Ultimate Vegan Alcohol Guide

Since these ingredients are only used to process the beverage in question, not directly added to it, it’s not mandatory to include them on the bottle. These are the trickiest things to avoid and vary by every brand. Your best bet is to contact the manufacturer directly when in doubt.

Hidden Animal-Based Additives to Watch For

Unlike filtration agents, these ingredients are often listed and easier to avoid:

• Cream and Milk: Thick, dessert-like liqueurs, which typically have “crème” in the title, get their richness from dairy fats.
• Eggs: A classic example of this is eggnog, which might use the whole egg or just the yolk. Similar spirits, such as Advocaat, are guilty of the same tasteless inclusion.
• Honey: Sweetening the deal in a way that harms the bee colonies in traditional ales and wines, this outdated addition can be traced back to the days of the Vikings. We’ve come such a long way since then; there’s no reason to stay stuck in the past!

Naturally Vegan Spirits

Most distilled spirits are vegan by nature, as the distillation process doesn’t require animal-based filters:

• Vodka – Uses fermented grains such as sorghum, corn, rice, rye or wheat, or potatoes — check out our article: Is Vodka Vegan?
• Bourbon and Whiskey – Uses a fermented mixture of corn and grains
• Rum – Uses fermented sugarcane
• Gin and Schnapps – Made from fermented grain, such as wheat or barley with added juniper and/or herbs for flavoring
• Tequila – Created with fermented agave cactus

Just check for flavor infusions or added ingredients that could change their vegan status.

Vegan Wine Brands

When it comes to wine, there are a number of easy go-to options that should be on any well-stocked shelf. Some easy vegan wine options include:

• Kind of Wild (certified organic and vegan)
• Proudly Vegan Wines
• Charles Shaw (red varieties only)
• Decoy and Duckhorn Vineyards
• Frey Vineyards
• Red Truck & Green Truck Wines
• Yellowtail (red wines only)

There are too many to list here, but check Barnivore, where you can enter any brand name to see which specific wines are vegan.

Vegan-Friendly Alcohol Brands

Many alcohol brands have a huge array of accidentally vegan options, as most hard alcohol is vegan. However, we love to vote with our dollars here at World of Vegan, so we want to point out some more conscious, ethical, and sustainable brands you might turn to instead of the most mainstream options. Plus, some mainstream brands that offer really cool vegan products—like the Vegan Baileys Almande!

• Baileys Almande Almondmilk Liqueur
• Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur (the Dark Chocolate variety is a delicious vegan chocolate liqueur)
• Koskenkorva Vodka (sustainable vodka distillery)
• Brother’s Bond Bourbon (founded by Vampire Diaries stars Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, who is a proud vegan and animal advocate)

Easy Vegan Cocktail Recipes

If you’re looking for some delicious vegan drink recipes, we’ve got several creative concoctions for you. The following recipes are inspired by plants or traditional recipes made vegan. Cheers!

• Pink Dragonfruit Cocktail (gorgeous pink vodka cocktail with muddled pitaya)
• Kale Cocktail (green Moscow Mule with kale juice) 
• Carrot Juice Cocktail (orange Moscow Mule with orange juice)
• Drunken Whipped Coffee Dalgona (a spiked version of a classic Dalgona coffee)
• Dairy-Free Chocolate Martini
• Orange Creamsicle Cocktail
• Coconut Raisin Rum Tapioca Pudding

Refreshing Vegan Mocktails

For some virgin vegan mocktail recipes and inspiration, check out these delightful drinks. They provide a perfect alternative to alcohol:

• Watermelon Cucumber Cooler
• Strawberry Peach Spritzer
• Strawberry Mint Lemonade
• Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate
• Gingerbread Smoothie

You can also find non-alcoholic spirits from brands like Lyres.

Alcohol Swaps in Cooking

When cooking, you can easily swap out wine for grape juice, pomegranate juice, vegetable stock, or just plain water, depending on the recipe. If you’re making something like beer bread or a beer batter, you can use seltzer water instead for that same effervescent lift.