Category: new_booze

The Big Nonalcoholic Spirits Rating, Round Two
In 2021 I hosted a group of bartenders to taste a big batch of nonalcoholic spirits. Read that write-up here.

Since then, many new brands have come onto the market or been newly imported into the USA. I lined up 17 expressions and tasted them. Fifteen are pictured below, plus I tried the new nonalcoholic vermouth/aperitivos from Martini & Rossi.

I am not going to take the time to write out my tasting notes, sorry, but I'll share my favorites.

Note that the previous tasting was blind, mostly in Daiquiri format. For this tasting I tasted them neat and not blind. To be truly fair I would do a cocktail taste test with each, because sometimes the flavors in n/a spirits that are overwhelmingly perfumy on their own (a huge negative to me) aren't so intense when mixed.

Nonalcoholic Spirits that are Pretty Good from this Group, Kept the Bottles and Will Drink:
- Everleaf Marine
- Free Spirits Gin [buy]
- Spiritless Kentucky 74 Cinnamon Whiskey
- Free Spirits Bourbon [buy]
- Ghia [buy]
Nonalcoholic Spirits I Think are Good Enough to Maybe Drink Without Mixers, just neat or on the rocks (The Best of this Tasting):
- Everleaf Forest
- Cut Above Mezcal
- Free Spirits Tequila [buy]
- Dromme Calm
- Martini & Rossi Vibrante
- Martini & Rossi Floreale
The rest I didn't think were worthy. But this list has a lot more winners than the last tasting!

Notes:
- The Free Spirits Gin is the only n/a gin I've tried that I think is drinkable at all, but even this one does not taste like gin. None of them do. I recently found out the reason for this and will share on another post!
- The Martini aperitifs have a base of dealcoholized wine, and this makes for a big difference. I have a story going up on AlcoholProfessor in a few weeks in which I review the details on those products. It's cool stuff.
- Dromme Calm is… not calming but it tastes good. It has tons of capsaicin in it I think, so it's super spicy.
- Several of the ones with fruit or vegetable juices in them tasted spoiled or cooked.
- As mentioned above, the ones that were perfumy – often soapy- were ones I also rated low. Perhaps they'd perform better in specific drinks.
November 20, 2022
Non-Alcoholic Spirit Brands List
Here is a list of non-alcoholic spirits brands. There are a lot more of them out than I realized!

Did I miss any? Please let me know and thanks to everyone who has been writing in.

List of Non-Alcoholic Distilled Spirits

Note I recently added links to purchase products on Amazon (look for "buy" links) if available in the US. Most of these products are not.
1. Seedlip (UK) / Aecorn /NoGroni [buy]
2. Ceder's Wild (Sweden) [buy]
3. Surendran & Bownes (UK) Labdanum
4. Stryyk (UK)
5. Herbie Virgin (Denmark)
6. Pentire (UK)
7. Three Spirit (UK)
8. MeMento (Italy)
9. Ghia
10. Fluere (Netherlands) [buy]
11. Ritual Zero Proof (Chicago) [buy]
12. The Bitter Note, Vibrant Note, Hidden Note (Italy)
13. Lidl CeroCero [UK] review
14. Sea Arch (UK) [buy]
15. Lyre's [Australia] [buy buy]
16. Monte Rosso Non-Alcoholic Aperitif (still in production?)
17. Xachoh
18. Borrago (UK) [buy]
19. Everleaf (UK)
20. Caleño [buy]
21. Ginsin/Ronsin/Versin/Whissin [buy Ginsin][buy gin sampler][buy Ronsin]
22. GinFree – Aldi's version of GinSin
23. Junip
24. Silk Tree (Ireland)
25. The Driver's Tipple (UK)
26. Senser (UK) with "active botanicals"
27. Celtic Soul (from Cedar's for Pernod Ricard)
28. Feragaia
29. Arkay
30. ASDA Botanical Drinks
31. Ecology & Co (New Zealand)
32. Blutul Vermouth [buy]
33. Abstinence (South Africa)
34. Nine Elms
35. Crafted Spirits
36. Spirits of Virtue (Scotland)
37. Punchy Non-Alcoholic Spiced Rum (still made? no longer on website)
38. Amplify (UK)
39. Nona (Belgium)
40. Lumette (Canada)
41. Spiritliss (US)
42. Brunswick Aces (Australia)
43. Saint Non-Alcoholic Gin (South Africa)
44. ISH Spirits GinIsh/RumIsh
45. Proteau (USA)
46. Kin Euphorics (USA)
47. Bax Botanics (UK)
48. ALTD (Australia)
49. Siegfried Wonderleaf (Germany)
50. UnDone (Germany)
51. Tinley Beverages [cannabis or "non-cannabis-derived plant terpenes "] (USA)
52. Watersboten [buy]
53. ROOTS (Greece) – Roots DIVINO Bianco & Roots DIVINO Rosso Vermouth
54. Hooghoudt Zero Zero 24 Genever (The Netherlands)
55. Kever Genever 0% (The Netherlands)
56. Monday Booze-Free Gin (San Diego) [buy]
57. Nudo (Belgium)
58. Gnista Spirits (Sweden)
59. Sobrii (Canada)
60. Wilderton (Oregon, USA)
61. Cordus Bitter Sweet Non – Alcoholic Aperitif
62. Palermo non-alcohol red and white vermouth, aperitif
63. No Ghost in a Bottle Herbal Delight/Floral Delight (Belgium)
64. Goodsack Virgin non-alcoholic vodka and gin (Netherlands)
65. Loopuyt Virgin gin (Netherlands)
66. Blancart Anise – Older n/a Anise product
67. Cristal 100 Anise (France) Older product on market
68. Adam & Eve Innocent Spirit (Belgium)
69. Martini Vibrante and Floreale (Italy)
70. Cotswold Green (UK)
71. Quick Gin
72. Chastity Gin
73. Berkshire Blend
74. Gin-Esque
75. Kentucky 74 (US) [buy]
76. Solbrü [Canada]
77. Kvist
78. Mockingbird Spirit [UK]
79. Damrak Virgin 0.0 [Amsterdam]
80. Sacré [US]
81. Guilty [Germany]
82. Windspiel Alkoholfrei [Germany]
83. Der Berliner Brandstifter Alkoholfrei [Germany]
84. Humboldt Freigeist [Germany]
85. JNPR and BTTR [France]
86. Warner's 0% Botanic Garden Spirits [UK]
87. Bonbuz [USA] with "amino acids, nootropics and adaptogens" and caffeine.
88. NLL (New London Light) [UK]
89. Wilfred's Spritz [UK]
90. Flora Hemp Spirits "The World’s First Non Alcoholic Hemp Spirit" (CBD) [US]
91. ZEO [UK]
92. Sexy AF Spirits [Canada]
93. Felix Spirituals [Georgia, USA]
94. Free Spirits [California, US]
95. Vera Spirits [Slovenia]
96. Gordon's 0.0% [UK] press release
97. Beckett's Non-Alcoholic Spirits [CA, USA]
98. Vermont VerGin [South Africa]
99. Heimat Vogelfrei alkoholfrei [Germany]
100. New London Light from Salcombe Distilling CO [UK] [buy]
101. DHOS from Ransom Spirits [Oregon]
102. Aplos Hemp-Infused Non-Alcoholic Spirit
103. Artet Cannabis Aperitif
104. Kinda Whisky, Rum, Pink Gin [Ireland]
105. Easip Fields/Woods [Germany]
106. Flaneur/Flaneuse [Estonia]
107. Distillerie Des Appalaches Alphonse [Canada]
108. Bowser Leaf [UK]
109. Rasasvada "spirit restorative" [USA]
110. Tanqueray 0.0% [UK] [press release]
111. Spirited Euphoria [UK] "distilled from hemp" plus CBD
112. Laori [Germany] alcohol-free gin
113. Ginnocence [USA – Seattle]
114. Ovant alcohol-free distillates [Australia]
115. Novara Bitter Aperitivo from Bark and Bitter [Canada]
116. Optimist Drinks [USA – Los Angeles]
117. The Sober Bartender Spirits [Alberta, Canada]
118. Amethyst NA Spirits [South Carolina, USA]
119. Amass Riverine [Los Angeles, CA, USA]
120. Sipsmith FreeGlider [London, UK]
121. SeaDrift [Australia]
122. Figlia [USA]
123. Tenneyson [Austin, TX, USA]
124. Crossip Drinks [UK]
125. Melati Non-Alcoholic Botanical Aperitif [Singapore]
126. Banks Botanicals [Australia]
127. Eceaux Drinks
128. Hellfire Bluff [Australia]
129. SakuraFresh [Japan] Press release
130. Herbarium [UK]
131. Stillers Alcohol Free Distilled Botanical Drinks [UK]
132. Djin Spirits [France]
133. Selati Free Spirit [South Africa, coming 2022]
134. The Pathfinder
135. Mokum Dusk [Netherlands]
136. Slow Luck [Austin, Texas, SA]
137. WhistlePig Devil's Slide [Vermont, USA]
138. Palette by Bacardi Press release
139. Sans Junipre Botanical Spirit from Great Lakes Distillery [USA]
140. REBELS 0.0% [Switzerland]
141. Nolow [France]
142. Sir Chill Gin 0.0 [Belgium]
143. OP Anderson Alkoholfri Snaps [Sweden]
144. Bôtan Distillery Juniper Garden [Belgium]
145. The Stillery Virgin [Netherlands]
146. Opius [Belgium]
147. High Point Aperitif and Digestif [UK]
148. Marie Laveau
149. Maria and Craig's
150. HP Juniper [Canada]
151. NEMA [Japan]
152. BARE Zero Proof [US]
153. APRTF [UK]
154. Filibuster NA [US, coming soon]
155. Four Pillars Bandwagon [Australia]
156. Niets (otaniets Gin 0%, Havaniets Rum 0%) [Belgium]
157. Seir Hill Non-Alcoholic Spirits [Connecticut, USA]
158. Cut Above [Houston, TX, USA]
159. Dromme [San Diego, CA, USA]
160. Polka [Australia]
161. Dead Man's Fingers 0.0 Spiced Rum
162. Dr. ZeroZero AmarNo [Italy]
163. MeShil [Korea]
164. Limonzero [Netherlands]
165. Pamos (cannabis)
166. Seagram's 0.0% [Spain]
Possibly No Longer Produced Non-Alcoholic Spirits
1. Willow.London [CBD] (off the market)
Low-ABV Versions of Spirits
1. Temperance Gin from Portobello Road
2. Hayman's Small Gin
3. CleanGin/ Clean R/ Clean T
4. Atopia [Scotland]
5. Mary "The low alcohol, low calorie botanical blend"
6. Beefeater Light, Ballantine's Light press release
7. 18.8 Vodka and Gin from Fluid Assets
Some Sources where I found these:
November 12, 2019
What is Alchermes Liqueur?

As I covered on this New Booze blog post, the folks at Bittercube bitters have launched a new line of liqueurs, and one of them is an alchermes. So you may be asking yourself, what the heck is alchermes?

Alchermes is an ancient red-colored liqueur with its color derived from kermes insects. The insects are scale insects that eat oak trees. Modern alchermes liqueurs no longer use the kermes insects but the red liqueur is still used to make zuppa inglese and other desserts.

I wrote about alchermes for a story I wrote on cochineal (which replaced kermes as the preferred red coloring) for SevenFifty Daily:

Cochineal is a product of the Americas, but a different set of insects was used to dye fabric as well as one notable drink long before Columbus. Kermes is a coloring that was made from the crushed scale insect Kermes vermilio (and a couple of related bugs), which feeds on the sap of Mediterranean oak trees. The dye was used to color silk, and that silk was infused into a liqueur called alkermes (or alchermes), along with apple juice, rose water, ambergris, gold flakes, crushed pearls, aloe, and other ingredients. This liqueur recipe dates back to at least 800 A.D. when liqueurs and medicine were one and the same.

Today, versions of alkermes liqueur are still produced, specifically to make the traditional Italian red dessert zuppa inglese. These liqueurs are no longer colored with kermes bugs: Some makers use cochineal; others use artificial coloring. It’s doubtful that any still include crushed pearls and gold flakes. And few, if any, are imported into the U.S.

So there you have it. I'm not sure if there are any other US-made alchermes liqueurs on the market. As mentioned in the New Booze post, the new Heirloom liqueurs line launches outside of the midwest in 2019.

October 22, 2018
Vodka Made from Fog Water on Popular Science

In my latest story for PopularScience.com, I wrote about the new Hangar 1 Fog Point Vodka, which was diluted with fog-harvested water from San Francisco; most of it from beneath Sutro Tower on Twin Peaks.

In another deviation from their standard blend of grain spirit with grape, this product is distilled from 100% biodynamic wine from Bonny Doon – they actually purchased it in bottle, dumped the bottles and distilled.

Then the batch was diluted with 1000 liters of fog water that had been boiled and filtered through carbon.

Yesterday I visited Tilden Park in the East Bay, where a volunteer has two fog catchers hidden on the steep hills. It was unfortunately sunny, but our guide squirted water from a spray bottle to show us how the nets on the fog catcher pick up 50% of the water that passes through them – pretty impressive. The small fog catchers get from 1L per day, now up to 1.5L, and they expect them to pick up 3-5L per day in the foggiest season.

Anyway, check out the story on PopSci.com!

May 20, 2016