When deciding what to drink, most of us opt for either carbonated fizzy cocktails or straight drinks. However, there are times when neither works, so we are left wondering what should the best option be.
Non-carbonated alcoholic drinks offer a wide variety of flavors and options. Starting from something as simple as a screwdriver to something more complex, non-carbonated alcoholic drinks often include lime water, fresh fruit juice, syrups, coffee, tea, or ready-made cocktails from a can.
Non-carbonated alcoholic drinks are often sweeter and slightly sharper than carbonated, as the bubbles usually act as cushions softening the alcoholic sharpness. Nevertheless, depending on the alcohol included, they can sometimes intensify their flavor.
Carbonated alcoholic drinks are frequently harder to drink, causing bloating and a general sensation of heaviness. Furthermore, they often contain more sugar than non-carbonated alcoholic drinks, making it easier for you to get drunk.
On the other hand, many non-carbonated drinks that use fruit juice are often made with artificial juice that bursts with sugar, which makes them equally sweet and sugar-rich as their carbonated counterparts.
Therefore, when having a non-carbonate drink, it is best to make it or have it made using fresh fruit juice or water and avoid artificial juices as much as possible.
Also check: 25 Simple & Classic Drinks To Order At a Bar
Non-carbonated alcoholic drinks are also known as exceptionally flavorful and refreshing and are mostly simple to make. However, not all non-carbonated alcoholic drinks are mixed, as there are unmixed non-carbonated drinks such as wine or spirits.
Top 20 Non-carbonated Alcoholic Drinks
In addition to vodka, rum, gin, whiskey, tequila, brandy, liqueurs, and wine, you can drink straight; there are many other options where you can mix drinks to get a non-carbonated alcoholic cocktail.
The simplest solution is, of course, mixing your favorite alcohol with juice, but there are also other more complex and more exotic solutions you can try if you feel like drinking a non-carbonated alcoholic drink.
More: 25 Best Tasting Alcoholic Drinks You Must Try!
In this article, I will give you a list of 20 non-carbonated alcoholic drinks so you can make the right decision next time you feel like having a drink but you don’t know what exactly.
You can order them at a bar or make them yourself; the most important thing is to enjoy them.
1. Dry Martini
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A classic is a classic for a reason, and when you don’t have to, don’t mess with the classics like a dry martini. Made with gin and dry vermouth, it will charm you with its bittersweetness, drying your mouth and, at the same time watering it.
Elegantly served, with everything done just right, this non-carbonated alcoholic drink may just be what you want on a calm but fun Saturday night.
2. Manhattan
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This is yet another old dog in the non-carbonated alcoholic drinks department. Known and loved worldwide, associated with the city that never sleeps, it will undoubtedly lift your spirits.
Made with sweet vermouth rye whiskey and cocktail bitters, you will enjoy the grainy notes mixed with the vermouth sweetness.
If you are in the mood for something refreshing and classy, Manhattan should be your choice.
3. Cosmopolitan
This is a very refreshing fruity, and zesty cocktail. Mixing together orange liqueur, lime juice, cranberry juice, and citrus vodka, this non-carbonated cocktail is expressively lemony and sweet.
The alcoholic bite of the vodka spike through the cranberry sweet and sour notes and the citrus freshness, so you may call it vodka-spiked citrus juice.
The Cosmopolitan cocktail is another classic drink and the rightful owner of the name, as it is worldly and indeed cosmopolitan.
4. Margarita
Cheerful, colorful, refreshing, and delicious, nothing says summer fiesta like the margarita cocktail. This non-carbonated drink will definitely play with your taste buds and is the perfect fit for a summer open party or a winter longing for the summer days.
Made of tequila, lime juice, agave syrup, and orange liqueur, this cocktail is super fresh, flavorful, sweet, and just a tad bity.
5. Daiquiri
Full of life and color, and an instant spirit lifter, daiquiris are another non-carbonated alcoholic drink you can try to make your day or night.
Made with only lime, simple syrup, and rum, many imagine daiquiri as blended fruits and alcohol, but the original recipe doesn’t require a blender at all.
However, even so, it is very appealing, and bartenders love having fun with it. Sweet from the rum and simple syrup and sour and edgy from the lime, the daiquiri cocktail is a blend of fruity flavors and character you simply cannot find in another drink.
6. Vodka Cranberry
A simple two-ingredient mixer fit to find its place for literally any occasion. Whether you are out to chat with your friends or sipping it slowly on your porch or even out clubbing, vodka cranberry will keep you fresh and moving as long as you need it.
Delicious and edgy, with the recognizable cranberry sweet sourness and the typical vodka bite penetrating the layers of flavor, this mixer will improve your mood if you are feeling a little down and hype you if you are already in good spirits.
7. Screwdriver
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The screwdriver is a non-carbonated two-ingredient mixer made with nothing more than just orange juice and vodka. The sweetness and viscosity pair great with the vodka sharpness creating a bitter-sweet result you will most certainly enjoy.
However, if you order this drink at a bar, make sure you get it made with fresh orange juice. Often, the screwdriver is made with artificial orange juice because it is cheaper that way.
If you have it with artificial orange juice, it will burst with sugar, at which point you may just as well replace it with a carbonated drink.
8. Spiked Coffee
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Spiking coffee with alcohol isn’t a novelty in the non-carbonated alcoholic drinks department, but spiking coffee with whiskey and chocolate liqueur brings this game to a whole different level.
The whiskey spike, bitterness, and grainy notes combined with the earthy and even bitterer coffee topped with the coffee liqueur results in a delicious drink you can enjoy on a cold Sunday evening, preferably watching the snow outside.
9. Spiked Tea
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Tea and rum are a love story as old as time. I recommend using Malibu rum, as you will sweeten your tea, infusing it with delicious coconut notes. Choose a strong tea, for example, black, Turkish, or green tea, and drop a few generous drops of sweet rum.
Spiked tea is an excellent idea to warm yourself up and relax after a long day of work or after a stressful day in general.
10. Pina Colada
Made with rum, coconut milk or coconut cream, and pineapple juice, the Pina Colada cocktail is a delicious non-carbonated alcoholic drink you will most certainly enjoy any time of the year.
Soft, supple, gentle, and ever so discrete, if you like refinement and gentility, you will fall in love with this cocktail at first glance.
This cocktail is for you if you don’t prefer intense flavors but like well-balanced sweetness without overwhelmingly fruity notes but still present freshness and creaminess.
11. Sex on a Beach
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Made with vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry, and orange juice, this exotic, sweet, and refreshing non-carbonated alcoholic drink often has cranberries inside as a decoration and something to nibble on.
Mainly craved during the summer due to the colors resembling a beach sunset, this cocktail is also a great choice to inject some summer romance on a cold winter day.
Make sure the juices are from natural fruit and not powdered juices, as that way, it just doesn’t make any sense to go for a non-carbonated drink bursting with artificial sugars.
12. Sangria
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Sangria is the perfect refreshment, whether at a summer gathering or a festive holiday dinner. It is rarely made for a one or two people as it requires a punch bowl and soaking with fruits.
Sangria often contains orange wheels and fresh apples, but it is the people’s drink, so you can add any fruits you like, such as berries, for example.
If you are looking for a refreshing, sweet, and flavorful non-carbonated alcoholic beverage.
13. Tequila Sunrise
Made with grenadine, tequila, and orange juice, the tequila sunrise cocktail is delicious, edgy, and sharp. It is predominantly sweet and pretty high in viscosity, layering the throat for each new sip.
It has a mild burn but nothing you wouldn’t handle, and totally worth it compared to the glass of deliciousness you will be getting.
14. White Russian
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Made with coffee liqueur, vodka and cream poured in an old-fashioned glass over ice is simply cake in a glass. Not only is this non-carbonated alcoholic drink heavenly delicious, but it is also very satiating, so you will probably feel like you have eaten after a glass or two.
Sweet and sharp at the same time, creamy, edgy, and full of style and refinement, this is the perfect drink for you if you like smooth yet assertive drinks
15. Black Russian
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Black Russian is basically White Russian minus the cream. Believe it or not, this one ingredient makes a huge difference. Not only is Black Russian less creamy than its counterpart, but it is also sharper, as the cream mildens up the flavor, toning everything a tad down.
Nevertheless, Black Russian is an exquisite non-carbonated alcoholic drink you will most certainly enjoy. It is a tad sweet, a tad bitter, and a whole lot more delicious.
16. Bloody Mary
An old classic, original, unusual, made with ingredients that seem like they cannot be paired, the Bloody Mary cocktail is a delicacy for those who like to experiment.
Containing vodka, tomato juice, and horseradish, it is an edgy combination of flavors and textures.
The vodka bite is still there but significantly toned down with the dense tomato juice, spiked and refreshed with the certain hotness of the horseradish.
Although it seems a little odd, the Bloody Mary cocktail is actually a very delicious and uplifting non-carbonated alcoholic drink and an experience you will definitely want to repeat.
17. Old Fashioned
Containing nothing more than whiskey, sugar, bitters, and water, garnished with an orange slice and a cocktail cherry, the Old Fashioned cocktail is genuinely old fashioned, throwing you back to a simpler time.
This non-carbonated alcoholic drink is delicious in a whole different way. It is expressively, but not overwhelmingly sweet because it has sugar in it.
On the other hand, it contains bitters, making it bitter, toning down the sweetness, and creating a citrusy note. The whiskey adds some edge as well as warmth to the drink, and the water is there to round up the flavor and tone down what needs balancing.
18. Mint Julep
Originally made with bourbon, sugar, water, crushed ice, and mint leaves, the mint julep is a fancier and more assertive version of a mojito.
While the mojito balances all flavors, creating a flavor unity where no flavor dominates, the mint julep cocktail changes colors with each new sip.
So at first, it tastes like tamed bourbon, but as the sugar further dissolves and the mint leaves to release flavor, it becomes sweeter and bitterer at the same time.
It is a delicious and refreshing non-carbonated alcoholic drink, fancy and elegant, and ideal for any time of year or day.
19. Bahama Breeze
The Bahama breeze is a complex and flavorful cocktail combining several ingredients. It is light, not very strong in alcoholic content, and it is extremely refreshing and satiating.
The fruit and sweet flavors dancing in perfect rhythm make this cocktail one of the most delicious non-carbonated alcoholic drinks you can get.
Made with dark rum, banana liqueur, apricot liqueur, coconut rum, grenadine syrup, honey, lemon juice, orange juice, and pineapple juice poured over ice cubes, the Bahama breeze cocktail is everything from sweet, to sour, to exotic.
Perfectly named, as it really makes you feel the summer breeze in your hair, it is ideal for lazy beach days or busy beach parties, or perhaps a winter longing for the summer days.
20. Salty Dog
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Simple, assertive, and to the point, this cocktail is made of vodka, fresh grapefruit juice, and a grapefruit slice in a glass with a salty rim, hence the name.
There is just something about salt and grapefruit that makes them go great together, even though they have nothing in common.
In this cocktail, the grapefruit juice seems to sharpen the vodka sting, but the salt tends to balance the bite and create a middle ground for the flavors to spike. In fact, it is the same role it has when doing a shot of tequila, softening the blow, so to speak.
If you like strong flavors but don’t like either of them to dominate, the Salty Dog cocktail should be your non-carbonated alcoholic drink.
What Alcoholic Drinks Do Not Have Carbonation?
If you aren’t in the mood for a carbonated alcoholic drink, you are significantly narrowing your choice, but fortunately, non-carbonated alcoholic drinks have a vast field of options, so you will have plenty to choose from.
The easiest choice would be the classics such as vodka, rum, whiskey, bourbon, wine, fruit or coffee liqueurs, gin, brandy, tequila, and the like. If you don’t like mixed drinks and go straight to strong and sharp, these are the options for you.
On the other hand, if you like mixing and you are a fan of cocktails, your options are virtually limitless. You can choose from two-ingredient mixers to complex and exotic cocktails, depending on your mood.
So, sex on the beach, mojito, daiquiri, pina colada, mint julep, Manhattan, cosmopolitan, old fashioned, Bahama breeze, mai tai, tequila sunrise, white/ black Russian, ocean sunset, and many more can be what you have been looking for. You can simply mix your favorite alcohol with juice, and there you have it.
What Drinks Have No Carbonation?
A carbonated drink is a fizzy and bubbly drink, so everything that is not fizzy is a non-carbonated drink. However, some non-carbonated drinks, such as pineapple juice, for example, can trick you into thinking they are carbonated because they create a slight tingly sensation on your tongue.
Still, that sensation is not a result of carbonation but rather an enzyme that some fruits and fruit juices have that can cause your mouth to tingle or even maybe go slightly numb.
No natural fruit juice is carbonated, as the carbonation is a process taking place later in the production of fizzy drinks.
Furthermore, the warm drinks you make at home are all non-carbonated, such as coffee, tea, cocoa, etc. Spiked with alcohol, they are still non-carbonated, and the proper term is alcohol-spiked.
Sometimes, an alcohol-spiked drink can give you a sensation that it is carbonated, but those bubbles result from the liquids reacting together, and it doesn’t mean that carbonation is taking place.
Spirits and wine are also non-carbonated drinks, except for sparkly wine, which is self-explanatory.
So, vodka, gin, liqueurs, whiskey, rum, tequila, brandy, and bourbon, are all non-carbonated alcohols, but still, some contain a lot of sugar, so if you avoid carbonated drinks with the purpose of avoiding sugar, you may want to educate yourself on which drink is low-sugar.
Artificial powdered juices are also non-carbonated, but those are often of low quality, and the mixing of the powder with water creates a carbon reaction which subsides once you have stirred your drink.
Bottled water can be both carbonated and non-carbonated, so if you want non-carbonated bottled water, read the label. If it says “still,” it means it isn’t carbonated.
What Seltzers Are Not Carbonated?
Seltzer is, by definition, a carbonated drink. It is just water infused with carbon that creates the bubbles. However, in the recent years, there have been non-carbonated seltzers available on the market.
Still, some would argue that these non-carbonated seltzers are not seltzers at all but flavored non-carbonated drinks.
Moreover, hard seltzers are carbonated more heavily than regular seltzers as they contain alcohol.
However, since they are advertised and sold as such, there are non-carbonated seltzers and hard seltzers. The non-alcoholic hard seltzers are flavored with different flavors, starting from fresh juice to artificial flavors and juices.
You can choose from lemon, strawberry, peach, melon, pear, apricot, watermelon, coconut, mixed fruits, bubblegum, and many other flavors you may like.
The alcoholic non-carbonated seltzers are mainly infused with vodka and flavored with the flavorings mentioned above. They are often advertised as sugar and carb-free and are mostly flavored with fresh fruit juices.
What Can I Drink If I Don’t Like Seltzers?
If you don’t like carbonated seltzers, you can substitute them with non-carbonated seltzers and vice-versa. If you don’t like hard seltzers, you can substitute them with regular seltzers and vice-versa. If you don’t like seltzers in general, you can have literally any other drink.
Suppose you like the flavor but not the carbonated part. In that case, you can substitute the seltzer with spiked drinks, such as two-ingredient alcoholic mixers, i.e., one part alcohol and one part juice, for example, vodka cranberry or screwdriver.
If you like the carbonated part but not the seltzer taste, you can mix one part juice, one part soda, and one part alcohol. Still, there is a vast selection of seltzers, favor-wise, so you will definitely find the one you like.
If you avoid seltzers because the bubbles are hard on your stomach, you can have a non-carbonated seltzer.
Therefore, seltzers are a very large category of drinks offering many options regarding the flavors and textures, so I would say that there is no such thing as not liking seltzers, as there are so many drinks in the seltzer category and you are bound to find at least one that you like.
Non-Carbonated Alcoholic Drinks To Order At A Bar
There is an endless sea of non-carbonated alcoholic drinks you can order at a bar. Starting with spirits and wine and ending with all kinds of cocktails. You can choose from tequila, vodka, rum, gin, whiskey, liqueurs, bourbon, whiskey, or wine.
There are also many mixers and cocktails you can choose from that aren’t carbonated. If you aren’t feeling particularly creative, mix your favorite alcohol with fruit juice and enjoy your non-carbonated alcoholic drink.
