Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Try out these low-ABV cocktails for a gentle transition into the new year

Slip into the new year with these less-boozy cocktail options

Classic NUVO Cocktail
Classic NUVO Cocktail

This time of year sees a lot of people cutting out drinking for Dry January, but another trend is for people to cut back. If you don’t want to nix alcohol altogether but you are looking for lighter options, then these low-ABV cocktails might be just the thing you need.

Riunite Lambrusco Spritz

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ingredients:

  • 1 part Riunite Lambrusco
  • 1 part Maschio Prosecco DOC
  • a splash of lemonade or a squeeze of lemon

Method:

Recommended Videos

Serve the drink over ice and garnish it with a vibrant lemon wheel.

The Low ABV Galliano Espresso Martini (6%)

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ingredients:

Method:

Blend together and enjoy!

Disaronno Sour

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ingredients:

  • 50 ml Disaronno Originale
  • 25 ml Fresh lemon juice
  • 5 ml Sugar syrup
  • Egg white
  • Garnish: Lemon Slice

Method:

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker without ice. Dry shake and then add ice to the cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a slice of lemon

Pallini Spritz

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ingredients:

Method:

Add all the ingredients in a large wine glass filled with ice and garnish with a lemon slice.

The Low ABV 6%

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ingredients:

Method:

Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans

Classic NUVO Cocktail

Classic NUVO Cocktail

Ingredients:

Method:

Add french cognac and soak 1 sugar cube in a chilled cocktail glass. Top with NUVO Sparkling Liqueur.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina Torbet is a cocktail enthusiast based in Berlin, with an ever-growing gin collection and a love for trying out new…
Toast the Italian sunshine with the Dolcevita cocktail
Disaronno

If you've spend any time in cocktail bars or among home bar enthusiasts, you've surely come across the brand Disaronno. Known best for its amaretto liqueur, the brand is something of an Italian institution, and it recently celebrated a remarkable 500 year anniversary.

To celebrate in appropriately Italian style, the brand has released a new cocktail making uses of its amaretto, herbal liqueur, and Irish whiskey. Created by mixologist Patrick Pistolesi and his team at the renowned Drink Kong Bar in Rome (where else?), the cocktail is a take on the beloved amaretto sour which makes use of bitter liqueurs to balance the sweet amaretto and pineapple juice to add a zingy, fresh note.

Read more
This season’s most unexpected cocktail ingredient is tea
Hibiscus tea in a cup.

Of all the cocktail trends for 2025 that were on my radar, here's one I didn't see coming: making tea the star ingredient.

Earl Grey tea in particular is having a moment in cocktail bars, where its floral, citrusy flavors are being incorporated into cocktails along with ingredients like lemon juice and gin. We've got some recipes below, and you can even have some fun serving these drinks in tea cups for something a bit special at your next party.

Read more
Dubai bar introduces the ‘World’s Most Expensive Cocktail’
Martini

If you thought your last trip to a cocktail bar was pricey, remember that it could have been much worse. A bar in Dubai has debuted the  "world's most expensive cocktail," coming in at a mind-blowing $40,000.

The drink, created by renowned mixologist Salvatore Calabrese, used a rare tequila and was served in a fine Baccarat glass, as part of the celebrations for Baccarat's 260th anniversary. Served at NAHATE Dubai, and reported in Maxim, the drink used rare and specially chosen ingredients in a situation where money was clearly no object.

Read more