Suck It Up - Single Use Plastic Straws Are Over! Upgrade Your Cocktails with These Alternatives

Suck It Up - Single Use Plastic Straws Are Over! Upgrade Your Cocktails with These Alternatives

Avoid one of the biggest taboos when drinking - and stock up one of these alternatives to the bar industry enemy: the single use plastic straw.

Single use plastic straws are disappearing quicker than you can whip yourself up a Martini - and good riddance to them. Who wants to slurp on a bit of flimsy blue plastic when someone’s taken the time to design you a delicious drink.

Do you remember those extra thin straws which would appear in twos and threes in your drinks? The biggest headache to drink out of as the let hardly any liquid flow, and honestly we’re not too sure who came up with them in the first place.


You don’t really need a straw to enjoy a cocktail, but if they’re your accessory of choice then we’ve had a look at some great alternatives - ones that are truly made for grown ups.

The sciency part...

Plastic straws are among the top 10 items found in beach clean ups, and don’t biodegrade, there are so many of them and they are so small that they often drop out of material sorting machines and go on to pollute our oceans.


According to StrawlessOcean.org plastic straws end up in the ocean mainly through human error, they’re left on beaches, roll out of the trash and sadly litterbugs drop them all over the place. Once plastic is ingested by marine life, that marine life only has a 50% chance of survival.

This is all a bit doomy and gloomy - but the great news is that you can sip on your favourite Old Fashioned or slurp down that Daiquiri without feeling one iota of guilt.

Straw solutions

We’ve taken a look at some of the best alternatives to single use plastic straws that you can find - and there’s enough choice to stock your home bar and be the envy of anyone that stops by for a nightcap!

1. A touch of glass

Glass straws, for instance like these hand blown murano glass, will add that je ne sais quoi to the most elegant of drinks or even a humble mocktail. Made by hand and dishwasher safe, they’re a mixologists dream.


2. Classic choice

Stainless steel straws are the classic choice, are easy to clean, look classy in every drink and can be found the world over - from Target, Amazon to your local supermarket.


3. Copper charms

Our absolute favourites - copper straws add sparkle to your cocktail and come in different sizes and shapes. They’re reusable and timeless with not a hint of plastic in sight. Once you’ve got these you can happily mix any cocktail knowing you’ve got the straw to match.


4. Straws made from avocado pips

The much loved avo is back to save the day. Avocado pips are used to make these ecofriendly and biodegradable straws - it’s quite a wonder we ever used single plastic before!


5. Edible ones

Then there’s a new trend which we think is going to be the favourite of mixologists the world over: edible straws. These new creations see the straw become an integral part of the drink, rather than something to swill around your drink as your eyes dance about the bar.

Throwback to The General Assembly’s re-launch down at Docklands and these very very refreshing little spritzes made with new kid on the block, strawberry infused Beefeater Pink Gin. Topped with prosecco, soda and served with an edible strawberry straw, this was a pretty fun way to kick off an awesome night. - @thegeneralsw @beefeatergin @pernodricardau #thegeneralsw #beefeatergin #beefeaterpink #spritz #summer #summersips #cocktails #melbournecocktails #prosecco #proseccolife #sparklingwine #cocktaillife #aperitif #drinkswithfriends #cocktaillife #winecocktails #sexydrinks #ginspritz #spritz?#pinkspritz #gincocktails #ediblestraw #strawberry? #strawberry #strawberryinfused #ginlife #instagin #cocktail

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There are different flavours available; lemon, lime, strawberry, chocolate... and we’d suggest the lime straw in a Margarita, or the lemon straw sticking out of a Bloody Mary!

6. What looks like edible pastic…

...but isn’t! There’s another edible straw made with seaweed which has just achieved its crowdfunding goal - the Lolistraw.


7. Bamboo straws

Then there are these sturdy bamboo straws, gives a great drinking taste and an ethical alternative.


There’s a material, colour and price point for everyone without needing to use single use plastic straws. Make your cocktails pop by trying one of these alternatives. Let us know which are your favourites in the comments below.




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