For anybody who’s made the switch to living a vegan lifestyle, or for anybody who knows someone who’s done it, knows that it can be really hard trying to find the right balance between conscientious living and enjoying a good drink. It also definitely makes it a little more difficult trying to plan the perfect night out with friends if there’s an extra piece of gastronomic accounting that needs to be done.  (But good friends try their best to make everything fun for everyone there, right?)

Overcoming the First Hurdle
The biggest problem when it comes to making a drink for a vegan friend is that there’s no way you can fake it without facing some damage to your moral consciousness. So while it might be acceptable to switch out the Cointreau for a more affordable triple sec in a Cosmopolitan for those on a budget, randomly exchanging ingredients can be dangerous for a vegan drinker. 

Becoming vegan isn’t just a state one declares. It means inspecting each and everything that goes into food and drink to make sure that no ingredients come from animals, and there’s no danger of cross contamination.

Generally, one of the smarter options is to go for German or Belgian beers because breweries are required by law to adhere to beer purity laws. When working with liquors, the folks over at Barnivore.com have put together a very well-researched list of what’s okay to serve and what isn’t. Luckily, since Tanqueray happens to be vegan-friendly, SDD’s Gin O’Clock recipes are all in the clear!

Wait, but Isn’t Wine Vegan?
The funny thing is, while wine is made from nothing but grapes, people would think that it would be, by default, vegan. But when wine isn’t served immediately after it’s pressed and this is where animal byproducts come into the equation. Many wineries will make use of finers that are meant to absorb the suspended solids present in the liquid. Some examples of finers include egg whites, gelatin, and isinglass—all of these being ingredients that vegans avoid. So what’s a good host to do?

You can work with a distributor that has options that are vegan friendly and removes the guesswork for the buyer. Dedicated vegan websites like Veggie Wines and Vegan Society list, Marks & Spencer as an option for their vegan-friendly wine selections.

Everyone deserves to have fun and being vegan doesn’t have to mean abandoning alcohol altogether. Cheers to that!

***This article was written by Katrina Wilsons.  (Susie doesn’t do enough research to write this thoroughly.)***