If anyone is kind enough to invite me to a party at this time of the year, the first thing I do is make for the drinks trolley to see what's on offer. And nine times out of ten, I'm disappointed. There's so little to drink, for the likes of me.
In December, I attended a reception in London's high-toned Belgravia, and was duly offered a choice of wines. "Don't you have anything non-alcoholic?" The Spanish staff looked at me as if I had asked for a line of cocaine. Eventually, someone said it might be possible to go downstairs to the kitchen and procure a glass of water.
Mindful of the fact that in some parts of the world clean tap water is a luxury, I didn't disdain the offer, nor complain any further. I'm accustomed to the idea that for all the caterwauling and complaints about people boozing too much at Christmas - and other times of the year - too few hosts and hostesses bother to provide decent alternatives to alcoholic liquor.
At nine out of ten soirees that I have attended, it's clear that no one has put any serious thought into catering for alcohol-free drinkers. There might be a bottle of sparkling water available, and if that's always refreshing, it's not terrifically imaginative. There could be at least ten other choices of non-alcoholic drink that could be offered - alongside alcohol - at any party or reception.
What the alcohol-free drinker is hoping for is something which provides that little kick of piquancy to replace the lift that hits the palette with that first gin and tonic (apparently newly fashionable again among the young).
Source: Mary Kenny, Irish Independent, 21/12/15
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