Anonymous wrote:With you! Last year's thread helped me tremendously.

+1

I started 2 days ago and feel better already. I definitely experienced a creep wrt drinking this year. Trying to nip it in the bud.

My first DJ -- so glad this thread is here to help! I'm actually on Day 4 already, thanks to a bad post-holiday cold. Got a healthy head start.

I went to Total Wine today (on New Year's Eve no less) and bought 4 different bottles of N/A chardonnay. Did a tasting tonight and St. Regis definitely won. Not wine, but if you chill it well, close your eyes, pinch your nose and drink it from a big wine glass -- well, it's still not wine, but it will help get me through to post-dinner tea time.

My goal is zero alcohol until Jan 30, when good friends (and fellow winos) are coming to town. Then I'm hoping WaPo is right and I can choose to drink when I want, not every night.

I’m in!

For wine replacements, I like kombucha with pomegranate or berry flavors - I find the astringency mimics what I like in wine. I also like the cans of apple cider vinegar sparkling drinks from Trader Joe’s.

I’ll be participating this year! It feels like a reset is in order.

Anonymous wrote:Starting this thread as a support thread for those of us doing dry January. I have no social events planned in Jan so far and am training for a 10k that I will be running February, so dry January it is. Who's with me? We've got this!

I never do this, unfortunately. It's my birthday month. And this year's a big one. But I usually do "dry through MLK or second week" January.

I usually find that right after the holiday gluttony of food and drinking, I"m usually over it for awhile anyway.

Anonymous wrote:I did Annie Grace's Alcohol Experiment about three summers ago I think, and immediately stopped drinking pretty easily (after several decades of drinking, including 10 years of drinking too much!) so it can be done.

I've just read through some very positive Amazon reviews of this and ordered myself a copy. Thanks.

citrus garnish
-lemon
-lime
-grapefruit

Bitters

chili salt rims/sugar rims

Okay let's make a shopping list.

Sparkling waters
cranberry juice
Fresh lemon/limes
Mint and basil
Favorite tea- mine is Lady Grey for morning, Lavender-Chamomile for evening

What else?

Derek Brown, former owner of the Columbia Room, always has good NA recommendations, but he focuses more on handcrafted cocktails than bottled/canned options. He’s @ideasimprove on Twitter.

Athletic Ale makes a pretty good NA beer. I haven’t found a decent wine replacement.

Count me in! Recommendations for NA cocktails in a can/bottle? I’ve definitely overindulged alcohol and sugar in December so for general health I need a reset.

I posted a few years back that I find my self having a glass or two of wine in the evenings out of the need for something beyond the huge amount of water I drink all day, not for the buzz. In fact I drink slowly enough I never even feel the effects. The different taste and mouthfeel is what I’m after. I found one brand at our local wine store but would love to try others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now what? Can someone provide coping skills for the regular drinkers? Not a big cocktail/liquor person, but I enjoy wine with dinner.

Carbonated waters

100% pure cranberry juice

Agree with carbonated beverages- I drink them from a pretty glass to give the sense of a "treat." Silly but it works. Fourth year of Dry January- starting Sunday morning.

It’s my 4th year as well! I’m looking forward to it, but I always find myself overindulging the last couple weeks of December in anticipation for dry January. I would love to say that it has brought lasting moderation, but I had not. But I do like the break!

I did Annie Grace's Alcohol Experiment about three summers ago I think, and immediately stopped drinking pretty easily (after several decades of drinking, including 10 years of drinking too much!) so it can be done.

Count me in!!

YES ME TOO!! Thanks for starting the new thread.