Lab 22 and Kiki Lounge – which are listed in the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list in positions 26 and 49 respectively – have both stated sales in low & no drinks is rising despite starting from a small base.
Kiki Lounge co-owner Jamie Lewis explains: “We’ve made a conscious effort to create a non-alcoholic list that feels just as considered and exciting as the rest of our menu.
“Our ‘non-alcoholic’ section includes six house cocktails built with premium alcohol-free spirits from brands like Lyre’s, Everleaf and Tanqueray 0.0, using the same level of creativity and technique we apply to all of our drinks.
“We also offer two non-alcoholic beers: Lucky Saint and a local pale ale, Okell’s Zero. The focus is always on flavour, theatre and making sure no one feels like they’re missing out.”
Lewis adds non-alcoholic serves make up around 5% of the Isle of Man bar’s total drinks sales. However, this shoots up significantly in January, where it’s consistently close to 20% with its non-alcoholic beer offering being especially steady and accounts for about 15% of its beer sales year-round.
Meanwhile, head bartender at Cardiff’s Lab 22, Max Hayward, tells The Morning Advertiser about his predictions for the category in the future.
Exciting for bartenders
“In the next few years, we’ll see even more low & no drinks hitting the market and growing in popularity,” he states. “It’s also quite exciting for bartenders because making a balanced non-alcoholic drink is a totally different skillset to making an alcoholic one.
“It opens all sorts of doors for creativity with flavour, texture, serve and aroma.”
Indeed, Hayward says the Caroline Street bar puts a lot of thought and effort into its low & no offerings with no fewer than seven of the 15 cocktails on its ACT menu being available as alcohol-free versions.
He says: “The idea was to avoid having separate non-alcoholic options, so as not to marginalise people who aren’t drinking alcohol, and make sure they have the same experience as the rest of the people in the bar.
“Sometimes you can feel a bit left out if you’re out with friends and not drinking, and can only choose between two or three non-alc options at the back of the menu.
“And what if you don’t like the sound of either of them? We work with non-alcoholic products and wines to try to recreate the alcoholic version of the drink as closely as possible.
“The non-alcoholic drinks go through the exact same process as their alcoholic counterparts – if the spirit is sous-vide infused, so is the non-alcoholic spirit.”
Quality and variety improving
Lewis of Kiki Lounge gives his take on the future for alcohol-free beverages: “The low & no category isn’t going anywhere. As the quality and variety of alcohol-free spirits continues to improve, so does guest expectation – and we think that’s a great thing.
“For us, the future lies in treating non-alcoholic drinks with the same reverence as classic cocktails: clever flavour pairings, thoughtful presentation and a bit of escapism. We’re excited to keep pushing that forward.”
The top-selling low & no serves at Kiki Lounge are the No-Groni Sbagliato – a sparkling twist on the classic using Lyre’s Italian Blood Orange, Everleaf Forest and raspberry & orange blossom soda – and the Paradise Lost, which pairs Tanqueray 0.0 with Seedlip Spice 94, a homemade sparkling jasmine and ginger tea, and lemon for something complex but easy-drinking.
At Lab 22, the Samba! Is the low & no choice everyone wants. Hayward states the alcoholic version of the drink is Reyka Vodka, Fair Kumquat liqueur and mango juice clarified with vanilla soy yogurt while the sober variant uses Lyre’s White Cane spirit infused with kumquat “to get it as close to the original as possible”.
Another popular cocktail is the Wild West. Hayward explains: “The alcoholic version of the drink consists of Appleton 8 Rum and Welsh Vermouth infused with charred pineapple, some Everleaf Marine, salt, and the drink is smoked in a bell jar.
“The non-alcoholic variant uses Lyre’s Dark Cane and a non-alcoholic white wine, and an increased amount of Everleaf Marine, which is likewise infused with charred pineapple.
“This one is really popular because of the interactive smoke-filled bell jar serve – it allows those choosing not to drink to experience this interactive, Instagrammable serve nonetheless.”
