Those of you who have followed my blog for a long while may remember a very personal and hard-hitting blog I wrote a few years back that addressed my issues with alcohol.
My consumption of Vodka had increased to the point that it was becoming a real problem. I was drinking around 3/4 of a litre every night and the more I drank, the more I wanted.
1 Day Sober
This was pointed out to me in an intervention by my daughters, Baby Bear and Little Chick. It was the best thing that they could have ever done. I immediately did something about it, getting my doctor and work involved in the issues.
The 11th of February will herald my fourth full year of sobriety, going into the fifth.
Six Months Sober
It is my intention and belief, that I will never imbibe another alcoholic beverage in my life.
IF you would like to read the whole story, you can find it here
So, what exactly is this blog about? A boozy New Year?
Just before Christmas I was shopping in B & M and found a new non-alcoholic beer on their shelves. Bud Lime is (as you might guess) a Lime flavoured beer made by Budweiser Budvar.
It was only £1.00 for a 500 ml can so I thought I would give it a go. I grabbed a couple of cans as I didn’t know if it would be any good and there was loads on the shelf.
Four Full Years Sober
My first taste and I have to admit I was hooked!
Smooth with a citrus kick yet without that hoppy/bitter aftertaste, it was like having a lager and lime in the pub. I knew I wanted to get a few more for Christmas.
Sadly, when I went back to B & M, they were completely out of stock. I was very disappointed as until now, all the non-alcoholic beers I have tried have been very ‘realistic’ but too bitter for my taste-buds.
I decided I would have a look online and see if I could find a supplier. This was when I came across an amazing website – Wise Bartender
Alcohol Free Specialist
Spending the next couple of hours checking out the website, I was thrilled to see not only the beer I was looking for but many other Alcohol Free (AF) products too.
The website prides itself on being a family run business, offering AF beers, wines, spirits, cocktails, ciders and more online. You can even get mixers to go along with the spirits, all delivered straight to your home.
Now, since I stopped drinking I have tried a huge amount of the different spirits available, mainly Gin. Caleno, Cleanco, Tanqueray, Gordons and Everleaf to name a few.
On the whole they have been very good. However in my opinion the Gordons is the one that is most like its alcoholic counterpart and I admit I may have bought a couple of bottles for Christmas.
However I could have bought an awful lot more once I checked out Wise Bartender; Gin, Whisky, Rum, Tequila, Amaretto, Coffee Liqueur, Negroni, Aperol and Bourbon all have AF versions.
I was both thrilled and delighted at all the options available.
Wise Bartender even have add-ons available where you can get the spirits delivered with several bottles of mixer.
Perfect!
So what did I purchase?
Well I was looking for the Bud Lime and they had it in stock. It was a little more expensive than B & M, however one of the other amazing things from Wise Bartender is the more you purchase, the cheaper they get.
For example, with the Bud Lime it starts out at £1.09 a can if you purchase 1 – 5 cans.
Delicious!
If you purchase 24+ then it is only 98p a can.
Brilliant!
I put in an order for 30 cans and had a look at what else I could add to the order.
First on my list was Amundsen ‘Christmas Raspberry and Custard’ Berliner.
This was where I took a bit of punt as I had never had it before, however I liked the idea of the raspberry and custard flavourings. It was a little bit pricy compared to the Bud Lime, at £3.49 a can.
Raspberry and Custard?!?
I popped two into the order just to see what they were like, knowing that I could always order more in future.
The final item in my basket was Gunners Ginger, Bitters and Lime cocktail.
This took my fancy as an unusual combination of flavours. Priced at only £1.99 a can, I ordered just the one this time round.
Cocktail Time
I finished my order off and went through to checkout. Wise Bartender has pretty good postage rates in that any orders under £45 are £4.99 regardless of what it weighs.
However, if you spend over £45 then postage is free and takes 1 to 2 working days.
Even Better!
My order came to just £46.89 with 33 cans of AF beverages. Not a bad price at all, in my opinion.
Now, how were my purchases?
You know that I loved the Bud Lime, so that was simple.
Bud Lime
What about the other two though?
Well I have tried the Amundsen which is a lovely cloudy pink colour. Sadly, although the raspberry was very evident I couldn’t discern any custard flavouring. Saying that, it was a nice flavour with only a little bitter aftertaste so I wasn’t too unhappy with it.
I wouldn’t necessarily order it again though as I could get almost 4 cans of the Bud Lime for the same price.
Amundsen Berliner
As for the cocktail, well I took a punt on adding it into the box. I had no idea what it would be replicating so it was going to be a complete surprise for me.
In fact the surprise was on me.
The cocktail was a cloudy brown colour and had an unusual smell; quite medicinal. I didn’t hold out much hope, if I am honest.
But then I tried it and immediately loved what I was tasting.
Gunners Saint
Spicy, with a back kick of quinine like you get with tonic water. There was a toffee like taste to it which is hard to describe, however it hit all the spots with me.
In fact, I like it that much that I know I will be buying more in the future.
Oh, and the boxes arrived in less than 24 hours, which you can’t knock at all.
Wise Bartender is a fantastic website and I know that I will be using them again, probably in the not too distant future. If you need to source some AF/Non-alcoholic drinks OR fancy trying dry January without missing on your regular tipples, I highly recommend the website.
The only downside is I can see my drinks bill increasing as I try out all the different items on their website!
Till next time,
SPSG xxx
***All items were purchased by myself as were the words and opinions in this blog. This is NOT a sponsored post***