Let's talk about the best vegan alcohol. The first thing you realise when switching to a vegan diet is the prevalence of animal products. Sometimes, this fact makes perfect sense: you can't have a chicken pot pie without chicken. But bone marrow in your wine: is that necessary? No is the answer, which is good news for vegans who would like a little tipple.
As plant-based diets increase in popularity, vegan variants of common foods and drinks are more readily available. As with faux meats and vegan chocolates, vegan alcohols are becoming increasingly accessible. You can even get vegan cheese now, which can taste like the real thing - and replace your favourite with a healthier option.
Best vegan alcohol at a glance
• Best vegan beer: Peroni Nastro Azzurro Premium Lager - View Offer at Drink Supermarket
• Best vegan wine: Bowl Grabber Cremant Sparkling Rose - View Offer at Drink Supermarket
• Best vegan spirit: Crafted Creamy Oat Cranberry and Salted Caramel - View Offer at Master of Malt
Some alcoholic brews, like many pure spirits, have always been vegan and are just starting to shout about it. Others, such as Guinness, have updated brewing processes to remove the needless use of animal products. In other cases, new breweries have been established that focus on eco-friendly practices and plant-based products.
Whether you’re a vegan looking for a new favourite drink or looking to treat your plant-based friend, below you'll find a list of the best vegan-friendly beer, wine and spirits. Whichever you go for, we know that you'll find them tasty as we were lucky enough to taste them all. Some vegan hampers even include vegan wines, beers or spirits.
The best vegan alcohol UK
Vegan beer: tried and tested
Best vegan stout
After a long history of using animal products in its brewing process, Guinness Draught Stout Beer has finally removed them, making Ireland's favourite stout a vegan-friendly delight.
Customer review: "it's a dark stout beer that contains a lot of iron. Lovely taste of you add some whiskey to it."
Best vegan IPA
One of the biggest names in the IPA revolution, Brewdog likes to do things differently; they brew one of the tastiest pale ales on the market and adhere to carbon-neutral practices. The Brewdog Punk IPA is a light, golden classic.
Customer review: "It's a lovely beverage but it suffers a loss of 1 star because even as a 'premium' IPA, I still feel its price is out of alignment."
Best vegan beer
www.drinksupermarket.com
Crisp and refreshing with a touch of Italian style, Peroni Nastro Azzurro Premium Lager has been brewed from only the finest hops, water, maize and malted barley. Enjoy chilled. Chin, chin.
4.
Camden Hells
Best British vegan beer
London-based brewer Camden combines Helles and Pilsner hops to create an incredibly drinkable beer and fresh beer. Hells is the lovechild of two favourite German beer styles - Helles and Pilsner. It's worth the price tag, too.
Customer review: "Love Hells - it's pure enough that you can sink quite a few without fear of the dreaded early-evening sore head. It's been a fav since I discovered it last year - I've always been a lager drinker, and I don't like the more hoppy modern Pilsner taste … this has been a revelation!"
Best vegan beer for the summertime
Smooth, light and flavourful, Longboard Island is a delicious drink for vegans. It stands up as a session beer or as an accompaniment to food.
Customer review: "Love this beer! Light, refreshing, yet subtle complexity. A summer beer."
Best vegan beer for strength
Don't be fooled by the small bottles. This Belgian Duvel Belgian Strong Ale packs in all the flavours you need.
Customer review: "Nice beers, would recommend but more expensive than lots of other beers but these are a lot stronger."
Budget vegan beer
Known as The King of Beers, Budweiser was first introduced by Adolphus Busch in 1876 and it's still brewed with the same high standards today, as it was then. It's vegan, too. Nobody has to miss out.
Vegan wine: tried and tested
Best vegan wine
www.drinksupermarket.com
This charming Bowl Grabber Cremant Sparkling Rose has been handcrafted to offer the delicateness of white sparkling wine and the certain je ne sais quoi of a Rose. What's not to love? Perfect for your foodie friend who loves a tipple. Or, you could just crack the Cremant Rose open on the big day - or at your work party.
Our review: "This is such a delicious sparkling rose. I'm so glad I got to try it. Not only is it well-priced, but the unique label gives it that edge which I love. It would make a brilliant gift that will get everyone talking. Bowl Grabber is a great option for a wine at Christmas: red, white or sparkling."
Best vegan wine for sustainability
www.abelandcole.co.uk
The Sea Change Otter Label White Wine is delicious, hailing from the Utiel Requena region of Spain, which has been winemaking for centuries. It's delicate, light and fruity. Sea Change also aligns with other valuable causes: it doesn't use plastics in its packaging and a portion of the sale goes directly to fund ocean conservation projects and charities.
Best vegan Sauvignon Blanc
The Black Tower Club Edition Sauvignon Blanc comes with flavours of passion fruit, guava, and grapefruit, complemented by hints of freshly cut grass and minerality. Perfect for pairing or casual enjoyment with friends.
Customer review: "Well received, pretty bottle to put lights in after."
Best vegan red wine
From a family-run business that runs entirely on renewable energy to creating a sustainable, ethical business, this Terra Organica Primitivo Red Wine is a great pick for Christmas. Full-bodied, rich and velvety Red Wine, that’s bursting with berry flavours. It’s calling to be paired with a deep and rich Italian meal.
Customer review: "With some 50-years experience of imbibing, I have rarely found a wine which causes me to pause midsentence and take another sip to ensure that my first impressions were correct. This wine does that and goes further for the 3 other people at my table did the same, before grabbing the bottle and asking where on earth did it come from and why was I spoiling them with a really expensive drink mid-week. I let them into the secret and all agreed that it is a bargain – mature but fresh, fruity but with plentiful depth and all too reminiscent of youthful summer evenings in the southern Italian sun amidst sea-borne herbal breezes, complimenting pasta, shellfish and meat without difficulty. I’m ordering more!"
Vegan spirits: tried and tested
Best vegan tequila
Good quality tequila is made from one ingredient only: Blue Agave. This Patrón Reposado Tequila is made in small batches in Jalisco, Mexico and goes down a treat with zest and spice to spare. Mix into a cocktail or sip over with some lime and salt.
Customer review: "I love the bottle and the cork top. It makes it look authentic and luxurious. The tequila tastes lovely with a smooth and slightly sweet taste. I enjoyed mine with a mixer but it is also fab in cocktails. It is really refreshing and very nice in the summer."
Best vegan spirit
www.drinksupermarket.com
Lignell and Piispanen have created magic in a bottle. More than just a vegan alternative to everyone's festive-favourite Bailey's, this drink tastes like liquid joy. Oats give this liqueur a deliciously creamy base, while being completely vegan-friendly, with decadent salted caramel and juicy cranberry joining. It's festive - sounds gorgeous.
14.
East London Gin
Bets vegan gin
Unless there are animal-based additives mixed in, gin is vegan. But life is too short for bad gin, so we recommend picking up this East London Gin. Smooth and aromatic, citrus and juniper make themselves known before spices deliver a delicious finish.
Customer review: "Simple and clean gin in a nice bottle with an authentically small distillery label (that I think was stuck on by hand….a good thing). Bright and clean and goes well with a variety of tonics (even the flavoured ones)."
15.
Aperol Aperitivo
Best for vegan cocktails
Bright orange and bittersweet? It must be Aperol Aperitivo, which is perfect in a spritz. Just make sure that whatever you're mixing in is vegan too.
Customer review: "Came quickly, well packaged and the cost was fine. As I live on a small island this sort of produce is not available locally so a good buy for me."
Best vegan whiskey
Consider this Aberlour A'Bunadh Alba Single Malt Scotch Whisky with Gift Box for the gifting season. It captures cask-fresh whisky essence, aged in first-fill American Oak Bourbon barrels, preserving intense sweetness. Orchard fruit, vanilla, and citrus notes culminate in a smooth, toasted almond finish.
Customer review: "Fast becoming my new favourite distillery and this is the most wonderful offering. This is now my fifth bottle of Arberlour in my collection (12, 13 (distillery exclusive) 14,16, and now A'bunadh. If you like Speyside whisky then don't hesitate in my opinion, its worth every penny!"
Best vegan vodka
saplingspirits.com
This Sapling Vodka Spritz Gift Set includes three miniatures and flavoured tonics/sodas - along with a recipe to make each drink. Gorgeous. It's a perfect set for chilled summer picnics - and you can even buy alcohol refill pouches from the B-Corp company sent right to your door. Saving the planet, and your recycling, one tipple at a time...
Customer review: "My favourite vodka, smooth, delicious and eco-friendly!"
Vegan alcohol FAQs
Why are some alcoholic drinks NOT vegan?
While almost all alcohol is made from plant-based materials, some manufacturers introduce products animal products as part of its processing.
What animal products are used in non-vegan alcohols?
Drinks that are not suitable for vegans but are for vegetarians have likely seen honey, egg or milk at some point in the process. Drinks that aren’t suitable for vegans or vegetarians will have been processed using fining substances derived from bone marrow, crushed insects, fish bladders or gelatin.
What non-vegan ingredients should I look out for?
Not all manufacturers, wineries or breweries include information about whether a product is vegan or non-vegan. However, if you read the ingredients, you can sometimes work it out for yourself. Some, such as honey, milk or cream, are real giveaways, while others are partially disguised behind technical terminology. These include:
Isinglass - Fish bladder
Cochineal/carmine - Insect shell
Chitin - Insect shell, shellfish, fish
Albumin - Eggs
Casein - Milk
Whey - Milk
Lactose - Milk
Gelatin - Animal skin, ligaments, bones
In alcohol, what do animal products do?
Unless an animal product has been used to flavour a specific drink (i.e. honey whiskey or milk stout), then the animal product has likely been used in the fining process.
Fining is a process that clears and clarifies a liquid - unfined wines and beers appear cloudy. Fining agents cling to unwanted elements within the alcohol. By doing so, the fining agent increases the size of the molecules, which allows them to sink or be caught in a filter. The result? Clear liquid.
Vegan alcohols either don’t use any fining agent or use a non-animal alternative, such as limestone, vegetable caseins or carbons. The choice to use a non-animal alternative may not be for ethical reasons - many brewers argue that different fining agents alter the taste in unwanted ways.
William Lobley is a Deputy Tech & Fitness Editor and reviewer for Bauer Media Group, specialising in technology and outdoors. When not at his desk, he's probably got a camera in-hand.