My Search for the Perfect Booze-Free Cocktail
By Rose Simpson
As the clock chimed midnight and the year turned 2026, I prepared to enter an unknown world. After decades of drinking the wine and smelling the roses, I had decided to take a break from alcohol—to just say no to that lovely Barolo and to margaritas at the cottage.
I don’t consider myself a problem drinker. I stopped binge drinking long ago, and I can’t remember the last time I had a cocktail or glass of wine before the sun sailed over the yard arm—even at the cottage. Like many people my age, I simply looked forward to a cocktail at 4 p.m. and some wine in the evening.
But lately, I’ve been feeling my age, and decided it was time to try to give alcohol the old heave-ho. So on the first day of 2026, I began a journey towards being a non-drinker. It wasn’t hard and I’ve been able to navigate the world without the booze. I don’t go to bars, and I don’t have drinking buddies anymore. And there’s never any problem at family gatherings since most of my family doesn’t drink. In fact, I have a whole set of crystal wine glasses I rarely use because nobody wants wine with dinner.
The biggest issue I found was finding a substitute for my favourite bevvies. Most of the non-alcoholic beverages are beer-based, or too sweet for my taste. I don’t like the non-alcoholic wines, either, because they don’t leave me feeling nice and warm and fuzzy. Ditto for the pricey let’s pretend liquors. The fake rum might taste like you’re sitting at the captain’s table, but the sugar high is uncomfortable. Besides, why would I spend $60 on a fake Captain Morgan when I can just eat brown sugar out of a bag?
The grocery aisle is no better than online, with the exception of a hardy non-alcoholic Guinness, which apparently tastes like the real thing—a meal in a can. But as I said, for the most part, I dislike beer and that’s what was mostly on offer.
After sampling the many varieties at Farm Boy, I came across two terrific drinks that I highly recommend for those who are beer-adverse: Sober Carpenter Cider from Montreal and a variety of offerings from Heartwood Cidery in Acton, Ontario.
My husband raves about Sober Carpenter, a very popular company that offers an array of non-alcoholic beer. I didn’t care for Sober Carpenter cider because it was too dry and seemed to have a beery aftertaste.
But I fell in love with Heartwood’s Organic Apple Cider, which reminded me of the hard ciders I’ve tried over the years. Heartwood also makes two other sparkling waters with non-alcoholic juices: Sour Cherry Sparkle and Ontario Pear Sparkle, which are both made with sparkling water and pure organic fruit juice. What’s even better is that all versions come in between 50 and 80 calories.
Like most non-alcoholic drinks that are designed to replicate the fine notes of a great boozy drink, Heartwood and Sober Carpenter are pretty expensive. That’s because they use premium ingredients and actually follow brewing processes. If you’re lucky, you can get them on sale but otherwise they clock in at roughly $3.40 a can, which is a whole buck more than my husband was paying for his imported beer!
I found a work-around with Heartwood. By buying directly from the cidery, or joining its cider club, I can buy it for between $2-2.50 a can and it’s delivered directly to my house. The delivery charge is $15 but you can save money by buying two or three cases at a time for the same delivery cost.
The delivery is important because it’s sometimes hard to find at Farm Boy or Whole Foods.
What’s great about being a member is I also receive Heartwood’s blog, which details the ups and downs and challenges of running a cidery and farm in Ontario. During the cold snap, cider master and owner Brent Klassen detailed the challenge of having to carry the cider in buckets to a transport truck because it got stuck in the snow.
The farm also holds retreats and samplings, and sojourns into its sugar bush. Plus, a farm reveller can actually stay at the farm in one of the glamping tents nestled among the fruit and nut trees and sing old camp songs around a private campfire. What a great adventure for kids, who can hang out with the farm animals—llamas, sheep, pigs and chickens while enjoying a sobering cider experience with their parents or grandparents.
I love being part of the Heartwood crowd. But mostly, I love the exhilarating feeling of downing a cold one at 4 p.m. with no regrets.
Full disclosure: Heartwood also offers a variety of alcoholic beverages including a wassail, a wicked cider called Eve Goes Badass, and a new beverage, Forest Garden, which mixes apple cider with maple syrup.
Sounds good to me if I should fall off the wagon.
For now, I’ll stick with the cider.
