The Dry January Starter Kit: What to Buy Before January 1

Most Dry January attempts don't fail on willpower. They fail on a Tuesday evening in week one, when the usual drink isn't there and the alternative is tap water. Having something good in the house is the cheapest insurance available, and it costs about the price of two rounds at a bar.

Buy before January 1, not on January 3

This matters more than it sounds. If you start the month with nothing in the house, the first difficult evening becomes a decision, and decisions made while you want a drink go the way you'd expect. Shopping in December turns the whole thing into a logistics problem you've already solved.

The list

• A case of a non-alcoholic beer you already know you like. Buy one of several kinds first if you don't — the styles vary enormously and IPAs and stouts are the most convincing.
• One non-alcoholic spirit, not five. A bitter aperitivo substitute goes furthest.
• Good tonic and good soda water, in quantity. This is not the place to economize.
• Limes and lemons, more than you think. Fresh citrus is what separates a real drink from a sad one.
• A bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling wine for the first social occasion, so you're not holding a soda while everyone toasts.
• Ginger beer with real ginger in it.

The two things people forget

First: nice glassware, or at least the good glasses you already own. Drinking a well-made non-alcoholic drink out of a tumbler you'd use for water undercuts the whole thing, and it's a genuinely real effect rather than a wellness cliché.

Second: a plan for the first weekend. Book something — dinner somewhere with a real non-alcoholic list, or an activity-first night out. The first Friday is where the month is usually won or lost. Find venues with real zero-proof menus.

What to skip

Pre-mixed canned mocktails, mostly — they're expensive per drink and usually too sweet to want twice. A full shelf of non-alcoholic spirits before you know which styles you like. And any 'Dry January kit' bundle priced above the sum of its parts, which most of them are.

The budget version

If you buy nothing else: limes, good tonic, and one case of non-alcoholic beer. That's under $40 and covers roughly ninety percent of the month's difficult evenings.

The full month plan: Dry January: the complete guide.