Eight Fancy Soft Drinks To Add to Your Sober October Rotation

Big Soda’s grip on the Australian soft drink scene isn’t what it used to be. Sure, while the red guy reported an uptick in sales at the end of last year, the little guys aren’t mucking around. Right now, competition for sophisticated soft drinks is fierce, with small Aussie companies putting natural and “functional” ingredients claiming health benefits (say, improved concentration) in the spotlight. The rise of locally made Yerba Maté soda – Berlin’s favourite rave drink – is another cool development.

The upshot of all this? Non‑alc beer, wine and spirits – as good as they’ve become in recent years – aren’t your only options if you’re taking a break from booze. With Sober October here again, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite “grown-up” sodas, teas and tonics to help you forget all about alcohol for a month.

BTNC

With the exclusive right to forage in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Restaurant Botanic has made idiosyncratic, native-ingredient-focused fare its signature. Restaurant beverage director Alma Pasalic, who’s already transformed Botanic’s non-alc drinks program, is taking things further with these BTNC cans. Made with hand-foraged ingredients, there’s a Bunya pine and thyme-infused cola; a grilled peach, native basil and red rose soda; and a tonic with botanicals including juniper, yarrow and lemon aspen.

Conscious Drink by Kakadu Kitchen and Ozharvest

Sometimes we take a break from booze to do right by ourselves. But Kakadu Kitchen and Ozharvest have gone booze free to do right by others. The social enterprise and Indigenous-owned bush food company's wine-ish Conscious Drink is a blend of native botanicals (lemongrass leaf, saltbush, pepperberry) plus 1.5 tonnes of blueberries rescued from landfill. For every bottle sold, Ozharvest is also donating two meals to people in need. For more of a classic soda vibe, Ozharvest’s Oh! Lemonaid, made with upcycled lemons, ginger and strawberries, is it.

The Doc by Pep and Mischief Brew

Sure, alcohol has its charm, but there’s more than one way to put some pep in your step. For fans of Dr Pepper’s elusive flavour profile, The Doc hits all the right notes. This complex soda is, of course, a wonderful mixer with your favourite spirit, with the subtle sting of Cambodian single-origin black peppercorns and plenty of citrus and cherry notes to back it up. But with so much else going on (gentian root, Turkish rhubarb, coriander seed), you won’t even miss the grog.

Indigo

Curious about botanical sodas but can’t find one you like? Well, if you’re the founders of Indigo, you go ahead and make your own. The upstart Aussie brand mixes grown-up drinks such as the citrusy mandarin, bergamot and lemon myrtle; the thirst-quenching raspberry, habanero and lime; and the floral blend of pear, elderflower and cardamom.

Junco Sparkling Tea

Sugary, tea-based drinks are a dime a dozen. But none highlight their main ingredient quite like Junco. For tea-obsessed founders Matt Tran and Dawn Liang, Junco is a way to share the importance of tea in Chinese culture, while offering something delicious and accessible for drinkers as a stand-in for wine or soft drink. Two sparkling teas (a honey orchid red black tea and a jasmine pearl green tea) are enhanced with white grape juice but, truly, tea is the star of the show here.

Lore Gurbuchi Native Probiotic Sodas

For many First Nations people, guradji has long been used for its medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties, while today, the leaves are considered an antioxidant-rich superfood. For its line of interesting sodas, Lore pairs the native plant with gut-friendly probiotics (courtesy of kombucha) and a stack of native botanicals. Flavours include Kakadu plum and wurrganyga leaf; lilly pilly and strawberry gum; and lemon myrtle and finger lime.

Ordinary Soda

Ordinary Soda skews more adult with its flavours – combining botanical extracts with real squeezed juice and just the right amount of raw sugar for a lower-calorie alternative to mainstream soft drinks. It’s a tough choice between pear and cardamom; natural cola; white grapefruit; and yuzu and lemon. The brand also makes two fruit-flavoured sparkling water varieties, in passionfruit and lemon.

TINA Drinks

TINA stands for “this is not alcohol” and these lightly sparkling bevs are fantastic alternatives to beer and wine. Tea is the foundation for additional layers of flavour in each can. Think high mountain oolong with rose petals, lemon myrtle, honeybush and calamansi (which the company dubs 1.0); or jasmine pearl green tea with rosella flowers, raspberry leaf, raspberry juice and Geraldton wax flower (2.0). Keep an eye out for the brand’s new Table Tea – think table wine or beer, but made with tea – crafted from Qi Yun black tea grown in central Taiwan and summer marigolds.

*Keen for some interesting booze when November rolls around? Try these canned cocktails and premixed drinks, from agave bushwater to limoncello. *