A SHORT HISTORY OF LOW & NO DRINKING
Drinking without getting drunk is hardly a modern invention.
People have been making low-alcohol fermented drinks for thousands of years, while watered wine, small beer and other weaker drinks were once everyday parts of life.
Temperance movements during the 19th century created another market entirely. Bars and drinks manufacturers developed alcohol-free alternatives, while soda fountains became important social spaces in the United States.
Cocktail books included alcohol-free drinks too. These were often called temperance drinks, and recipes ranged from punches and lemonades to elaborate combinations of fruits, syrups, eggs and soda water.
Then came the Shirley Temple, perhaps the most famous alcohol-free mixed drink of the 20th century. Ginger ale or lemon-lime soda, grenadine and a cherry made it instantly recognisable — although Shirley Temple herself reportedly wasn’t particularly fond of it.
For decades, though, anyone choosing not to drink alcohol in a bar was usually faced with a fairly uninspiring selection: juice, soda or something extremely sweet masquerading as a cocktail.
The modern cocktail renaissance began to change that. As bartenders became increasingly interested in unusual ingredients, house-made syrups, shrubs, fermentation and culinary techniques, some of that creativity began finding its way into drinks without alcohol.
Then, in 2015, Ben Branson launched Seedlip and changed the conversation.
Inspired in part by The Art of Distillation, a 17th-century book that included recipes for distilled non-alcoholic herbal remedies, Branson began experimenting with distilling botanicals at home. The result was Seedlip, which pioneered the modern category of distilled non-alcoholic spirits.
Rather than offering another sweet soft drink, Seedlip was designed specifically for the adult drinking occasion: something complex and botanical that could sit behind the bar alongside traditional spirits and be used to build a sophisticated drink.
It struck a nerve. Seedlip appeared in bars and restaurants around the world and demonstrated that there was an appetite for something more interesting when people weren’t drinking alcohol.
Others followed, and the category quickly began moving in different directions.
In 2019, conservation biologist and bartender Paul Mathew launched Everleaf, creating non-alcoholic aperitifs inspired by the natural world. Using botanicals to build bitterness, aroma, texture and complexity, Everleaf helped show that the new category didn’t have to revolve around recreating gin or other traditional spirits. It could create something entirely its own.
Soon alcohol-free aperitifs, botanical spirits, beers, wines and sparkling drinks were filling shelves and back bars.
At the same time, bartenders began treating alcohol-free cocktails differently. Rather than simply removing the spirit from an existing recipe, they started building drinks around flavor, texture, acidity, bitterness and aroma from the beginning.
Today some of the world’s best bars give their alcohol-free drinks exactly the same attention as everything else on the menu.
Sometimes you want a Martini. Sometimes you don’t. You should still get something interesting in your glass.
