Categorizing Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Dry Atlas is intended to represent the entire breadth of adult non-alc drinks, which as of today is over 780 distinct liquids.

To put a few more qualifiers on it, we’re talking about “modern” adult non-alc drinks. I think about the eras of non-alcoholic drinking in terms of Ante Seedlip and Post Seedlip. I’m not sure who technically invented the non-alc spirit or if it really matters, but Seedlip’s influence on the category is undisputed. There existed non-alc drinks before Ben started tinkering with distillations, yes, but his brand is really the one that jump started this whole movement. Not to snub O’Doul’s, which, incidentally, is not as bad as many of us often joke that it is.

Dry Atlas, like Spirited Away, is also focused specifically on non-alc drinks intended to be consumed by adults, socially, typically in the evening. Do I occasionally crack an Al’s or a Busty Lush brew in the middle of the day to enjoy with my lunch? Yes, but that’s the exception and we’re playing it fast and loose with all these qualifiers.

What makes a non-alc drink an adult, social, evening non-alc drink? Certainly the liquid itself plays a role but honestly a lot of it comes down to how the brand and its marketing position the product. Read between the lines on product labels and you’ll see that almost every brand intentionally positions its products for certain parts of the day. For brands like Recess, it’s right there in the name. Can you drink Recess at social events in the evening hour with other adults? Of course, and I often do, but excellent products from brands like Recess and Free Rain just aren’t Dry Atlas’ bailiwick.

Ok, but what’s a “social” drink? Again, it’s a blurry line and heavily influenced by brand positioning but “social” non-alc drinks prioritize partying over health & wellness. Your local natural foods store has some great health & wellness tonics. I enjoy them and even sometimes incorporate them into my non-alc cocktails, but Dry Atlas, like Spirited Away, is about rewriting revelry. The priority is having fun, and health & wellness are implicit to a degree when you remove the alcohol.

There are a lot of delicious and/or more healthful mixer options coming to market and while we do sell some of those at Spirited Away (Avec, Betty Buzz, etc.), we’ve excluded them from Dry Atlas even though a lot of them can stand alone as lovely and satisfying drinks.

Tldr, on Dry Atlas we’re focused on helping you discover and review adult, social, evening drinks from the “post-Seedlip era” excluding mixers, syrups, etc.

That’s a lot about what we exclude, so now let’s talk about what we include (which, like the exclusions, are highly subjective, not always MECE and undoubtedly flawed).

Wine Alternatives

Dealcoholized (fermented) wines like Still Reds and Sparkling Roses

Wine proxies (“non-wines”), which also come in still reds, sparkling roses and more

Pre-fermented wines e.g. Verjus

Vermouth alternatives

Honey wines

Cocktails

Functional Cocktails that include CBD, THC, kava, L-theanine, etc.

Cocktail Alternatives like G&Ts, phony negronis, margaritas, etc.

Novel Cocktails

Dehydrated Cocktails

Spirits

Alts like Gin, Tequila, Rum, Whiskey and even Absinthe

Distilled Botanicals

Novel Spirits

Beers (technically none of these are beers because non-alcoholic beer doesn’t exist by law. You’ll see all of them labeled as “brews” or “near beers.”)

Ales

IPAs (which are, of course, ales. That said, IPAs have become such a giant sub-category of ales that they warrant their own section.)

Lagers

Pilsners (which is technically a type of lager)

Porters

Sours

Stouts

Wheats

Other

Cocktail Bitters

Amaros

Herbal Liqueurs

Sakes

Sparkling Teas (fermented and unfermented)

Amarettos, Triple Secs, Coffee Liqueurs, etc.

Sparkling Hops Waters

I’ll elaborate more on those categories in a future High Spirits newsletter. In the meantime, what categories or ways of organizing that Dry Atlas doesn’t yet have would you like to see in the future? Let us know on Instagram or Twitter!

Odds and Ends

Our friend Alex Highsmith just launched a new comedy podcast, Sober Sallies. Check her out!

How should parents raise mindful drinkers? No shade to our European friends, but contrary to the “European myth,” they may not be the best example for us to follow. That said, I think the creator of this particular video might be making some correlation / causation errors. What do you think?

Check out this quick tour of Inmoxicated sober dive bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is making me really want to make a trip to Milwaukee just to check it out.