The half-and-half method, which the Spiritless brand coined Halfies,™ has various benefits. For example, if you love Old Fashioned cocktails and usually make them with 2 oz (60 ml) of Bourbon, then you could use 1 oz (30 ml) of Bourbon and 1 oz (30 ml) of something like Spiritless Kentucky 74. You can replicate this with any cocktail, where you can find a non-alcohol spirit equivalent. The strategy behind this idea is to make your favorite cocktail with a 1:1 ratio of non-alcohol spirit to traditional spirit. The last thing to consider is the idea of low-proof or reduced ABV (alcohol by volume) cocktails. I enjoy this product style and usually combine multiple non-alcoholic spirits with building a full-flavored drink. These are distilled aromatic waters that have specific flavor profiles. An example of this would be a brand like MeMento from Opici Wines. This gives consumers and bartenders are a lot of flexibility because this style of product can either the base of a mocktail, mixed with soda or another carbonated mixer, or even the base for additional infusions. This brand makes an alcohol-free product that attempts to replicate products such as Cointreau, Aperol, and Bombay Sapphire. A perfect example of this would be the Dhos brand, which I discuss in detail below. The final style is non-alcohol spirits that are not trying to replicate a traditional spirit category or brand but instead are creating a targeted flavor profile. These products use different ingredients, e.g., cold-pressed fruit juice, distilled essential oils, or other botanicals, to build an overall flavor profile that will mimic a convenient spirit. Next are alcohol-free spirits, which never used alcohol in any part of their production process. An example of this style of product is the brand Spiritless, which makes a product designed for Bourbon, Tequila, and Gin cocktails. Alcohol is an incredible extractor and holder of flavor, so some producers would want to incorporate alcohol into their production process to create more flavor, even if they remove it later. The first is a product produced with alcohol, and then the alcohol is removed. There are broadly three types of non-alcoholic spirits. These products are designed to replicate the flavor or experience of your favorite spirit and can provide a similar taste to your mocktail that traditional spirits bring to your cocktail. If you still want to create a delicious and exciting drink, you will have to get creative and find products and flavors that work together without the easy default of adding your favorite Bourbon, Tequila, or Gin. It is my option that one of the easiest ways to create a great mocktail is with a non-alcoholic or alcohol-free spirit. Real spirits are flavorful and provide an easy base for most cocktails. Like with their alcohol equivalent, they combine complementary ingredients to produce more remarkable results than the sum of their parts. Mocktails force bartenders to be more creative because they work within defined constraints. Mocktails, or cocktails without alcohol, can be made a million different ways. These employees are still working and surrounded by alcohol, but now have more options regarding the social drinking aspect that naturally comes along with service industry people.

If you have never worked in the service industry as a server, bartender, or cook, many of those workers have chosen to become sober. Non-alcoholic options create an inviting environment for all customers and give their guests a wide variety of options.

I can even see the influence of mocktails and non-alcoholic options in my home city of Tulsa. Offering elevated mocktails is an intelligent business decision by the restaurant or bar because they can still capture sales for the group member who isn’t drinking but still wants to go out to dinner or has a Happy Hour with friends or coworkers. Every year more people voluntarily choose to participate in Dry January and feel that they need a detox period after the overindulgence of the holiday. These customers still might want a beverage option that’s more interesting than sparkling mineral water. There are plenty of sober people, designated drivers, pregnant women, or perhaps those who are more health conscience cannot or are choosing not to drink for the moment. Like any beverage trend, the option for mocktails or low-proof (low-ABV) drinks has always been available in bigger cities and on the East and West coasts, but now that trend is drifting inland to the smaller towns and middle part of the United States. Why should I care about Non-Alcoholic Spirits and Mocktails?Ĭonsumers are more mindful of when they drink, how much they drink, and why they drink.

Making non alcoholic spirits