Dry January is working! Why'd I wait?

Lietchi

In Belgium, 'we' are very attached to our alcohol consumption but we have a similar initiative to Dry January here called 'Tournée Minerale'. It's a play on words since 'Tournée générale' means buying a round of drinks for everyone, and 'minerale' as in mineral water.
The fact that it's in February instead of January, so we can first indulge at all those new years parties and receptions, shows how much we like our alcohol :-p

I drank sparkling wine three days in a row recently to celebrate the new year, and yet again my running performance suffered. Yet again convincing me that my average of 2 or 3 drinks per month is more than enough. But it's not easy to replace sparkling wine with something similarly festive yet non alcoholic. At the latest reception there was a nice alternative though, that I knew existed but hadn't really tried: Crodino, a bittersweet aperitif that you can mix with sparkling water. The spices in it are completely lost on me (I don't have a sense of smell) but it's refreshing and not overly sweet.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@mtaratoot Did you say you're in Bend? It sounds like a mecca for microbrews, including AF. I'll have to go visit my family there someday.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@Lietchi : So interesting to hear something about another country and another language! Thanks for sharing. The tradition of wine in Europe is very deep. I also love Belgian-style beers-- delicious!

The thought that "alcohol is good for you" was completely entrenched in the 1800s. Tobacco, too. My family history was full of that sentiment, and prior generations had a lot of strokes. We figured out the risks of smoking in the 50s (and really earlier, but it took a while to sink in). The recent news that alcohol has almost no benefits at any dose is rather revolutionary. Of course, moderate drinking is enjoyable and presents very moderate risk (it's very hard to measure the risk, in fact). And, younger people tolerate alcohol much better than older. I think my particular success this year has to do with being 60+. I really didn't notice it in prior years.

mtaratoot

@Lietchi
I am going to see if I can find Crodino locally. It looks like a perfect addition to my pantry!


@Jthanmyfitnesspal
I am in the Willamette Valley, not over east of the Cascades. It is indeed kind of nuts how many breweries there are over in and around Bend. Oregon in general. The modern brewpub movement really started in Portland - "Beervana." The microbrew movement did too, with the asterisk of course is Anchor Brewing in San Fancisco; they're a bit of an anomaly. Sierra Nevada has been making good beer for a long time too. One of the longest continuously operating craft breweries in Oregon is in my city. Hardly anyone knows about it; that might be changing with new owners.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Well, here's the "me" update. I'm still not drinking alcohol, but I got a little cold this week and it derailed my exercising. But, I've still been dropping weight all week. Some of it is probably muscle. I hope some is fat!

COVID is not the only germ out there. After two years, I think I'm an easy target! I'm also a wimp and I stop exercising at the first sign of a cold.

mtaratoot

I got to try the Lagunitas N/A IPA. So far I think it's the best one I've tried. I also had a Clausthaler "Dry Hopped." I had tried a Clausthaler a LONG time ago, and it wasn't much to write home about. I was pleasantly surprised. It's sort of a dark lager style, and it actually has decent flavor.

I still think the Lagunitas may be even better than the Sober Carpenter. More tests to follow.

tomcustombuilder

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

The group that hates non-drinkers the most appears to be waiters. When I told a waiter recently that we were an AF table, he shouted "you guys are no fun!" We should have left.

Lol, and usually half the tab can be alcohol and seeing how tips are generally calculated on tab total the one having no fun is the server when they see their nightly take.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@tomcustombuilder : It is an odd historical relic that we pay waiters partially via gratuity.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Another "me" update: My wife and I celebrated Valentine's day with some fancy drinks at our favorite bar. We had a great time! I accomplished 6 dry weeks, had a celebration, and now I'm shooting to stay very light on the alcohol until I get my additional 12 lbs off. That's going to take me until May or so, when I tend to become more active, which should help me keep it off. Nice!

I have mostly recovered from the cold I had last week. I did a nice outdoor jog yesterday (50 degrees, perfect!), still at a higher pace than almost all of last year. Then I did a very successful swim today at a very nice pace. So, I haven't lost the advantages I gained since limiting the sauce. Life is still good!

mtaratoot

My local let me bring a few N/A beers in for the game since they don't sell them... yet. I asked if I could and pay them a buck each to pour them for me. They still made a profit, and the bartender still got a tip, and I got to drink beer with friends.

I left the empties so they would know some good ones to order if they decide they'll get some from their distributor and then sell them to me direct. I really don't mind bringing them, but I should bring a bunch in advance because the first one was a bit shaken after being in my lumbar pack on the walk down there.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@mtaratoot : That was very clever. I think every bar should offer AF beer.

I've often ordered what I call the "recovering alcoholic special," which is cranberry, soda, and lime. Almost every bar can make that and they can charge something for it, too. (Tonic and lime is another pretty common choice, but I don't like it that much.)

(Aside: I made the mistake of calling it the "recovering alcoholic special" one time at a bar in a group that I didn't know that well, meaning it as a joke. Hey, it was lunchtime, and not everyone was having alcohol. Another member of our party (who I didn't know at all) took that as a opening to tell me his life history with alcoholism. Some things just aren't joking matters!)

mtaratoot

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

@mtaratoot : That was very clever. I think every bar should offer AF beer.

Given that there are more choices now, and given that some actually taste OK unlike when they first became available decades ago, yes they should! I took my friend a can of PBR N/A last night because I bought some on a lark when they were on sale. He was curious. I gave it to him, and he ordered one on tap and did a taste test. He said he couldn't tell a difference, except the one in the can might have tasted "fresher." His words.

I was pleased to see that a liquor store in Flagstaff, Arizona that outfits river trips at least has one brand with several flavors available (Athletic). We are thinking it will be a good idea to pay them to deliver beverages to our group to reduce the weight in our trailer - no reason to carry that much liquid that many thousand miles when we have other important stuff to carry.

I have been using some of the "extra" calories on very good chocolate - because I can.

AnnPT77

Poking around in my pantry, remembered I had this. (Yes, it's full - it's my second bottle.)

It's not calorie free, not sugar free, and some will say it's not "clean" because there's a scary polysyllabic chemical name in the ingredients (a GRAS acidifier), but it's non-alcoholic and pretty tasty. It's intended as a mixer, the implication being that it has a fairly strong flavor undiluted, so is a potential drink-flavoring option at less than a full 2-oz, 50-cal serving. I liked it - something different.

@Jthanmyfitnesspal (or others), how did you feel about bitters, if you tried them? Maybe not your jam? (I'm used to my tastes differing from others'. 😉🤷‍♀️)

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@AnnPT77 : Thank you for the continued suggestions. I think that one looks fantastic!

Bitters are really fun, but if you're strictly AF (which I'm not) you would want to avoid them. I was shocked that Amazon would just send me them!

(The sodium bisulfite is a preservative, which could save your life from dangerous bacteria. So, it's not all bad!)

AnnPT77

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

@AnnPT77 : Thank you for the continued suggestions. I think that one looks fantastic!

Bitters are really fun, but if you're strictly AF (which I'm not) you would want to avoid them. I was shocked that Amazon would just send me them!

(The sodium bisulfite is a preservative, which could save your life from dangerous bacteria. So, it's not all bad!)

The alcohol in many/most bitters is similar to the alcohol in common vanilla extract (and other similar extracts). Given the strong flavor, the high cost, and the small bottles of any of the above, I don't think kids buying them to get drunk is a high risk in practice. There are cheaper, tastier alternatives, like ones bought by that 18/21 y/o shady friend.

The reason they're not restricted seemingly is a history thing, though:

https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/dont-buy-vanilla-extract-liquor-store

Yes, someone who needs to be totally AF would want to avoid all of that. But for most of us, the amount of alcohol in a few dashes of bitters is pretty trivial, even though it's maybe 60-90 proof.

AnnPT77

I tried another thing, supposed to be a bitters (?) soda. No alcohol, has sugar, tiny bottle is 61 calories. Way different flavor than most soda/pop I've had, but not what I'd call seriously bitter. (Note: I can eat bitter melon pretty plain as a side dish, happily.) Still too sweet for me, though. (I don't much care for sweet drinks. It might not be very sweet to people who like them.) Cute little bottle, though. Maybe nice bud vase? Just sharing the experiment for the sake of chat.


Contextual note for this next: I have improbably large hands for a woman.

Ingredients and nutrition facts . . . in Italian.

mtaratoot

@AnnPT77

Someone else posted about this, and I've been looking for it unsuccessfully.

I've just been on hold for well over an hour dealing with a financial institution. Ugh. At least the only had to put me back on hold ONE time, and at least it was less than ten more minutes. So I'm just having a decaf, some dark chocolate, and some aspirin....

Sinisterbarbie1

Crodino comes in the golden/blond version you purchased @AnnPT77 and also a rosso which is a bit more bitter. There are other companies that make the bitter version like sanbitters. They all sort of approximate a somewhat sweeter campari apertif. You can get them on amazon, or at the online italian store or find retailers through their websites. You need to mix it with a lot of ice and seltzer and add a bit of citrus. The small bottle is a concentrate. https://crodino.com/how-to-drink/
There are also premixed cocktails that use these sorts of bevereages like the Nogroni and St Agresis makes a bottled “Phony Negroni” which is pretty good. Both are like a campari and soda. Wilfred’s - a British co. - makes a non alcoholic apertif in a 750 ml bottle like this and Lyre’s makes an Italian Spritz flavor that is also this same idea. They also taste good mixed with orange bitters.

On a totally different topic, I had amazing mocktails in NYC this weekend. One was a sugar snap pea based drink. I have to figure it out for myself but it appeared to be purred sugar snaps (blitzed in a vitamix till liquefied), shot of lemon juice, shot of lime juice, NA gin, a big square ice cube and a curry leaf.

AnnPT77

mtaratoot wrote: »

@AnnPT77

Someone else posted about this, and I've been looking for it unsuccessfully.

I've just been on hold for well over an hour dealing with a financial institution. Ugh. At least the only had to put me back on hold ONE time, and at least it was less than ten more minutes. So I'm just having a decaf, some dark chocolate, and some aspirin....

Bezos. Not cheap. I assessed the price based on entertainment value, not really on food value.

I'd share with you if I could. It's OK, but not - to me - craveable.

Price-wise, it's probably good that I don't adore it. That's a slippery slope for a hedonist.

AnnPT77

Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »

Crodino comes in the golden/blond version you purchased @AnnPT77 and also a rosso which is a bit more bitter. There are other companies that make the bitter version like sanbitters. They all sort of approximate a somewhat sweeter campari apertif. You can get them on amazon, or at the online italian store or find retailers through their websites. You need to mix it with a lot of ice and seltzer and add a bit of citrus. The small bottle is a concentrate. https://crodino.com/how-to-drink/
There are also premixed cocktails that use these sorts of bevereages like the Nogroni and St Agresis makes a bottled “Phony Negroni” which is pretty good. Both are like a campari and soda. Wilfred’s - a British co. - makes a non alcoholic apertif in a 750 ml bottle like this and Lyre’s makes an Italian Spritz flavor that is also this same idea. They also taste good mixed with orange bitters.

On a totally different topic, I had amazing mocktails in NYC this weekend. One was a sugar snap pea based drink. I have to figure it out for myself but it appeared to be purred sugar snaps (blitzed in a vitamix till liquefied), shot of lemon juice, shot of lime juice, NA gin, a big square ice cube and a curry leaf.

Good info. Maybe some more future experiments, though I assume the rosso Crodino is also pretty sweet. I personally think I wouldn't want to mix this Crodino I have with soda/seltzer - for me, the flavor isn't really strong enough IMO as it is. I'll maybe try it, though. Maybe with some smoked orange bitters added?

I recently bought some other strange stuff, Thatcher's cucumber liqueur (a Michigan product) and Fernet-Branca amaro. But those are both solidly alcoholic, so unsuitable for this thread. Well, actually, no more alcoholic than traditional bitters, and the Thatcher's only 15% ABV, but still got them in a liquor store. Presumably because one uses more of those than the few dashes of traditional bitters, typically?

My holy grail would be to find something (liqueur, ideally, so off topic here) that tastes exactly like the Formula 44 cough syrup of my youth. 🤣 Man, I loved that stuff. (Modern cough products differ.) So far, green Chartreuse is the closest thing I've found, but it's not perfect. I made basil liqueur once, was hopeful, but it was frankly horrid.

The sugar snap mocktail sounds very tempting!