New Year’s Eve Bubbly
Here are far too many bubbly options for your New Year’s Eve celebrations:
Regardless of which bottle you choose, New Year’s is a great opportunity for sabrage.
Beverage Founder Spotlight
In a new feature this week, friend of Spirited Away Sarah Wood shares her predictions for non-alc in 2023, her favorite NA cocktail and more. Read on!
1. Who are you and what’s your involvement with non-alc?
My name is Sarah Wood and I write about quitting, starting, and the space between where the former becomes the latter. My favorite topic to write about is the joy of sobriety, which I write about in my newsletter. My work has been featured in The Cut, Refinery29, NPR, and ABC.
I’m also working on a non-alc brand that is launching in 2023.
2. How would you describe your current state of mind with regards to the adult NA bev industry?
Optimistic. Excited. Pumped. Proud. Any other positive adjective that describes a general sense of elation and anticipation.
I believe it’s early days and I love seeing non-alc brands win. The more popular any NA brand gets, the less alcohol people are consuming overall, which I see as a win-win for the brands, the individuals, and our collective health as a society.
3. What’s the last adult NA drink you drank?
A Ghia spritz
4. What’s the best NA drink you had out recently and what made it memorable?
The Amador at Chaka Khan in Barcelona. A bright beverage with coriander, cucumber, ginger, grapefruit, and lemon, topped with a cucumber ribbon candy-like garnish. It was fresh, fun, and grown-up, and most importantly, tasted nothing like alcohol.
5. What are you serving to someone who drinks booze but wants to try their first elevated, adult NA drink?
Figlia with Topo Chico in gorgeous glassware
6. What’s the most underrated NA brand or product? Overrated?
Underrated, hot water with lemon.
Overrated, any drink that brands sobriety as exclusive. I’m hopeful that we can make socializing more inclusive and less judgy, no matter what drink is in your hand.
7. What doesn’t exist yet that you wish did?
Something to make my daily habit of hot water with lemon in the morning and after dinner easier than bringing tupperwares of lemon slices on trips and squeezing questionable bar lemons into my water. I’m actually working on this
8. What do you want to say to the adult NA drinking community?
I love you a lot!
9. What are your adult NA predictions for 2023 and beyond?
More NA drinks that don’t imitate alcohol. More athletes, entrepreneurs, and artists are moving away from alcohol as table stakes for high performance. More NA options for people drinking less that don’t need to be branded as “sober” drinks.
Personally speaking, I’m eager for the NA industry to come up with the non-alc occasion drink– what is the mimosa/champagne toast/tequila shot of non-alc that isn’t a Shirley Temple?
10. Anything else you’d like to share?
Follow along with the beverage I’m working on at drinklimm.com. If you’re passionate about hot water with lemon, I’d love to hear from you and share more about what I’m working on!
New Brand X Dry Atlas happy hours
That’s a wrap on 2022’s happy hours and they’ve been a blast! I’ve enjoyed seeing so many of you and I hope you’ve enjoyed trying some new drinks. Here’s a quick recap of what we drank in 2022:
- Ceder’s four gin alternatives
- Sovi’s Reserve Red wine
- Altitude sparkling tea ready-to-drink cocktails
- GoodVines wines from Heidelberg
- Jas’ Paloma Libre cocktail
- Lyre’s Highland Malt scotch whiskey alternative
- Cut Above’s quartet of spirit alts
- Dromme’s Arise and Calm functional spirits
What new brands or products would you like to try in 2023? Send them to us on Instagram!
Odds & Ends
Four tips for going out when you’re not drinking
Low ABV spirit company Haus went bankrupt this year. Founder Helena Price Hambrecht is a great Twitter follow for her insights on the no & low drinks industry. This recent thread of hers regarding the promises and perils of alcohol is worth a read.
How ‘drinking in moderation’ became a popular holiday tagline for both alcoholic and zero-proof beverages in Modern Retail
12 Expert-Recommended Non-Alcoholic Drinks in Food Network
Alcohol-free brands get ready for a record Dry January in Thingtesting
Champagne Alternatives for the New Year in Imbibe
Closing Thought
Philip Morris’ slogan is “Delivering a Smoke-Free Future.” In twenty years, will AB InBev’s slogan be “Delivering an Alcohol-Free Future”?
Happy new year!
