Dry January.

January is generally a miserable month. To make matters worse, we’re socially pressganged into making it an alcohol-free month too. That said, giving the liver a rest after the over-indulgence of December is a good idea. Rather than give up completely, I tend to go for a dramatic reduction in booze consumption, but ultimately, it’s up to you. Wherever you stand on the cut-down-or-give-up spectrum, I have recently discovered a drink that feels tailor-made for this period of abstinence. It couldn’t be simpler in terms of its ingredients, but it tastes great and, weirdly, it tricks you into believing you’re enjoying a cocktail. In fact, Matthew Macfadyen asked for it as a cocktail replacement on the Waitrose Dish podcast.

It’s basically just a glass of sparkling water, with ice and a good slug of Angostura Bitters. Yes, that’s it.

The recipe for Angostura Bitters, incidentally, was developed for use as a tonic in 1824, by Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, a German surgeon-general in Simón Bolívar's army in Venezuela.

Originally produced in the town of Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar), the aromatic bitters are a concentrated, herbal alcoholic preparation based on gentian, herbs and spices. Although far form the only bitters on the market these days, they have become essential to so many of the classic cocktails, like the Manhattan and Old Fashioned, that they have become an institution.

Anyway, why not give your liver a little time off and enjoy this refreshingly simple drink. Since it doesn’t seem to have a name, let’s call it Dry January.