I wrote a story for Eater San Francisco on a trend of purple drinks with coconut cream and usually ube as a flavoring.
Photos by @vivo.visuals, Melissa de Mata, @equal_parts_cocktail, Allison Webber
You should probably go read it.
Category: trends
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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.
Seedlip (UK) / Aecorn /NoGroni [buy]- Ceder's Wild (Sweden) [buy]
- Surendran & Bownes (UK) Labdanum
- Stryyk (UK)
- Herbie Virgin (Denmark)
- Pentire (UK)
- Three Spirit (UK)
- MeMento (Italy)
- Ghia
- Fluere (Netherlands) [buy]
- Ritual Zero Proof (Chicago) [buy]
- The Bitter Note, Vibrant Note, Hidden Note (Italy)
- Lidl CeroCero [UK] review
- Sea Arch (UK) [buy]
- Lyre's [Australia] [buy buy]
Monte Rosso Non-Alcoholic Aperitif (still in production?)- Xachoh
- Borrago (UK) [buy]
- Everleaf (UK)
- Caleño [buy]
- Ginsin/Ronsin/Versin/Whissin [buy Ginsin][buy gin sampler][buy Ronsin]
- GinFree – Aldi's version of GinSin
- Junip
- Silk Tree (Ireland)
- The Driver's Tipple (UK)
- Senser (UK) with "active botanicals"
- Celtic Soul (from Cedar's for Pernod Ricard)
- Feragaia
- Arkay
- ASDA Botanical Drinks
- Ecology & Co (New Zealand)
- Blutul Vermouth [buy]
Abstinence (South Africa)- Nine Elms
- Crafted Spirits
- Spirits of Virtue (Scotland)
- Punchy Non-Alcoholic Spiced Rum (still made? no longer on website)
- Amplify (UK)
- Nona (Belgium)
- Lumette (Canada)
- Spiritliss (US)
- Brunswick Aces (Australia)
- Saint Non-Alcoholic Gin (South Africa)
- ISH Spirits GinIsh/RumIsh
- Proteau (USA)
- Kin Euphorics (USA)
- Bax Botanics (UK)
- ALTD (Australia)
- Siegfried Wonderleaf (Germany)
- UnDone (Germany)
- Tinley Beverages [cannabis or "non-cannabis-derived plant terpenes "] (USA)
- Watersboten [buy]
- ROOTS (Greece) – Roots DIVINO Bianco & Roots DIVINO Rosso Vermouth
- Hooghoudt Zero Zero 24 Genever (The Netherlands)
- Kever Genever 0% (The Netherlands)
Monday Booze-Free Gin (San Diego) [buy]- Nudo (Belgium)
- Gnista Spirits (Sweden)
- Sobrii (Canada)
- Wilderton (Oregon, USA)
- Cordus Bitter Sweet Non – Alcoholic Aperitif
- Palermo non-alcohol red and white vermouth, aperitif
- No Ghost in a Bottle Herbal Delight/Floral Delight (Belgium)
- Goodsack Virgin non-alcoholic vodka and gin (Netherlands)
- Loopuyt Virgin gin (Netherlands)
- Blancart Anise – Older n/a Anise product
- Cristal 100 Anise (France) Older product on market
Adam & Eve Innocent Spirit (Belgium)- Martini Vibrante and Floreale (Italy)
- Cotswold Green (UK)
- Quick Gin
- Chastity Gin
- Berkshire Blend
- Gin-Esque
- Kentucky 74 (US) [buy]
- Solbrü [Canada]
- Kvist
- Mockingbird Spirit [UK]
Damrak Virgin 0.0 [Amsterdam]- Sacré [US]
- Guilty [Germany]
- Windspiel Alkoholfrei [Germany]
- Der Berliner Brandstifter Alkoholfrei [Germany]
- Humboldt Freigeist [Germany]
- JNPR and BTTR [France]
- Warner's 0% Botanic Garden Spirits [UK]
- Bonbuz [USA] with "amino acids, nootropics and adaptogens" and caffeine.
- NLL (New London Light) [UK]
- Wilfred's Spritz [UK]
Flora Hemp Spirits "The World’s First Non Alcoholic Hemp Spirit" (CBD) [US]- ZEO [UK]
- Sexy AF Spirits [Canada]
- Felix Spirituals [Georgia, USA]
- Free Spirits [California, US]
- Vera Spirits [Slovenia]
Gordon's 0.0% [UK] press release- Beckett's Non-Alcoholic Spirits [CA, USA]
- Vermont VerGin [South Africa]
- Heimat Vogelfrei alkoholfrei [Germany]
- New London Light from Salcombe Distilling CO [UK] [buy]
- DHOS from Ransom Spirits [Oregon]
- Aplos Hemp-Infused Non-Alcoholic Spirit
- Artet Cannabis Aperitif
- Kinda Whisky, Rum, Pink Gin [Ireland]
- Easip Fields/Woods [Germany]
- Flaneur/Flaneuse [Estonia]
- Distillerie Des Appalaches Alphonse [Canada]
- Bowser Leaf [UK]
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Rasasvada "spirit restorative" [USA] - Tanqueray 0.0% [UK] [press release]
- Spirited Euphoria [UK] "distilled from hemp" plus CBD
- Laori [Germany] alcohol-free gin
- Ginnocence [USA – Seattle]
- Ovant alcohol-free distillates [Australia]
- Novara Bitter Aperitivo from Bark and Bitter [Canada]
- Optimist Drinks [USA – Los Angeles]
- The Sober Bartender Spirits [Alberta, Canada]
- Amethyst NA Spirits [South Carolina, USA]
- Amass Riverine [Los Angeles, CA, USA]
- Sipsmith FreeGlider [London, UK]
- SeaDrift [Australia]
- Figlia [USA]
- Tenneyson [Austin, TX, USA]
Crossip Drinks [UK]- Melati Non-Alcoholic Botanical Aperitif [Singapore]
- Banks Botanicals [Australia]
- Eceaux Drinks
- Hellfire Bluff [Australia]
- SakuraFresh [Japan] Press release
- Herbarium [UK]
- Stillers Alcohol Free Distilled Botanical Drinks [UK]
- Djin Spirits [France]
- Selati Free Spirit [South Africa, coming 2022]
The Pathfinder- Mokum Dusk [Netherlands]
- Slow Luck [Austin, Texas, SA]
- WhistlePig Devil's Slide [Vermont, USA]
- Palette by Bacardi Press release
- Sans Junipre Botanical Spirit from Great Lakes Distillery [USA]
- REBELS 0.0% [Switzerland]
- Nolow [France]
- Sir Chill Gin 0.0 [Belgium]
- OP Anderson Alkoholfri Snaps [Sweden]
- Bôtan Distillery Juniper Garden [Belgium]
- The Stillery Virgin [Netherlands]
- Opius [Belgium]
- High Point Aperitif and Digestif [UK]
- Marie Laveau
- Maria and Craig's
- HP Juniper [Canada]
- NEMA [Japan]
- BARE Zero Proof [US]
- APRTF [UK]
- Filibuster NA [US, coming soon]
- Four Pillars Bandwagon [Australia]
- Niets (otaniets Gin 0%, Havaniets Rum 0%) [Belgium]
- Seir Hill Non-Alcoholic Spirits [Connecticut, USA]
- Cut Above [Houston, TX, USA]
- Dromme [San Diego, CA, USA]
- Polka [Australia]
- Dead Man's Fingers 0.0 Spiced Rum
- Dr. ZeroZero AmarNo [Italy]
- MeShil [Korea]
- Limonzero [Netherlands]
- Pamos (cannabis)
- Seagram's 0.0% [Spain]
Possibly No Longer Produced Non-Alcoholic Spirits
- Willow.London [CBD] (off the market)
Low-ABV Versions of Spirits
- Temperance Gin from Portobello Road
- Hayman's Small Gin
- CleanGin/ Clean R/ Clean T
- Atopia [Scotland]
- Mary "The low alcohol, low calorie botanical blend"
- Beefeater Light, Ballantine's Light press release
- 18.8 Vodka and Gin from Fluid Assets
Some Sources where I found these:
- https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2018/08/top-seven-non-alcoholic-spirits-brands/
- https://vinepair.com/buy-this-booze/best-non-alcoholic-sprits/
- https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2018/11/is-greater-transparency-needed-in-non-alcoholic-spirits/
- https://www.alcademics.com/2019/10/report-from-bar-convent-berlin-2019.html
- https://www.shortlist.com/lists/best-non-alcoholic-spirits-400564
- https://drydrinker.com/
- https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trending-five-non-alcoholic-spirits-for-teetotallers-g5sr85g0g
- https://www.popsci.com/engineering-alcohol-free-drinks/
- Soberito
- TimeForAlcoholFree.co.uk
- https://www.clubsodaguide.com/search/drinks/?drink_type=Spirits_and_Premixed
- https://www.onlyhere4.com/collections/zero-alcohol-1
- https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2022/01/the-low-no-masters-2022-results/
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Once Always Almond, Orgeat Has Gone Nutty!
In my new story for SevenFifty Daily, I wrote about how orgeat, the French almond syrup famously in the Mai Tai, is now being made with a range of nuts, seeds, and other ingredients.
The story cites examples from around the country and we come up with a new working definition for orgeat.
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The Future of San Francisco Cocktails (Predicted By Me) in San Francisco Magazine
It has been many years since I have contributed to San Francisco Magazine, but now I'm back! In the new February Bars & Nightlife issue, I have ten stories loosely themed around "Future proofing the cocktail: How Bay Area drink makers are reinventing our favorite alcoholic beverages."Below is the intro with links to all ten stories and brief intros from me.
Two decades into the Bay Area’s cocktail awakening, you’d think that bars would have settled into a comfortable middle age—the imbibing equivalent of staying home to Netflix and chill. But you’d be wrong.
Creativity stirs all over the region, and drink makers and bar owners continue to spin out new ways to stay relevant and keep us guessing: with secret menus, popup concepts, and menu launch parties; with vibrant drinks, exotic ingredients, and bar-specific spirits; with quality concoctions served at double the speed, thanks to newfangled juices and outsourced ice. And to meet the expanding demand for quality, novelty, and expediency in booze consumption, new clusters of great bars have sprung up not just in the East Bay but also to the north and south. These changes are often nuanced but pervasive, taking place across many bars in many precincts throughout the ever-thirsty Bay Area.
Scanning the cocktail horizon, you can spot the big ideas and the small revisions that are changing the way we drink in 2018 and beyond. Here are 10 of them.
Bartenders Are Going Straight to the Source
How bartenders are directing spirits creation from distillers.
Forget The Simple Description: These Are Very Complicated Cocktails
A look into the mind of Adam Chapman from The Gibson.
Wine Country Has An Unofficial Cocktail AVA
Drinks at the fantastic Duke's and other Healdsburg cocktail bars.
The Future (and Present, Actually) Is Female
Who runs the bars? Girls. A sampling of ten women running things in Bay Area Bars.
Asian Restaurants Are the Center of Cocktail Innovation
Once the home of sake bombs and soju immitations of real drinks, now Asian restaurants are some of the most forward-looking.
Viking Drinks Are So Hot Right Now
Aquivit will be everywhere in 2018.
You'll Be Spending the Night in San Jose
Paper Plane and other great bars in San Jose.
Your Highball Intake Is About to Increase Dramatically
Whiskey and other highballs are happening.
Blind Tiger Ice and Super Jugoso are going to have a major impact on prep work in SF bars.
The Mission Has Only Just Begun
So, so many new bars are opening in the Mission District.
I've already got my next assignment for San Francisco Magazine, so hopefully this will be a regular thing.
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Allergy Labelling Approaches on Cocktail Bar Menus in the US and Abroad
In an era when customers are more and more attuned to their allergies, aversions, and dietary restrictions, and as bartenders are using evermore exotic ingredients in their drinks, it may be time to consider adding warning labels to the cocktail menu.In a story I wrote for SevenFifty Daily, I took a look at some bars’ philosophies on the matter and the labeling schemes they’re employing to warn customers about potential dangers in their drinks.
We looked at labelling for nuts, seafood, soy, gluten, vegan/vegetarian, how these are listed on various menus or handled only in person, and look at a few unusual things that need to be labelled in UK bars.
Bars I spoke to include Trick Dog, the Proper Hotel, and the Tonga Room in San Francisco, Bar Clacson in LA, Bresca in DC, Saint Ellie in Denver, Bar Fiori in NYC, The Aviary in Chicago and New York, and The Hide Bar in London.
I hope you get a lot out of the story, I had a great time researching it. Read it here.
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The Return of Blue Drinks: A Story from 2012
People are all excited about blue drinks these days, but I first wrote about their return in 2012. Since Details magazine went away and the story is no longer online, I rescued this story from the Internet Archives.
Memories….
Food + Drinks
Blue Cocktails Are Back—and Now They're Ironic
After years of worshiping brown spirits and classic drinks, booze fans at this year's Tales of the Cocktail convention in New Orleans turned the spotlight on a new color: blue. In particular, the sometimes-neon liqueur blue curaçao—often reviled as the antithesis of all things vintage and authentic—is back.
Blue drinks have long been a mixologists' in-joke. When bartenders were getting serious about pre-Prohibition cocktails about five years ago, jet-setting New Zealand bartender Jacob Briars invented the Corpse Reviver Number Blue, a piss-take on the sacrosanct classic Corpse Reviver #2 that was enjoying a major comeback.
Since then, he and other bartenders have been practicing "sabluetage"—spiking the drinks of unwitting victims with blue curaçao when no one is looking. The forbidden liqueur can now be found on the menus of a few of the world's best cocktail bars, including Jasper's Corner Tap in San Francisco, PDT in New York City (where it's mixed with other unfashionable ingredients, such as Frangelico and cream), and London's Artesian Bar (winner of the World's Best Hotel Bar award this week), where a new blue drink—called Blue Lagoon—also features Sprite and bubble tea.
What has spawned this artistic blue period? According to a panel discussion on the topic this weekend, blue-curaçao-cocktail recipes date back as far as 1908 (predating the margarita and even the original Corpse Reviver #2), but the reappearance of the ingredient is likely more an elitists' embracing of the down-market and absurd—the mixological equivalent of trucker hats among fashion's hipoisie several years ago.
There is also a consensus that perhaps everyone is taking all this classic-cocktail stuff a bit too seriously. Today's top bartenders may be walking encyclopedias of cocktail knowledge, but they're also aware that no one goes to a bar to hear an encyclopedia reading. Blue drinks are a reminder that drinking is supposed to be fun.
"At the end of the day, people want to have a good time," says Artesian's head barman, Alex Kratena, as he demonstrated making his drink for the Tales of the Cocktail audience. Of course, his cheeky blue bubble-tea drink will run you about $23 back in London. If you're willing to sacrifice the cool factor, you could always join the hordes of partying tourists on Bourbon Street, one block away from the convention, gulping down blue drinks that are served in souvenir plastic cups—for half the price. Irony, as always, costs extra.
—Camper English is an international cocktails and spirits writer and the publisher of alcademics.com.
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A Brief History of Popcorn in Cocktails
In my latest piece for Details.com I wrote about the history and current status of popcorn in drinks, be it fat-washed in or garnished atop.
It turns out that a million different places are doing it, and I mentioned about half of them and the various ways they're incorporating the movie food into the drinks.
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The Trendiest, Yet Mostly Secret Cocktail Ingredient Right Now Is Salt
In a new story for Details.com I wrote about bartenders using salt in cocktails.
The first time I ever heard of such a thing (besides around the rim of a Margarita glass) was from Duggan McDonnell of Cantina. That was probably four years ago.
Now it seems that everybody is in on the secret and is using salt in their cocktails – whether they tell you about it or not.
Check out the story on Details.com about how and why and where bartenders are using salt in their drinks.
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All About the Apples (Drinkable Ones, Of Course) on Details.com
In my latest story for Details.com, I wrote about the return of apples in cocktails and spirits.
The story mentions the return to drinks after the great Appletini shame and lists a ton of mostly-new apple products.
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Syrups are the New Bitters on Details.com
Have you looked through your December magazines yet? In just about every one that I get (and I get a lot of them), there is a recommendation for a specialty cocktail syrup of one flavor or another as a suggestion for gifting.
By the time I noticed this, I'd already written my latest story for Details.com, which we ended up calling Syrups are the New Bitters. It's not to say that you no longer need bitters now that there are more syrups on the market, but rather where once there was a lack of variety of bitters on the market and bartenders turned into entrepreneurs to develop their own brands, now syrups are at that same place.
I mentioned many brands specializing in syrups dedicated to particular cocktails, seasonal syrups, and a whole section on tonic syrups.
