We always have enjoyed wine or good beer with our meals. One of my fondest Thanksgiving memories began with Jack handing me the best Bloody Mary I’ve ever had. Sake plus sushi equals a wonderful evening. You get the picture…
Living in a dry community is sometimes hard. A fillet of Chinook salmon cooked to perfection on a cedar plank would be that much better served with a bottle of Pinot Noir or a Chardonnay. The other night we had a wonderful meal of sashimi–the sweet shrimp, scallops and salmon were excellent. Alas, no Pinot Gris or sake. And after a good workout in the weight room, it sure would be nice to come home and have a beer. We can’t even have cooking sherry!
And so, we improvise to the extent we can. We bought a Sodastream carbonated beverage maker and absolutely love it. (In fact, now several people in our village have ordered them!) A glass of “fizzy water” and a bit of flavored syrup keeps things “dry” but agreeably festive.
But believe me, when we hit Anchorage in the spring, it’s not safe to get between us and that first bottle of beer!
CutterLight 
OMG, that’s a r-e-a-l-l-y dry town! I lived in Davis back in the day when hard liquor could not be sold within 3 miles of campus–only beer and wine were available in the Safeway. (And I thought that was dry!) Somehow, in my earlier days in Vermont, alcohol seemed like a necessity of winter, like a scarf or chapstick . . .
I do enjoy a “bubbly water”–we mix it with orange juice or cranberry for a nice light drink (winter or summer). Does the Irish Creme syrup in the photo warm you up after a chilly day?
“Irish Cream” has a lovely color when mixed with bubbly water…it just doesn’t have the same warm-you-up effect.