Rise of the non-drinking culture

Celebrate Sober October with cutting-edge 'low and no' aperitifs, fizz and beer

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Can you feel it? Slowly but surely, the social divide between drinking and non-drinking is narrowing...and we're engaging with alcohol-free tipples as much as we love a delicious glass of wine.

And with a buzz around mindful drinking, lifestyle choices and embracing moderation in social circles... there are a wealth of sober experiences bringing people together - and a shift in drinking habits.

"We're at this pivotal moment where not only is there a sort of societal, kind of general demand and need for it - but there are products out there now that are exceptional and incredible," says Tom Surgey, TV drinks presenter, author of How to Drink Wine, and founder of of the UK's largest nonalcoholic drinks event, Parched.

"And so what excites me, as someone who both works in and drinks alcohol; and has enormous amounts of time when I don't drink, I'm a massive nonalcoholic drinker as well... I definitely fit into both camps."

He continues: "For me, the thing about no and low is to be able to go and have incredibly complex, really exciting drinking experiences; but once you finish with them, you don't have the hangover of alcohol."

Indeed, Surgey says the number of times he says: "Hey, I'm out tonight, but no thank you, I'm not actually drinking... I'll have a Guinness zero [alcohol] or Botivo, whatever it might be, and the amount of people who say: 'What's that? I thought you'd be limited to an elderflower cordial or sparkling water.'

"It's like, God no!" says Surgey. Chatty and fun, the presenter says the last thing he wants to do is go out for dinner, everyone's sharing a lovely bottle of wine, and be sitting there drinking a sticky sort of cordial. "Like absolutely not."