Dry January: The best mocktails around Manchester this month

Officially listed at #59 in the 2022 Perrier World’s Best Bars rankings – the first British bar outside London to make the top 100 since 2008 – smash-hit art deco speakeasy Schofield’s offers a dedicated ‘Temperance’ menu of elegant mocktails, with elevated booze-free classics including the Virgin Mary, Frosty Toddy and Club Tropicana.

Featuring alcohol-free adaptations of their entire cocktail menu, South American small plate and ceviche specialists Peru Perdu are set to offer a ‘No and Lo Cócteles’ mocktail selection which includes timeless classics like the Manhattan and Sidecar alongside the Fino Highball their signature Chinola Picante.

Part of the Marriott hotel network, Moxy’s lavish bar serves a mocktail menu in collaboration with acclaimed non-alcoholic spirit brand, Lyre’s. Starting at just £6, visitors can enjoy the Amaretto Sour, Espresso Martini and Amalfi Spritz, whilst even shots of alcohol-free spirits will be available from £2.50, including London Spirit, Amaretti, American Malt and Agave. While developed as a Dry January menu, the selection is set to become a permanent part of the Moxy experience.

Cane and Grain’s ‘eccentric and experimental hideaway with full table service’, Science + Industry invites guests on a temporal drinking journey with a conceptual menu split into three parts – Past, Present and Future. Each section features six cocktails, one of which is zero-ABV, from the Past’s Temperance-tini to the Future’s zesty, complex, juniper-infused Old Man and the Sea.

Built upon the ethos of the simple yet sublime namesake cocktail, Blinker’s winter drinks menu includes three gorgeous non-alcoholic options made with unfussy yet ingenious ingredients, including a South American-inspired agave and lime mocktail – the Adios Tommy – a Cinnamon Martini and a fruity Zero Americano.

Operating in Ancoats as ‘El Gato Negro’s younger sibling’ since September 2018, Cutting Room Square tapas masters Canto offer an intricate fruit punch, a virgin Pina Colada and a Basil Limonata as faultless non-alcoholic pairings for their fresh, seasonal small plates.

Alongside their ludicrously good-value ‘bottomless curry for £20’ weekday offer, Zouk boasts one of Manchester’s most extensive mocktail menus, which includes four fruit-based reformulations of a Mojito, a Cosmopolitan, a Strawberry Daiquiri, a Berrytini and more.

Beloved nationwide for post-work debriefs and anniversary aperitifs alike, The Alchemist offers an enormous year-round mocktail menu in line with its urban ubiquity across the country. With an emphasis on providing mixological ‘theatre’ across its selection, The Alchemist serves zero-ABV classics like the Virgin Pornstar and Cos-No while swapping booze for neurological relaxants with the CBD Spritz and the Goodrays Raspberry & Guava.