ShiftHappens

Yes cider here is apple juice unless its "hard cider".

They make hard cider, hard lemonade...yuck.

I just noticed that there are new hard sparkling waters popping up everwhere.

Glad the attraction seems to be gone for me, though if I ever do feel the need to have any of them I'll immediately know something is off with me and check myself.

Personally a "mocktail" wouldnt trigger me, as I too add pomegranate or other organic juices to seltzer all the time.

I think it would be great to be offered an interesting non alcoholic beverage

snitch

Mocktails aren't a trigger for me. Yes I did drink cocktails but not my poison and unlike wine, beer, spirits I enjoyed the taste of mocktails which was an added bonus! Well, some cocktails. The sweeter ones. I went for dinner a few months ago and had a nojiito. It was delicious. Really refreshing and zingy and all crushed ice and mint. I felt like I was having a special drink but not as in I am pretending it is alcohol kind of way. I enjoyed it and unlike my drinking days, one was actually enough! Very sweet!

I love a mocktail!

newhope01

PalmerSage

Such interesting responses, and great ideas! When I was first sober, I stayed FAR away from anything resembling a cocktail - or the ritual of making one - because it most definitely would have been a trigger for me. Now that I've been sober almost 2 years, I feel ready to think about "special soft drinks" (and I had a virgin spicy margarita once that was DELICIOUS).

Primativo

I don't find mocktails triggering personally, I love them.

I haven't drunk 0% beer though as I find little point.

joe801

I never cared for cocktails, I was a beer head then shots or just a cup with either tequila or vodka straight. I thought about NA beer then decided against it, in my mind and for me that would be me playing with fire.

Derringer

I've stuck with this advice "anything that normally comes with alcohol in it, but says "non alcoholic" should be read as "not for alcoholics".

Playing with fire for me, but if you think you can get away with it ... go for it.

MyLittleHorsie

My first Christmas sober I drank a lot of cordials with club soda, grenadine with soda. Even when drinking I would order a shirley temple or similar out to dinner with the kids. I know others have differing opinions, but those sorts of things were never considered non alcoholic versions when I was growing up and we don't push them as that for the kids. We're wearing nice clothes, going to eat a fancy dinner, fancy drinks, special desserts, alcohol is not a part necessarily.
The first Christmas, I liked pretty drinks, last year I stuck to club soda, this year, probably water... We were at a party Saturday night, DH and I were at separate tables, his table drinking, mine dry. I had a ginger ale, then water. The last couple parties my table has been overflowing, with non drinkers. Biggest, loudest, most fun table in the room, sober.

NerfThis

Mocktails aren't a trigger for me and I drank a LOT of cocktails in the past. During my drinking days, I often mixed a lot of sodas, fruit juices and cordials together to create non alcoholic drinks for myself simply because I enjoyed the taste.

I'm sure if they were a trigger form someone who values their sobriety, they'd simply not drink them.

I'll definitely be picking up a selection of non alcoholic things to mix together when I head home for Christmas!

saoutchik

I wondered that but I guess as newhope says it's basically NA in the US. A bit like Ginger Beer here I guess.

Looking on line at some photos of mocktails they do look and sound pretty good. I'm far too lazy to actually make any myself but if one was offered I'd take it.

Briansy

My solution to the problem is not to go to those parties - I never liked em much anyway and at 40 I'm kinda too old to be proving anything to anybody. So I stick to my close friends. one on ones. Maybe small gatherings at dinner where I have sparkling water or diet coke. Events with lots of people drinking: no thanks!