Non-alcoholic gifts, by budget

• It feels like a treat. Good packaging, a real bottle, something they'd hesitate to buy for a Tuesday night.
• It's easy to use. Ready-to-drink cocktails and bottles that are good with just soda are more likely to get opened than a spirit that needs a recipe.
• It matches what they like. A beer drinker will enjoy a good IPA mixed pack more than a botanical spirit. A wine drinker wants wine.
• It's not a lecture. A great bottle says "I thought of you." A pile of wellness products can say something else.

A note on gift sets: there aren't dedicated boxed gift sets in our catalogue right now. What there is: multi-packs of ready-made cocktails, which make natural gifts, and bottles that pair into kits. We've built a few below.

Stocking stuffers, host gifts and Secret Santa. Prices vary by shop, and the cards show typical prices.

Ready-made cocktails

• St. Agrestis Phony Negroni is the best non-alcoholic Negroni we know, made by a Brooklyn amaro producer on its own bitter: bitter orange, gentian and clove. It comes as a pack of single-serve bottles, which makes it a perfect small gift.
• Lapo's Negroni is a lightly sparkling canned Negroni, very bitter, with juniper and bright citrus.
• Spiritless Old Fashioned is Kentucky 74 zero-proof bourbon with cane sugar, chai spice and orange zest, canned to pour over a big ice cube. One of the best non-alcoholic gifts for him if he drank bourbon, and plenty of hers too.
• Ghia Le Spritz is Ghia and soda in a can, bitter and dry.

Something to toast with

• Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Sparkling Rosé has strawberry and red currant with fine bubbles.
• Giesen 0% Sparkling Brut is crisp and dry, with pear, grapefruit and lemon.
• Ghia Le Fizz is a sparkling bottle of Ghia led by strawberry and orange blossom, tart and dry at the finish.
• Tost Rosé is sparkling white tea with elderberry and ginger, in a bottle made for toasting. It's a good choice for anyone who'd rather not drink anything wine-like.

For the home bartender

• All The Bitter Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters is a 0.0% stand-in for Angostura: cinnamon, clove, allspice and ginger. Regular bitters contain alcohol, so this is a thoughtful gift for someone who mixes at home.
• Seasn Dark Cocktail Bitters are savory and spicy alcohol-free bitters with kola nut, smoked cherrywood and star anise.
• Pallini Limonzero is zero-proof limoncello from Amalfi lemons: sweet and bright, topped with bubbles or soda.
• Martini Vibrante is Martini's alcohol-free bitter and an easy spritz base.

This is where the best single bottles are, and where most non-alcoholic spirits gifts land.

Bitter aperitifs and amaro

• Pathfinder Hemp & Root is the most amaro-like zero-proof bitter we know: fermented hemp, wormwood and saffron. It's a great gift for anyone who drinks Negronis or likes an after-dinner amaro.
• Ghia Le Apéritif is gentian, yuzu, fig and rosemary, and the bottle looks lovely on a shelf. Drink it with soda over ice.
• Figlia Fiore is rose, bitter orange and clove over white grape and ginger; pour it over ice with an orange peel.
• St. Agrestis Amaro Falso is a ready-to-pour amaro of 20 herbs, spices and citrus, in a pack of small bottles.

Non-alcoholic spirits

• Monday Zero Alcohol Gin is juniper, citrus and a warming tingle that stands in for the burn.
• Spiritless Kentucky 74 is real Kentucky bourbon with the alcohol taken out: caramel, vanilla and oak.
• Almave Blanco is distilled from blue agave by a tequila master distiller: fresh, green and vegetal.
• Monday Zero Alcohol Mezcal has a floral, peppery nose and real smoke and heat.

The Phony range

The other Phony bottles make excellent gifts for a Negroni lover. Phony White Negroni is pale, bitter and crisp, with more gentian and citrus. Phony Mezcal Negroni adds smoked nopales cactus for a mezcal-style smoke. Phony Espresso Negroni is blended with espresso and carries 100 mg of caffeine a bottle.

A non-alcoholic wine gift

For a wine lover, choose a bottle that tastes like wine rather than juice. Bolle Blanc de Blancs is refermented for natural bubbles and has a toasty edge. French Bloom Le Blanc is made as a Champagne stand-in for toasts, and French Bloom Le Rosé is dry, sharp and pale pink. For a red, Missing Thorn Red is a Napa Bordeaux blend with cassis, cedar and mocha. The NON bottles are a more adventurous non-alcoholic wine gift: each is built around two flavors on the label, like NON1 Salted Raspberry & Chamomile.

Ready-made cocktails with a story

Curious No. 1 is a bitter pomegranate take on the Negroni Sbagliato, and each bottle is two drinks. Curious No. 8 is a "Black and Blue" amaro of blackberry, blueberry and fig, with six small pours per bottle for after dinner.

For a bigger gift, give a case or build a kit.

Cases

• Figlia Fiore Frizzante is Fiore with bubbles and an extra squeeze of lemon, in a case of cans, floral and bitter.
• Casamara Alta is a Negroni-flavored soda, bitter citrus and warm spice, very dry, in a case of 12.
• De Soi Purple Lune is De Soi's richest can: black currant, tart cherry and vanilla. Pour it over ice with an orange twist.
• De Soi Spritz Italiano is a canned Aperol-style spritz.

Build a zero-proof cocktail kit

A non-alcoholic spirits gift set you build yourself is more personal than anything boxed. Put two or three bottles in a box with a printed recipe, a bar spoon or a nice glass.

The Negroni kit. Lyre's Italian Orange, Lyre's Aperitif Rosso and Monday Zero Alcohol Gin, with an orange and the recipe card below.

The G&T kit. A zero-proof gin and a couple of tonics to compare. Monday gin with Q Tonic and Fever-Tree Mediterranean is a good trio.

The Old Fashioned kit. Spiritless Kentucky 74, All The Bitter aromatic bitters and a large ice-cube mold.

The Phony trio. One each of the Phony Negroni, White Negroni and Mezcal Negroni: three takes on the same drink, side by side.

Gifts for sober people take a little more thought. For some people in recovery, drinks that look and taste like alcohol are welcome. For others, they bring back the ritual they're stepping away from. There's no single right answer, so if you know the person well, it's fine to ask.

If you're not sure, choose something that doesn't imitate a drink they used to have. Good options from our catalogue:

• Hella Aromatic Bitters & Soda or Hella Grapefruit Bitters & Soda: bitter, zero sugar, and clearly a soda.
• Tost Sparkling White Tea: made for toasting, but it's tea, not wine.
• A set of great mixers: Top Note Classic Tonic, Top Note Ginger Beer and Q Sparkling Grapefruit are good enough to drink on their own.

For a sobriety anniversary, many people prefer a gift that marks the milestone rather than a drink at all: a meal out, an experience, a good book or a handwritten note. That's their call, and yours to ask about.

Our favorite non-alcoholic gift ideas, across every budget.

If your gift is for a holiday party, our holiday party guide covers what to bring. If it's for someone starting Dry January, the Dry January guide has the full shopping list.

An alcohol-free bar makes a good experience gift: take them out for the night. A few worth the trip: