Welcome to the fourth edition of High Spirits, the Dry Atlas newsletter on all the latest happenings in booze-free!
Deep Dive on Non-Alc Whiskeys and Tequilas
NA beers and aperitifs make sense. Their alcoholic counterparts are relatively low ABV, so crafting a sub 0.5% ABV version isn’t that much of a stretch. Booze-free spirits, on the other hand, are hard to wrap one’s head around. The term itself is oxymoronic (we call liquors “spirits” because alcohol’s intoxicating effects can leave one appearing to be controlled by otherworldly forces.)
That all said, many of us intentional drinkers like to sip a fine spirit but don’t want the alcohol, so we turn to what I call spirit alternatives. From gins to mezcals to rums and even a few vodkas, you can find a non-alc counterpart for most of the big spirit categories. But some are much better than others.
To help you make sense of a few of the best non-alc spirits, I published guides to my favorite whiskey alternatives and tequila alternatives. One of the latter of which appears it may be shutting down, but more on that later.
I’ve included in those guides a list of comparable alcoholic spirits. So if you’re a Patron Reposado drinker, for instance, you can choose a tequila alternative based on that flavor profile.
New Brand X Dry Atlas happy hours
Ceder’s gin alternatives from the Western Cape of South Africa aren’t yet available in any non-alc bottle shop in New York, but you can taste them today at Spirited Away!
I hear from many of you that you love to stay on top of the latest in non-alc. Starting this evening, I invite you to join me at Spirited Away each Wednesday to try something brand new, something that’s not yet stocked at Spirited Away. I want to hear your thoughts and have them inform whether or not a new non-alc drink makes its way onto Spirited Away’s shelves.
Join me from 5-7pm today, Wed, 11/9, to try Ceder’s four gin alternatives: Classic, Crisp, Rose & Wild.
At the same time and place next week, Wed, 11/16, we’ll be sampling Sovi’s brand new Reserve Red and Chenin Blanc before you can get them anywhere else. Join us!
Brand comings and goings
Speaking of the best NA tequilas, has anyone heard from Mockingbird? This summer their founder had made me aware of production challenges that prohibited me from restocking. Now it seems the brand has gone dark. As a big fan of Mockingbird and their founder, I hope things aren’t as they seem.
Meanwhile, Athletic Brewing just raised $50M from Keurig Dr Pepper. The funding will allow them to continue to lead the craft NA beer category. Nothing particularly surprising here, but it’s fun to watch a great brand continue to grow and normalize delicious NA beers across America.
Cocktail recipe
Everyone who sampled the Golden Age Spritz cocktail during Prima Pavé’s residency at Spirited Away last week asked for the recipe, so here it is:
1 oz The Pathfinder
¼ oz fresh lemon juice
1 bar spoon (= 1 teaspoon) Vermont maple syrup
Shake with ice
Strain into coupe
Top with Prima Pavé Blanc de Blancs
Thank cocktail wizards Yuna Asriyan and Kraig Rovensky for this one. New Yorkers who don’t want to make it themselves can buy it (and a few delicious Three Spirit cocktails) at Mace on West 8th Street.
On punk rock and going from 60 drinks/week to zero
Food & Wine published a nice portrait of our friend Derek Brown, founder of Washington, DC’s Columbia Room.
Mommy & me wine tasting
We adults may love fine non-alc wines, but what do kids think?
