavour profile. They wanted to make social drinking more inclusive and fun for non-alcohol drinkers. The three founders decided to create some options and started by creating their own small-batch mixology-inspired drinks which replicated traditional cocktail flavours. 100% natural, premium ingredients. 

So, what is the secret to a ‘good’ alcohol-free cocktail?

Mocktails shared with us ‘a well-balanced drink in terms of flavour profile that isn’t too sweet. So many alcohol-free drinks are overloaded with sugar to replace the alcohol. Our products are also non-carbonated, providing greater flexibility to create other recipes using our drinks’.

As we know, everybody’s tastes are different. Some people adore ginger and some people hate it. Could ginger be the new marmite? *goes off on a tangent*. However, is there a perfect occasion for each cocktail? 

The Mockscow Mule pairs perfectly with Indian food/spicy food and is a great tipple to enjoy with dinner any night of the week. It won gold in The Spirits Business Low & No Masters blind tasting this year. The Mockarita is great for parties and with friends. Serve with Mexican food and wow. It picked up silver in the same awards. The Sansgria is great for the Summer!

We also wanted to find out whether Mocktails have seen an increase in the number of people participating in months such as Dry January and Sober October, ‘Yes, we’ve seen an increase for sure, but actually sales of our products are strong throughout the year as a result of people not just abstaining or moderating for a month but actually continuing throughout the year and limiting their alcohol in-take. Like Alcohol Change, we aren’t against alcohol but we are against alcohol harm. We think more people will sign up and download the Dry January app this month’.

To enjoy, all you have to do is choose your favourite flavour, pour into a shaker over ice, shake for 6 seconds, strain into your favourite glass and garnish. Voila.

Our friends at Mocktails also let us in on a little secret. They'll be launching Mocktails in cans this January too.

If you missed the Dry January Box, you can try the entire Mocktail range on their website at drinkmocktails.co.uk. You can also follow their journey for some Dry January inspiration as the official cocktails of Dry January @drinkmocktails