The 5 Nonalcoholic Drinks You Need To Stock for the Holidays

Dan Pelosi always puts out his favorite NA beverages for guests who don't drink ... and for himself.

A kitchen countertop with a mix of snacks, alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic beverages like Ghia and Phony Negroni — Simply Recipes / Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

Hosting during the holiday season is about sharing fun, festive moments with the people you love. For some folks, that means sharing a cocktail by the fire, but for others, alcohol isn’t part of the picture. Both approaches are completely valid, and the essence of hospitality—making people feel welcome and cared for—means providing judgment-free options for every guest.

New York Times bestselling cookbook author Dan Pelosi, aka GrossyPelosi, is an entertainer, but he is not a drinker. He loves hosting gatherings, and when he does, Dan says he encourages guests to bring their drinks. He also puts out his favorite selection of non-alcoholic options.

Dan Pelosi’s Pro Move: Stocking NA Beverages at Home

Dan says he’s a big fan of the current trend around hosts offering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. At the end of the day, Dan says, it’s much easier to add spirits to a delicious non-alcoholic cocktail than to come up with an NA drink on the spot when all you have is mixers and booze.

“I'm someone who's never really drank alcohol,” Dan notes. “It doesn't matter why someone doesn't drink. But, as someone who spent many, many, many nights drinking bitters and soda, the fact that you can now go into people's homes and find a bottle of St. Agrestis Phony Negroni, or you can have Ghia, it's cool that this has become an entertaining trend.”

A whole world of non-alcoholic beverages is surfacing, curated by brands like Sipland, an online marketplace for folks interested in discovering the best products in this new-ish (and nearly saturated) market.

“It makes me really happy for a lot of reasons that more non-alcoholic drink brands are emerging,” says Dan. “It’s so easy to make people happy through food and drink. It's such a privilege. It should not be something that you feel put out doing.”

A kitchen countertop with cans of Ghia, Phony Negroni — Simply Recipes / Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

5 NA Drinks To Stock On Your Bar Cart

St. Agrestis Phony Negroni: All the earthy bitterness of a classic Negroni with none of the booze in super chic bottles that will look gorgeous on any bar cart.
Calexo Cucumber Citron: Easy-drinking, fun, citrusy goodness, also available infused with THC and CBD.
Ghia Le Fizz: A little sweet with hints of strawberry and orange and a pleasantly dry finish, a great aperitif or Lambrusco proxy.
NON5 Lemon Marmalade & Hibiscus: Made with verjus (unfermented grape juice), Non’s NA wines capture those tangy wine notes and amplify them here with hibiscus. This one is especially perfect for drinking with pizza or a big bowl of pasta.
Tennyson Black Ginger: An on-the-rocks sipper that hits a whiskey note without being a whiskey proxy. Instead, it’s a bold and botanical thing all its own.