Dry January Friday nights: what to pour and what to do

By The Softer Hour Editorial Team

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The Friday can: creamsicle-style orange and vanilla, poured over ice in a good glass. 21+. One can is one serving. Never with alcohol.

Every week of Dry January 2027 starts on a Friday: January 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. For a lot of people, Friday is the night the drink is most automatic. Work is done, the week is over, and the first pour is a signal that the weekend has started. You don't have to give up the signal, just change what's in the glass and give the evening something to do. Here's what to pour, two easy recipes, and a simple plan for staying in or going out. Part of our Dry January guide.

Keep the ritual, swap the drink

The Friday drink is mostly a ritual: the same time, the same glass, the same sound of the can or the cork. Keep all of that and only change the drink.

• Same time. If you used to pour at six, pour at six.
• A good glass. A heavy tumbler, a coupe, or the wine glass you'd normally reach for. It changes how the drink feels in your hand.
• Plenty of ice and a garnish. A citrus peel or a sprig of mint takes ten seconds and makes it feel made, not just opened.
• A drink you only have on Fridays. If it's in the fridge every day, it stops being a treat. Buy your Friday drink once and save it for the end of the week.

What to pour on a Friday

There's no single right answer. Pick one or two and rotate through the month.

• Non-alcoholic beer. The closest swap if your Friday drink was a beer. Many supermarkets carry NA lagers, IPAs and stouts. Try a few in week one and keep your favorite cold.
• Sparkling water, dressed up. Plain seltzer over ice with a big strip of grapefruit or lime peel. Cheap, easy, and it works with any dinner.
• A homemade mocktail. Five minutes, a shaker or just a spoon. The two below are built for Fridays, and there are seven more in Dry January mocktails.
• A botanical can. Kava Orange Dream tastes like a creamsicle: orange and vanilla over kava's earthy taste. It's the easiest first kava flavor, and it pours nicely over ice. One can is one serving, never with alcohol, and it's for adults 21+.

Two Friday recipes

Ginger lime highball (no can)

Spicy, sour and tall. The one to make if your Friday drink used to be a whiskey and ginger.

You need:

• 4 oz ginger beer, the soft-drink kind (some "hard" ginger beers contain alcohol, so check the label)
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 2 oz sparkling water
• A lime wedge and a slice of fresh ginger
• Ice

Make it:

1. Fill a tall glass with ice.
2. Add the lime juice and ginger beer and stir once.
3. Top with sparkling water and garnish with the lime and ginger.

Skip cocktail bitters if you're keeping the glass alcohol-free: aromatic bitters such as Angostura are made with alcohol.

Orange Dream on the rocks

The simplest way to make a can feel like a Friday drink.

You need:

• 1 can Kava Orange Dream, chilled
• A wide strip of orange peel
• A heavy tumbler and big ice cubes

Make it:

1. Twist the orange peel over the empty glass so the oils land inside, then drop it in.
2. Add the ice and pour the can slowly over the top.
3. Sip it the way you'd sip anything you poured for yourself at the end of the week.

One can per glass. Don't add it to a cocktail or drink it with anything alcoholic, and don't drive afterwards.

What to stock

Buy for the whole month at once, before New Year's Eve, so Friday never turns into a last-minute trip to the store.

Prices checked Oct 15, 2026, on Botanical Brewing Co.'s product pages; may change. Per-can prices are the pack price divided by the number of cans.

Plan the night, not just the drink

An empty Friday evening with nothing in it is where the old habit is loudest. Give it a shape.

1. Decide on Thursday. What you'll drink and what you'll do. The Dry January tracker has a "Friday-night drink" line for exactly this.
2. Make dinner the event. Homemade pizza, tacos, a new recipe, or the takeout place you've been meaning to try. A Friday with a good dinner in it doesn't feel like a Friday without something.
3. Have one thing to do. A movie, a board game, a long call with a friend, the first episode of a new series. Our movie night drinks page has snack and drink pairings.
4. Plan Saturday morning. A walk, a coffee with a friend or a big breakfast gives Friday a natural end time.

If you're going out

• Pick the place. Somewhere with food, a game or music works better than a bar where drinking is the only activity.
• Order first. A drink in your hand early stops most of the questions. Soda water with lime, an NA beer or a mocktail all look like a drink.
• Have a line ready. "I'm doing Dry January" is usually enough. What to drink instead of alcohol at a bar has more orders and answers.
• Offer to drive. It's a ready-made reason not to drink. If you're driving, skip the botanical cans that night too.

Five Fridays, five ideas

Each Friday in January 2027 lines up with a different stretch of the month. The full plan for each week is in Dry January week by week.

• Jan 1: New Year's Day. Brunch with NA sparkling wine and orange juice, then a quiet night in.
• Jan 8: the first ordinary Friday. Start the ritual: same time, good glass, your Friday drink.
• Jan 15: the start of the MLK long weekend. Make one night a mocktail night.
• Jan 22: try something new: a recipe, a new NA beer, a restaurant with a mocktail list.
• Jan 29: the last Friday. Celebrate with people, and pour something good. Then read After Dry January to keep the ritual going.

Planning a dinner for two on one of these? See Dry January date night for drinks and ideas.

If it's harder than you expected

If a dry Friday, or a month off, feels much harder than you expected, or you're worried about your drinking, talk to someone. In the US, SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 1-800-662-4357. If you drink heavily every day, talk to a doctor before stopping, because alcohol withdrawal can be serious. The botanical cans on this site are for adults 21+ and aren't recommended if you're in recovery.

Related: Dry January guide · Dry January week by week · Dry January mocktails · Dry January date night