Drink and Drive
Posted by estiator at 13 December, at 07 : 45 AM Print
Sober-curious consumers are driving a new trend in spirits.
By Constantine Kolitsas
IT’S A THING IN EUROPE, according to Nikolas Smyrlakis, one of the owners of Roots Spirits, an Athens-based crafter of fine liqueurs. And with all things spirits-related, what’s trending in Europe today trends in the U.S. tomorrow (well, if that tomorrow is about 18 months away, anyway).
We’re talking about no- and low-alcohol spirits. (Smyrlakis’s company is currently rolling out two no-alcohol vermouths.)
And so, I go researching. My restaurant may be in a sleepy town in the Litchfield Hills in Connecticut, but to draw interest from the surrounding towns, I have developed a strategy to offer unique foods that customers won’t find anywhere in the region. And because the restaurant’s name includes the words “and Bar,” this strategy also applies to our craft cocktail program.
I start to do an internet search for no-alcohol spirits and it’s like a new world has opened. There are about a dozen companies that pop up—some of which are single-spirit affairs, while others offer a full line of boozeless bottles. Within days the ears of Facebook have caught wind of my searches (probably by monitoring my keystrokes on Google and Amazon or listening through my phone) and my feed is filled with endless offerings.
The number of companies and the sophistication of the marketing is shocking, particularly when one considers that this is a product segment of which I was incognizant until a few days prior. Companies from Europe, California, and varied and sundry points in between seem to be producing the stuff. I reached out to some of my fellow restaurateurs—ones that have their fingers on the pulse of what’s happening—and no one seemed to know what I was talking about.
But it’s a real thing. And its time is coming quickly. The whole angle with this emerging trend (and the industry that is forming to capitalize on it) is to provide an adult beverage to those who cannot drink or choose not to drink. This isn’t about “mocktails,” which have traditionally been heavily sugared concoctions that bear little resemblance to anything a cocktail connoisseur would imbibe. Rather, it’s about sophisticated mixology that chooses to utilize spirits that have little or no alcohol. The spirits are meant to be mixed into beverages that offer the flavors and feel of a true cocktail, without the buzz.
The consumers who are fueling the trend go beyond recovering alcoholics and pregnant women, beyond designated drivers and individuals who cannot mix alcohol with prescription drugs. Perhaps unbeknownst to those of us who unapologetically consume alcohol, there is an entire community of people—overwhelmingly among millennials—who have chosen sobriety (or near sobriety) as a lifestyle. Often called “sober curious,” these individuals are dedicated to wellness of body and mind, something that alcohol consumption works against, particularly when consumed to excess.
Although there are no strict rules, as with veganism on the food side, individuals who fall into the sober-curious column tend to espouse values focused on the age-old notion that the body is a temple. They want to be focused on selfcare and stay sharp. They don’t want the bloating, fatigue, and dullness that can follow a night of alcohol consumption. And they want to cut out sugars and other deleterious ingredients.
MANY ACTUALLY CREATE DISTILLED ALCOHOL PRODUCTS AND THEN DISTILL THE PRODUCT AGAIN TO REMOVE THE ALCOHOL
Very often, these are the same people who have opted to exchange meat in their diets for plant-based foods. They want natural products over synthetic or genetically modified ones, and they look for those products to provide flavor and palate satisfaction.
The challenge for the producers of non-alcohol spirits is to create an experience that comes as close as possible to that of an alcohol spirit; a goal that has been met with only a modicum of success.
Ethanol, the organic chemical compound that is (aside from being a gasoline additive) the intoxicating ingredient in most alcoholic beverages, performs a number of functions with regard to those beverages. It acts as a solvent to enhance the flavors in a spirit, as a thickener, and as an agitant. It is ethanol that inflames the palate, giving an alcoholic beverage a unique “kick” that is not easily duplicated in the non-alcohol versions.
In attempting to create an alcohol effect, these new beverage makers employ different processes. Many actually create distilled alcohol products and then distill the product again to remove the alcohol. And some utilize ingredients like capsicum (extracted from chili seeds), which gives the imbiber a burn in the back of the throat similar to ethanol. In nearly all cases, there does remain a very small amount of alcohol, typically 0.05%, which makes it legal in most jurisdictions to sell to minors. However, these are beverages designed for adults and, as such, I chose to serve them only to people 21 or older. And they are priced as regular cocktails (after all, the spirits tend to cost as much as their alcohol-containing counterparts).
In creating my restaurant’s nascent No-Lo (no- or lowalcohol) cocktail menu, I sampled a handful of products before deciding on three spirits: Monday’s zero-alcohol gin and Ritual’s zero-proof whiskey and tequila alternatives. I don’t recommend making martinis with these spirits, or sipping them on the rocks. They are interesting in those manners, but not particularly special. Where they shine is as key components in craft cocktails. Mix the Monday with a bit of fresh-squeezed lemon juice and honey and you’ve got a truly delicious non-alcohol Bee’s Knees; mix the tequila with fresh lime juice and a touch of triple sec and you’ve got a wonderful low-alcohol Margarita.
FLOR DEL SUR (NO ALCOHOL)
Recipe from Greca Mediterranean Kitchen + Bar
1.5 oz. Ritual Zero Proof Tequila Alternative
.5 oz. freshly squeezed cucumber juice
.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Sprig fresh basil
Rocks glass
Fill a mixing tin with ice and add the tequila alternative and juices. Shake vigorously. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Wet the basil and gently rub around the glass rim before placing it atop the cocktail.
