AlcoholRehabHelp Logo
AlcoholRehabHelp Logo
Alcohol & Health
Treatment
Helping Alcoholics
Where Does My Call Go?
Updated on October 2, 2023
7 min read

What Types of Alcohol are Considered Vegan?

What Makes an Alcoholic Drink Vegan?

Committing to a vegan diet means you consume no animal products. In addition to avoiding meat and poultry, you must avoid other animal byproducts. This includes eggs, dairy, honey, and more. Alcoholic drinks aren’t included in this list completely.

Vegan alcoholic beverages contain no animal or animal-derived ingredients. Additionally, no animal products are used in the distillation, brewing, or fermentation of vegan products.

This blog will review the different vegan-friendly drink brands and common questions regarding drinking with this diet.

Sponsored

Online Therapy Can Help

Over 3 million people use BetterHelp. Their services are:

  • Professional and effective
  • Affordable and convenient
  • Personalized and discreet
  • Easy to start
Find a Therapist

Answer a few questions to get started

online consultation

Why Do People Live Vegan Lifestyles?

A common reason for people to go vegan is to protest the exploitation of animals for food production and other processes. Besides sticking to different meal options, going vegan can include choosing more sustainable and organic products.

Having a vegan diet can also be a religious stance or a lifestyle choice that includes avoiding certain foods, such as:

  • Red meats (beef, lamb, pork, etc.)
  • Poultry (chicken, duck, etc.)
  • Eggs
  • Milk (and other dairy products)
  • Honey

People believe committing to vegan diets can lower the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. However, further studies are needed to confirm these claims.

Can Vegans Drink Alcohol?

Vegans can drink alcohol, but you’ll need to research your options before imbibing if you’re committing to a plant-based diet.

Although it might seem that alcohol doesn’t come with animal-derived ingredients, some alcohols aren’t vegan. Even beer and wine might contain animal products.

If you’re vegan but want to consume alcohol, you have fewer options. You must avoid cocktails and alcoholic drinks that include the following:

  • Milk and cream
  • Honey
  • Whey
  • Casein
  • Lactose
  • Eggs
  • Gelatin

The items on this list are only some of the many ingredients that can be added to alcoholic drinks. Only alcoholic beverages that contain and are made with no animal products in the distillation, brewing, or fermentation process are vegan.

Sponsored

BetterHelp can Help

They’ll connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor

Find a Therapist

Answer a few questions to get started

Better Help Logo

What are Vegan-friendly Brands of Alcohol?

Many alcohols are vegan-friendly, ranging from vegan beers to vegan wines.

Here are a few examples:

Vegan Beer Brands

  • Coors
  • Coors Light
  • Budweiser
  • Bud Light
  • Michelob Ultra
  • Corona Extra
  • Corona Light
  • Miller Genuine Draft
  • Miller High Life
  • Heineken
  • Guinness Draught
  • Guinness Original XX
  • Pabst Blue Ribbon

Other beers, including many craft beers and microbrews, are vegan. It’s best to check with the brewer to determine if their product is vegan.

Vegan Wine Brands

Vegan white and red wine use various vegan-friendly ingredients in fermentation, including wheat, corn, potatoes, and legumes.

Brands that make vegan wines include:

  • Frey Vineyards
  • Red Truck Wines
  • Bellissima Prosecco
  • Lumos Wines
  • The Vegan Vine
  • Charles Shaw
  • Yellow Tail
  • Charles Shaw from Trader Joe’s (red wines only)

Some of these brands produce both vegan and non-vegan wines. It’s important to read the labels carefully to determine if a specific bottle is vegan.

Vegan Spirits

Most liquors are vegan, but remember that flavored versions of these vegan spirits might contain or use animal products in the distillation process.

Vegan spirits include unflavored versions of:

  • Gin
  • Brandy
  • Vodka
  • Rum
  • Brandy
  • Tequila
  • Whiskey
Sponsored

Thinking about Getting Help?

BetterHelp offers affordable mental health care via phone, video, or live-chat.

Find a Therapist

Answer a few questions to get started

Better Help Logo

What Drinks Aren’t Vegan-friendly?

Some drinks are non-vegan because they contain animal products or animal products were used in their manufacturing process.

Distillation and fermentation are used when making spirits, beer, and wine. In some cases, non-vegan ingredients are introduced during these processes.

Some of the alcoholic drinks that are non-vegan-friendly include:

  • Red spirits (when carmine is used to dye them red)
  • Cask ales (contain isinglass)
  • Honey beers
  • Meads
  • Milk stouts

In addition to specific types of alcohol made with animal products, cocktails can be non-vegan. Many mixed drinks contain one or more types of alcohol combined with other ingredients. This includes dairy products, honey, egg whites, and more.

Vegan cocktails are free of all other non-vegan ingredients.

How to Tell Which Drinks Are Vegan

There are a few ways to determine if alcohol is vegan:

  • Check the product label
  • Look for a seal that says “Suitable for Vegans” or “Certified Vegan”
  • Contact the manufacturer
  • Search online for a list of ingredients in a specific brand or product or search for “vegan alcohol options”

The “certified vegan” label is a globally recognized registered trademark by the Vegan Awareness Foundation. It guarantees that products have not been made using animal products or byproducts. It also guarantees no animal testing was conducted at any stage of the manufacturing process.

Some products might feature other vegan labeling claims. It’s always best to double-check if you are concerned a product label might be misleading. 

Websites, including https://doublecheckvegan.com/, are great resources to check or double-check if something is vegan.

Popular Vegan Alcohol Brands

Popular vegan liquors/spirit brands include:

  • 1800 Tequila
  • Absolut Vodka     
  • Angostura Bitters and other alcohols
  • Appleton Estate Rums
  • Bacardi Silver
  • Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight
  • Blanton’s Bourbon
  • Bulleit Bourbon
  • Buffalo Trace Bourbon
  • Smirnoff

Not all of the products in these brand lines are vegan. Be sure to double-check the label when choosing your specific product.

Is It Dangerous to Go Vegan?

A vegan diet’s main goal is to avoid animal-derived products and processed foods altogether. However, avoiding some foods will vary in how it affects a person’s metabolism and well-being.

Vegan diets typically lack the following important nutrients:

  • Protein
  • Iron
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin B12

Like any change in diet, suddenly committing to a vegan diet can take a while to get used to. Working with a registered dietitian is vital to ensure that your body, or any concurrent treatments, won’t be too affected by your lifestyle choices.

Common Questions on Veganism and Alcohol

Can vegans drink alcohol without compromising their diet?

Absolutely. There are many vegan versions of beer, wine, and spirits.

Does vegan alcohol taste different?

Most people agree that vegan alcohol tastes exactly like non-vegan alcohol.

Taste is subjective, so some people prefer the taste of one over the other. However, the animal products used in the fining process are filtered away or evaporated. They likely have no impact on taste.

Are there health benefits to choosing vegan alcohol?

There could be health benefits to choosing vegan alcohol.

Everyone’s dietary needs are different. The vegan version is healthier if someone is allergic to a non-vegan ingredient in a drink.

A drink’s health benefits also depend on its overall quality of ingredients. The vegan version is likely healthier if a product uses a low-quality animal ingredient.

Generally, non-vegan alcohol is comparable to vegan alcohol in terms of health if you compare similar quality products.

Are all wines vegan?

No. Some wines include animal-derived products like gelatin or egg whites. However, many wines are made with grapes, yeast, and water, so it’s a great option for people on a plant-based diet. These ingredients are used during the clarification process to remove impurities.

How do you make vegan cocktails?

If you’d like to create vegan cocktails you and your friends will love, don’t be afraid to experiment. As long as you avoid animal-derived ingredients, most non-vegan typicals have the same spices, fruits, and herbal garnishes as traditional cocktails.

Is vegan alcohol safer than non-vegan alcohol?

No. Vegan alcohol might offer health benefits, but it carries the same risks as non-vegan alcohol. It’s just as likely to develop an addiction to vegan alcohol as non-vegan alcohol. 

Drinking vegan beer, wine, and liquor can cause inebriation, damage your liver, and be fatal if too much is consumed in one sitting. You should drink vegan alcohol with the same precautions as non-vegan alcohol. 

Additional References for Choosing Vegan Alcoholic Beverages

It’s always best to conduct personal research before imbibing. You can ask brands about the alcoholic drinks they produce and the bartenders preparing your cocktail.

If you’d like to learn more about vegan diets, nutrition in general, or alcohol, visit:

Summary

Whether your preferred beverage is beer, wine, or distilled spirits, there are vegan options you can choose from various brands.

You can tell if a drink is vegan by checking the product label and/or asking the manufacturer. If you’re ordering a mixed cocktail in a bar, it’s best to ask the person making the drink to avoid ingredients that aren’t vegan-friendly. 

Depending on your dietary needs, vegan alcoholic drinks might be better for your health. This doesn’t lessen the risks of drinking. It’s best to consult your doctor about your drinking habits.

Updated on October 2, 2023
7 sources cited
Updated on October 2, 2023
All Alcoholrehabhelp content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies.
  1. Mayo Clinic Staff. “Alcohol in Moderation: How Many Drinks Is That?” mayoclinic.org, 2018.

  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Alcohol Use and Your Health.” cdc.gov, 2021.

  3. Going Vegan 101.” Cleveland Clinic, 2021.

  4. Hunter, C. “Embracing a Plant-Based Diet.” Stanford Report, 2021.

  5. NSF. “BeVeg ISO Accredited Vegan Certification.” nsf.org, 2023. 

  6. V-MARK. “Vegan Certification.” veganmark.org, 2023.

  7. Fischer, D. “Vegan: is it really a healthier way to eat?” TuftsMedicine, 2020.

AlcoholRehabHelp Logo
All content created by Alcohol Rehab Help is sourced from current scientific research and fact-checked by an addiction counseling expert. However, the information provided by Alcohol Rehab Help is not a substitute for professional treatment advice.
© 2024 by Treatment Pathway LLC. All rights reserved.
Back to top icon
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram