Category: non-alcoholic
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Nonalcoholic Cocktails Need Texture
In a recent story for AlcoholProfessor I wrote about John deBary’s latest book on nonalcoholic cocktails and the tricks he uses to improve the NA spirits you can buy off the shelf, mostly with the addition of boosting botanicals and/or intense tea infusions. I’m a big fan of deBary’s work in the category. Read the…
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2026 New Drink Books
Here are new rocktails and spirits (and a few other) books out or coming out in 2026.
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November and December 2025 Drink Books
Below are new cocktails and spirits books coming out in the last months of 2025. To see all the drink books that have come out in 2025, click on over to this post.
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The Moist Future for MSNBC
I was invited to write a story for MSNBC.com about the coming new normal of casual sobriety, aka the end of Dry January. I made a bunch of points about generational drinking habits, parallels to vegetarianism, and flaws and challenges of serving nonalcoholic spirits in bars. Read the story here.
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Nonalcoholic Alcoholic Things Are Just Things
First there was nonalcoholic alcoholic seltzer. To help drinkers in their sober curious exploration, White Claw is introducing a new way of drinking. Introducing White Claw 0% Alcohol – a new, non-alcoholic premium seltzer boasting the complex taste and feel of a real drink. Made from ultra-refined seltzer and blended with iconic flavors and hydrating…
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The Technology Behind Nonalcoholic Vermouth
I spoke with Martini and Rossi’s Master Blender, Giuseppe “Beppe” Musso, and Senior Master Herbalist Ivano Tonutti to learn how they made their new nonalcoholic vermouths. It was fascinating! The story is now live at AlcoholProfessor.com.
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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…
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I’ve Been Distilling Some Things
Wine was (probably) first distilled into eau de vie in the practice of trying to make medicines and perfumes like rosewater and wormwood water. Distilling these herbs would make a preserved medicine that would last beyond the herbs' seasons. Today we'd call them hydrosols and essential oils. These were water based distillations, and it was…