Welcome to the fifth edition of High Spirits, the Dry Atlas newsletter on all the latest happenings in booze-free!
State of the Movement
Intentional drinking is now a worldwide phenomenon, but when and where did it actually catalyze into the movement we know and love today? Perhaps due to British brand Seedlip inventing the distilled botanical non-alcoholic spirit, I think of the trend as having originated in the UK. I hear from friends in western Europe that the movement is more advanced there, especially in Germany.
From a trip to Singapore this summer, I can report that it’s easier to find great NA cocktails and beers there than it is here in New York. One particularly memorable dinner at Nua Irish restaurant Cure featured pairings from Copenhagen sparkling teas, Non wines and Jukes. It’s still rare to find non-alc pairings that are as thoughtful as alcoholic wine pairings, but that’s exactly what we had at Cure. I look forward to this becoming the norm rather than the exception in the US!
Bottle Shops on the Rise
Though most of the US’s bars and restaurants are still playing catch-up, non-alc bottle shops are proliferating across the US. The latest one I’ve heard about is Take Flight Bottle Shop in Colorado Springs. If you’re looking for your nearest booze-free bottle shop, ZeroProofNation has the most comprehensive map I’ve seen for the US.
Deep Dive on Non-Alc Gins and Rums
Last week I wrote about how booze-free spirits, in particular whiskeys and tequilas, A) exist and B) are, in many cases, quite good.
To help you further make sense of non-alc spirits, this week I published guides to my favorite gin alternatives and rum alternatives.
I’ve included in those guides a list of comparable alcoholic spirits. So if you’re a Goslings drinker, for instance, you can choose a rum alternative based on that flavor profile.
New Brand X Dry Atlas happy hours
The wax seal is barely dry on Sovi Reserve wines from Napa, but you can taste them first at Spirited Away!
I hear from many of you that you want to stay on top of the latest in non-alc. 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, 11/16, to try Sovi’s two new reserve wines: Chenin Blanc and Reserve Red.
At the same time and place next week, Wed, 11/23, we’ll be sampling Altitude’s trio of brand new white tea + CBD elixirs before you can get them anywhere else in New York. Join us!
Odds & Ends
Savory cocktails are having their moment. Who’s having success making savory non-alc cocktails? I’m a huge umami fan and look forward to experimenting more with salt, MSG and pickles in my cocktails this fall. Until I master those, I’ll continue to pour a Smoky No. 56 over ice for a super simple savory sipper.
For those of you just joining us, @toryverse is 35 days into a 100 day no booze / no coffee experiment.
I was an introvert until yesterday, but now I’m an extrovert.
If, like our friend @tawnylara, you tried Feragaia earlier this week at Fraunces Tavern, what’d you think?
