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My wife tried some of these while she was pregnant and most were definitely a letdown. The gin variations were definitely better since most of the flavors are from the botanicals.
I got a bottle of the Clean gin so I could make some cocktails for my pregnant sister in-law. It basically tastes like pine sol and I had to dump the bottle.
My main problem with non-alcoholic spirits is the price as you said at the beginning of the video. As somebody who is slowly building a home bar every bottle counts. So when it comes to choosing between an established bottle of rum or whiskey that I know will at least be quite good or a non-alcoholic spirit that I’ve at best heard as “good enough for a cocktail” but never “just as good” as the spirit it’s mimicking it’s always hard for me to justify adding it to my basket.
And not only the price but you also have to use them up quite fast or they go bad. They also need to be in the fridge. I have non-alc gin but id rather do a mocktail with regular stuff for this reason.
Like... alcohol is really expensive, and we all know this. As kids we accept this cuz it gets us drunk (and hey, certainly remains a reason), but at a certain point you know you're paying for both the craft and well, taxes. At least in australia, duty runs on a 700 dollar bottle of 37.5% spirit is 35 bucks. If all the non-alcoholic spirits just were 35 dollars cheaper, I would be profoundly more likely to buy them. I think the producers don't want to let that standard go, though, they're trying to pin them to the price of real liquor and it just rankles.
Could we get more mocktails this month too? I actually consistently made a couple of the mocktails from last year throughout the entire year for different reasons. I absolutely loved the bitter one. It was so good!
Yes! Second this, they don’t even have to have an NA spirit, I just want some non-alcoholic drinks that taste good or mimic the experience of making a cocktail.
I work in a Michelin Star restaurant with an extensive NA beverage program. We make “NA Whiskey” by putting dried corn, wheat berries, oak chips, and vegetable glycerin into a vacuum-sealed bag and cooking it in a sous vide water bath and then diluting it with water. I don’t know if that’s the process these brands are using, but our product tastes quite a bit like real whiskey.
I love making drinks, and have some friends who don't drink. This is an option to have on the table, but like you, I think mocktails made from scratch are a lot better. Would love to see more content for mocktails!
How fitting. I tried the Lyre's American Malt one yesterday. Without having watched the video yet: my own impression was, it is very watery on it's own. It was great and very enjoyable in the Whisky Sour we made. The description fits really well! "If water tasted like whisky." 😂 Can second that for my Lyre's experience.
Lyres is where it’s at. My wife had a mocktail from one of my favorite bars in Lakeland, Florida- Revival. It was honestly astonishing how much it tasted like the gin cocktail they were trying to imitate. They even have apertifs and absinthe alternatives. Highly recommend!
Welcome back Anders!! We missed you these past couple of weeks. Interesting drinks Ive never considered partaking in Dry January as it is my birthday month and I rarely make myself a drink.
@@AndersErickson Thank You Anders! May you and Az have a great prosperous year ahead of you. I can't wait to see what you have in store for this my favorite channel. Hoping you put out your very own book soon.
@@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits Dry January is when you start of the first Monty of the year not drinking any alcohol as to take a break from drinking. Everything in moderation is good to do.
Somehow haven't tried Lyre's before, but I am psyched to now. In a space where the question is "why bother?" with n/a drinks, appreciate your politeness and open-mindedness - thanks for not totally beating up the drinks! Love your videos, even as a guy who's been sober for about 6 years now. Keep 'em coming! The extraness you bring with the history and on camera pizazz is awesome. Cheers! 🍻🍹🍸
So far, for the most part, I've been less than impressed with non-alcoholic replacements that I've tried. But there is one exception. That is The Pathfinder. It's more amaro in nature, but very tasty on its own, or in cocktails.
all of your videos are interesting, and somehow this one was even moreso! the both of you had facial reactions that were priceless, and said everything that needed to be said for some of them. i'm now SUPER intrigued to try the Lyre's Highland Malt now, just because you both were so emphatic about that one. the foaminess of all of them was definitely a bit odd, though!
Anders, try the Ritual Tequila Alternative in a margarita- seriously. The viscosity and flavor profile are the best I’ve found for alcohol free mocktails
Awesome! Keep it up! As I'm sure you've read, don't be discouraged if your metabolism balances out and some of it returns. I've dropped almost 50 pounds in the last 7-8 months and its been hard at times, but so worth keeping at it!
I loved this video, and would love to see more for other types! It's nice to see what brands you enjoy for anyone who wants to cut back a little, or people who are pregnant and want to feel like they're endulging with friends
Hi Anders, greetings from Germany. Im personally non-alcoholic, but I like the Cocktail-Craft-Art and therefore Im looking for ways to make it work for me. I really like your comparison videos. At least in Germany, the Whisky alternatives are relativly rare, but there are tons of zero-abv gins, so maybe you go for them another time. Im looking forward to your next vid.
I’m a big fan of Seedlip Garden, particularly because the vegetal flavors differentiate it from the typical gin botanicals. It’s clearly not gin and not trying to be, which IMO makes it more successful than products like the ones in this video. Also as someone who likes the creativity of craft cocktails but can’t regularly drink alcohol, I’m pleased to see more cocktail bars offering low- and no-ABV drinks.
The last time I tried buying non-alcoholic spirits, the bottle was a whole year out of date and had become alcoholic but not in a good way in the meantime. Be careful in that regard, especially if they’re standing right next to actual nearly imperishable spirits, the people stocking the shelves are not used to checking „spirits“ for expiry.
As others have mentioned, I prefer the gin ones (currently have an open bottle of the Clean gin), but I also have one more suggestion. Try them in a long drink instead of a spirit forward one; they do better when they aren't quite as center stage. I find it makes a passable Tom Collins. I am curious to try maybe a zero proof rum in a tiki drink, might try that next.
Anders! I'm so glad you did a mocktail video. I've been experimenting with them for about a year and glad you are helping navigate it. I've tried a half dozen gins (they are all over the map on taste) and yet to be satisfied with one. But I've found some great no-alcohol aperitivos (Martini & Rossi), and the Ritual tequila is amazingly close to the real thing. I've been making low alcohol negronis and getting some great refreshing tastes without getting hammered. I usually keep real Campari because I like that bitter bite to it. But I thing I'll experiment with nonalcoholic Campari substitutes. Its fun.
I’ve been wondering about non-alcoholic whiskey alternatives! I got the Ritual rum substitute for my girlfriend, and I thought it tasted like garbage as a rum. It was good, but not rum at all, so that made me nervous to try the whiskey. I’m glad it didn’t have to be me by your reactions😅
As a chemistry student, I‘m wondering if there’s any true substitute for ethanol that also isn’t terribly toxic. The best thing I‘ve come up with so far is the basically non-toxic DMSO but that tastes like garlic and not spicy and fruity like ethanol.
Haha it’s like a chef tasting vegan alternatives! I don’t do dry January, Lent takes care of that for me. Reverse Osmosis is how they make these things and why it’s still kind of pricey. I’m a winemaker and we use RO in the industry for alcohol adjustment or sweet spotting often. A great riff on a real whisky sour is using meyer lemons instead of regular Lemon. It lets you taste the whisky in your sour instead of the SOUR dominating!
I'm having a dry January because I just haven't gone to the store yet. I love seeing this content though. Although, for the money I think I'd just prefer nothing over the mocktail.
Oh my goodness! This has been so helpful! I became intolerant to alcohol about a year and a half ago and I miss my whisky! I made one gamble at finding one and it was an expensive failure - I had to pour it down the sink (kept the bottle, that was the nicest thing). I am British so I should be able to find the Clean Co.s Whisky version (their gin is everywhere, but I was never a gin drinker), I'll look out for the other one though.
Do any of them come in smaller bottles? With the expiration date that would make sense. And I don't know if it's just me, but I tend to assume there is some "If you want to try it you have to buy a big bottle, we need to make as much money as possible from you on the first purchase since we already know you wont be a repeat costumer"-tactic to stuff like this otherwise. Having smaller packages to try really shows faith in your product, to me at least.
I love this idea ❤ I just like to have cocktails but don’t always want the effects of alcohol. I hope you do a review of non alcoholic gins. I’ve heard there are some really good ones. And my friend and I are looking for nice alcohol free wines as well. ❤
Thank you Anders! Personally, I feel if I'm having a non-alcoholic drink, then I'm having a traditional non-alcoholic drink. That said, I have friends who gave up booze and am always interested in the options and the science. Thanks for the research and info ✌
Thank you for trying out the non-alcoholic whiskeys. I have been doing a lot of sports and decided to cut down on alcohol as it had a negative impact on my body and training. I've cut out alcohol altogether and have been enjoying non-alcoholic beer lately (which is actually pretty good here in Austria). I've also found a solid replacement for my go-to Aperol Spritz - the already mixed Amalfi Spritz. But I haven't tried non-alcoholic versions of Whiskey, Gin or Rum yet because they’ll go bad faster than the originals. Would be great to also see you testing non-alcoholic Gin and Rum! Thanks a bunch!
Hi Anders, welcome back!….Interesting journey you took with the “non-alcoholic” beverages….since there’s no cost savings here really, I think the bang for my buck would be the “real deal” and therefore “no” dry January!🤣🤣🤣…..Have a wonderful weekend, STAY WARM and as always “CHEERS!”😁😁❤️❤️
The non-alcoholic amari usually taste better, or the NA gins (although I don't really like the NA gins, prefer just regular gin cocktails). Jeff Morgenthaler made a drink called The Wandering Path that uses Pathfinder, it's really good. But I agree with you, I'd rather do an orgeat+lemonade for people who don't have alcohol, or give them NA beers which are often much closer to the real thing.
My wife and I are a bit more reasonable, and do a "Dry February". Yes, of course, because it's the shortest month. Even in this year, with the longest possible February. 😁
It's very interesting! Younger people are not drinking nearly as much as your generation or mine - I'm 59! Any research I read in this area speaks to far less alcohol use for Gen X. I think there is quite a boom in business in these products but I have found most to be duds. I don't drink a lot (once a week - usually a dram of excellent single malt scotch) and if I want a nice mocktail I create a nice beverage and I don't care if it tastes like a spirit. A product would have to taste very good for me to pay the equivalent cost of an alcoholic spirit. It's very difficult to create a drink that tastes convincing! I much prefer to make mocktails from scratch! I have less of them actually! On days when I don't feel like a cocktail or a dram of fine single malt scotch I just have water, tea, whatever comes to mind at the time! Terrific video Anders! Cheers!
Great insights, Anders. My wife and I are doing dry(ish) January, so very helpful. These strike me as very unappealing between the weird taste and, as you, point out, high cost. What we've been doing is 1) alcohol free beer (I find the Bitburger 0.0 particularly good), 2) non alcoholic "champagne" which is pretty good and convincing and 3) mildly alcoholic cocktails. In the last category, 0.5-1.0 oz of (15% abv) Size and 4 oz tonic and a big squeeze of lemon is nice, at basically no alcohol. You can also do a kir royale with a small amount of low abv cassis and the alcohol free 'champagne' , though I found that less good without real booze. Anyway, I'm glad my wife suggested this break. I feel like I will consume more conscientiously once this is over. Cheers!
It could be interesting to mixing and matching to get more 3 dimensionality, or maybe cooking them off to concentrate the flavor/make it stronger. color me intrigued
Prickly ash = Sichuan peppercorn. If you haven't had that, it has a tingle to it that's not capsaicin. There's actually an interest amaro that uses this from Baltimore--Baltamaro Szechuan.
I picked up the Lyre's Apertif Rosso (NA sweet vermouth), Italian Orange (NA Campari), and American Malt (NA bourbon) a couple months ago. I enjoyed the first two a lot, but I hated the Lyre's American Malt. It tasted strongly of sweet tea, which I do not like. I tried making a NA Boulevarider with them, but to my surprise and disappointment the American Malt completely overpowered the other two. I saved the bottle by adding half a dozen cinnamon sticks and half a dozen dashes of black walnut bitters. After that, it went well with ginger ale. But I don't think I'd buy that bottle again. Maybe their Highland Malt is better but I think it'll be a while before a work up the nerve to try it.
Something we've found is thay making drinks with the amaro, bitter orange and triple sec seems to be the best way to enjoy N/A cocktails. We also enjoy many of the Lyres itens for low abv cocntails.
Loving your videos and education around cocktails. I would enjoy seeing a tour of how your studio space is set up with storage, fridges, etc. Just a thought... Thanks.
Thanks for interesting, exploratory content. Wondering if you would consider delving into fat washed cocktails. I tried yogurt washed tequila. Interested in other applications and comparisons.
with 24 years of sobriety under my belt, i'm really celebrating the emergence of alcohol-free spirits. haven't seen any alcohol free whiskies on the shelves here yet, but now i know what to look for!
Nice to see some non-alcoholic alternatives. I've tried some myself but I find it's hard to not expect the taste of the alcoholic base spirit and then get a bit disappointed, you kind of need to have the mindset that it'll be different but still good. The ones I've tried from Lyre's have been a pleasent surprise though, especially their Amaretti.
I am now going to ask every time I smell an alcohol, including wine and beer: Is that yellow dent corn? This was an excellent and very fun video. Thanks for taking one for the team!
Almost a year now alcohol free, I do miss my whiskey but when it hits 3 bottles a week it’s time to evaluate your choices. The spirits and wines left me wanting the real deal as it were, but the beers are so good as to be unnoticeable. It did open non alcoholic cocktails some of which were better than the alcohol versions as a refreshing drink in hot climes
As someone who enjoys neat whiskey, these do not do the thing. To me they taste like a not super flavorable wort. Not bad, but not great, and ultimately pretty overpriced for what they are (and not super long shelf lifes). I've enjoyed the N/A amaros and beers more, as well as The Pathfinder hemp "spirit" and various Negroni's you can find (including the Lyre's canned amalfi) have hit the spot for me when avoiding alcohol. I've found a mix of vinegar shrub, liquid smoke, and oversteeped tea to be easy to make at home and much cheaper to mimic the oakyness and burn of whiskey - liquid smoke works well for a NA "Mezcal" as well. I did find a use for my Lyre's "Scotch" in N/A hot toddy's
In an effort to rationalise my alcohol intake somewhat, I tried the Clean Co rum some time ago. God, it was awful! I really wanted to like it, but as Az said, it was kind of like water that vaguely tasted of rum. Couldn’t even use it in a cocktail. Sorry, think I’ll have to stick to the real stuff, but just less often!😂
Okay as someone who can't smell this was fascinating to watch because there are two things that can be smelt without an olfactory bulb, mint and alcohol, given how much of the flavour of the alternatives was smells that obviously are not alcohol I'm intrigued how they would taste to someone that can't smell.
Lyres stuff is hands down the mocktail content of choice - I think in almost 100% of cases when I've tested non alcoholic beverages, Lyres has come out on top. although in my area some local small batch places do good work also.
A lot of these seem like making tea with extra steps (and pricier). It's probably better to just make lapsang souchang or a shrub, then just shake with some citrus.
I’m a recovering Alcoholic- 11+ years Sober. However sometimes I do miss the flavor of the bourbon highballs I loved. I appreciate this video. I do wish you had done a straight, nonalcoholic whiskey comparison, however, as I feel that would have been a truer test. Question, when you say “you would prefer to make them from scratch” , how would you do that without the spiritless whiskey?
This was super helpful! A while ago I tried ritual's zero proof bourbon and thought it tasted like apple juice and dish soap. Will have to check out Lyre's now I guess.
I've tried a few of these, and more of the gins. I find that the Lyre makes some nice coffee, vermouth, and amaro alternatives. There are two problems overall that I have with the mock spirits, which were touched upon in the video. First, the mouthfeel is all wrong, even when mixed. For a sour, I overcame this somewhat by using gum syrup, to give a thicker feel. I wonder if adding some food quality glycerine or other thickener would help. The other problem I have is whatever is used to give the alcohol "burn". This is usually either capsicum, or Sichuan peppercorn. The problem is that this burn still persists even when mixed, even in a highball, which is not the behavior of actual alcohol. I would prefer if they dialed this down.
I don't care for the taste of whiskey so who knows I don't drink all that much on the first place but non-alcoholic alternatives are always welcome for say the DD and such.
I tried non-alcoholic gin once, it tasted like tears of desperation… it was salty, very similar to the water you can drink in the ocean for free, but that bottle costed me 16 euros (a standard gin cost around 13 euros)
Even before I looked at the complete video I was sure it is going to be a desaster. I tried those 0% all myself. The only way to get a Cocktail that tasts of anything near a Cocktail is to not use those ready products, that are basically only flavoured water, but use sirup & citus. E.g. Grapefruit juice & coffee sirup. (Billows & Thieves). 'Good Drinks' from Julia Bainbridge is a good book to give you some ideas of Mocktails.
I commend anyone choosing to limit their alcohol consumption for whatever their reason. Personally, I choose to abstain occasionally rather than try to replace. It just never works for me. I have tried and been let down. Just my 2 cents. I really do enjoy your channel. Keep up the great content!
I tried a few of the ritual alternatives a couple years back and I felt the tequila worked decently in a margarita and the gin was ok but not strong enough for what I want in a G&T. This year I had some of the Lyre's premixed drinks and those were super tastey! I think Lyre's is at the top of the list when it comes to alternative spirits, but they are also the most expensive. I guess it takes a lot to craft good alternatives.
Yellow dent corn is just the common field corn that is grown in masses across the united states, typically used for ethanol production and animal feeds.
Well this was great. I think if I'm doing a dry time, I'm just going to drink something else. I do need to learn more mocktails for kids that want a fancy drink.
I love you made a video on these... Having to make mocktails for my fiancee when she can't drink alcohol... I would rather make myself a Malort Old Fashioned or drink a quarter of Jagermeister.
Cocktail time with Kevin Kos goes into making zero proof spirits from scratch if you were looking for a process other than the reverse distillation. As a recovering alcoholic who still enjoys cocktail culture, I appreciate the UA-camrs making content like this, thanks dude.
I'd be suoer interested to see if a rum based one would be possible. I'd love to whip up a non alcoholic Mai Tai, daiquiri, or even a rum and coke lol. I suspect the market, limited as it already is, would probably be leaning towards a spiced rum though.
Quit alcohol myself, so many negative side affects. Didn't have a problem with drinking by any means, but the health aspects are universally really bad. In my experience non-alcoholic whiskeys are bad, especially considering pricing. Gins are better. There are a lot of great non-alcoholic beers out there! Try them! Recently homemade berry-juice and kombucha are top of my favorites list. If you put some work into it you can make some really special carbonated drinks with oompf and great kick, no processes sugars either. Healthy, loaded with vitamins and gut-friendly bacteria. Can't recommend it enough people. Try it!
I've never had non-alcoholic wine or whisky, but I have had non-alcoholic gin. The complexity of the botanicals makes for a nice non-alcoholic gin cocktail. Also, the Italian aperitif Crodino (non-alcoholic) is quite nice. It's bittersweet and doesn't have to pretend to be something that it's not.
I went sober for 84 days and while I saved money and had no official hangovers, it was the most dull time of my life. Literally thought about it everyday. I’m glad to be back a better consumer.
@@AndersErickson Love all your content. Grew up in Chicagoland and now live in Kenosha, so I love being able to relate to a lot of your experiences. Keep doing what you do, its all fantastic. 👏
Props for the test, as this whiskey/bourbon/scotch drinker is 19 days into Dry January with 2 of the 5 you sampled, and to your point, drinking them neat is a no-go and making a cocktail is barely drinkable. Looking forward to February when I go back to sipping the real stuff. :)
Thanks for leading the tasting here. Not for me though. I usually make mocktails using some syrups, sparkling water maybe bitters and a garnish - more spritz like.
I really wanted to try the gin variations of non alcoholic spirits, it would probably work better. Unfortunately we don’t get these too easily around I live.
Never had the Highland malt, but I did try the Lyre’s American Malt and I gotta say it has so much similarities with real bourbon when smelling it or mixing it in a cocktail
I have a feelin that the reason why most wont like to highlight the production process is that in essence, they are fancy flavoured waters, for which you cannot justify the high price. Especially in the uk where there is no alcohol duty taxes on them.
One time I took my buddy to Mother's Market in Orange county, because I wanted to turn him onto this great German non-alc beer I found. While there, we moseyed on over to the juice bar, where I treated him to a shot of wheatgrass. On our way out of the store, he said, "I remember when a brew and a shot a grass meant something very different."
I wonder how these would work in a lower alcohol cocktail, as in using one shot of this and one shot of actual whiskey. That might be interesting to try.
Did you ever smell an empty glass of whisky, which dried out, the next day? There you get a perfect impression of how nonalcoholic whisky should smell. Tbh I would still try to mimic the heat of alcohol a bit to make it less watery. I don't know how though, because just adding peppers might not be the solution. It is interesting to see what's possible
It’s good to be back!
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Thanks for doing this video. I look forward to similar videos. Cheers!
My wife tried some of these while she was pregnant and most were definitely a letdown. The gin variations were definitely better since most of the flavors are from the botanicals.
Yea I’ve definitely seen more advertisements for the gin versions making me think they do a better job at capturing the flavour you want.
@craftedworkshop You have a really great channel man! As a woodworker and beverage maker, I tend to spend A LOT of time here. Cheers!
I got a bottle of the Clean gin so I could make some cocktails for my pregnant sister in-law. It basically tastes like pine sol and I had to dump the bottle.
@@richmosley2519 hah, thanks man! I love Anders' videos and have considered making some cocktail videos of my own on a second channel. Could be fun!
You do know they still have a small amount of alcohol, right? Like .5%, but still, they have.
My main problem with non-alcoholic spirits is the price as you said at the beginning of the video. As somebody who is slowly building a home bar every bottle counts. So when it comes to choosing between an established bottle of rum or whiskey that I know will at least be quite good or a non-alcoholic spirit that I’ve at best heard as “good enough for a cocktail” but never “just as good” as the spirit it’s mimicking it’s always hard for me to justify adding it to my basket.
And not only the price but you also have to use them up quite fast or they go bad. They also need to be in the fridge. I have non-alc gin but id rather do a mocktail with regular stuff for this reason.
its hit and miss
Like... alcohol is really expensive, and we all know this. As kids we accept this cuz it gets us drunk (and hey, certainly remains a reason), but at a certain point you know you're paying for both the craft and well, taxes. At least in australia, duty runs on a 700 dollar bottle of 37.5% spirit is 35 bucks. If all the non-alcoholic spirits just were 35 dollars cheaper, I would be profoundly more likely to buy them. I think the producers don't want to let that standard go, though, they're trying to pin them to the price of real liquor and it just rankles.
Could we get more mocktails this month too? I actually consistently made a couple of the mocktails from last year throughout the entire year for different reasons. I absolutely loved the bitter one. It was so good!
Agreed! The cherry zip was a great one that I made several times.
Yes Yes! Please do one on fake GIN!!
Yes! Second this, they don’t even have to have an NA spirit, I just want some non-alcoholic drinks that taste good or mimic the experience of making a cocktail.
I like the Lyre’s non-alcoholic spirits (they have many varieties). But I do half-and-half cocktails with them just to enjoy lower APV drinks.
Good idea. For that reason alone I'm tempted to get a bottle of Lyre's.
I work in a Michelin Star restaurant with an extensive NA beverage program. We make “NA Whiskey” by putting dried corn, wheat berries, oak chips, and vegetable glycerin into a vacuum-sealed bag and cooking it in a sous vide water bath and then diluting it with water. I don’t know if that’s the process these brands are using, but our product tastes quite a bit like real whiskey.
Do you use any of the non-alcoholic spirits or scratch build all of them.
Where are they located? And the name?
I love making drinks, and have some friends who don't drink. This is an option to have on the table, but like you, I think mocktails made from scratch are a lot better.
Would love to see more content for mocktails!
How fitting. I tried the Lyre's American Malt one yesterday. Without having watched the video yet: my own impression was, it is very watery on it's own. It was great and very enjoyable in the Whisky Sour we made.
The description fits really well! "If water tasted like whisky." 😂 Can second that for my Lyre's experience.
so glad you did this... I've been curious to try some of these. The gin alternatives are intriguing, too (not-gin and tonic maybe?)
I was intrigued by the gin-alternatives too. Maybe down the road
I've been curious as well, seems like the spiritless 74 would have been a close second?
Lyres is where it’s at. My wife had a mocktail from one of my favorite bars in Lakeland, Florida- Revival. It was honestly astonishing how much it tasted like the gin cocktail they were trying to imitate. They even have apertifs and absinthe alternatives. Highly recommend!
Welcome back Anders!!
We missed you these past couple of weeks. Interesting drinks Ive never considered partaking in Dry January as it is my birthday month and I rarely make myself a drink.
Happy Birthday!
@@AndersErickson Thank You Anders! May you and Az have a great prosperous year ahead of you. I can't wait to see what you have in store for this my favorite channel. Hoping you put out your very own book soon.
What is "Dry January". More importantly....why?
@@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits Dry January is when you start of the first Monty of the year not drinking any alcohol as to take a break from drinking. Everything in moderation is good to do.
@@rafaelmartinez5452 Ah, sounds strange, but ok. Ya hear of something new every day. LOL Well, happy dry Monday. LOL
thanks for taking one for the team.
Somehow haven't tried Lyre's before, but I am psyched to now.
In a space where the question is "why bother?" with n/a drinks, appreciate your politeness and open-mindedness - thanks for not totally beating up the drinks!
Love your videos, even as a guy who's been sober for about 6 years now. Keep 'em coming! The extraness you bring with the history and on camera pizazz is awesome.
Cheers! 🍻🍹🍸
So far, for the most part, I've been less than impressed with non-alcoholic replacements that I've tried. But there is one exception. That is The Pathfinder. It's more amaro in nature, but very tasty on its own, or in cocktails.
Well, thanks for taking one -- or five -- for the team.
all of your videos are interesting, and somehow this one was even moreso! the both of you had facial reactions that were priceless, and said everything that needed to be said for some of them. i'm now SUPER intrigued to try the Lyre's Highland Malt now, just because you both were so emphatic about that one. the foaminess of all of them was definitely a bit odd, though!
The consistent disdain on Anders face is awesome
Anders, try the Ritual Tequila Alternative in a margarita- seriously. The viscosity and flavor profile are the best I’ve found for alcohol free mocktails
Only one I like.
Can't wait to watch this since I'm doing Dry January yet still feel compelled to watch my favorite bartender videos haha.
Well done! Cheers
Awesome timing! 17 pounds down since Jan 1. Thanks for not tempting me!🎉
You've got this!
4:26 4:26 Too fast. Expect some of it to return. And drinking not good for alcoholics, I'm sure they've told you at AA.
@@lisamcallister6534 thanks for your thoughtful reply. I do care what you think!
Awesome! Keep it up! As I'm sure you've read, don't be discouraged if your metabolism balances out and some of it returns. I've dropped almost 50 pounds in the last 7-8 months and its been hard at times, but so worth keeping at it!
I loved this video, and would love to see more for other types! It's nice to see what brands you enjoy for anyone who wants to cut back a little, or people who are pregnant and want to feel like they're endulging with friends
Hi Anders,
greetings from Germany. Im personally non-alcoholic, but I like the Cocktail-Craft-Art and therefore Im looking for ways to make it work for me.
I really like your comparison videos. At least in Germany, the Whisky alternatives are relativly rare, but there are tons of zero-abv gins, so maybe you go for them another time. Im looking forward to your next vid.
I’m a big fan of Seedlip Garden, particularly because the vegetal flavors differentiate it from the typical gin botanicals. It’s clearly not gin and not trying to be, which IMO makes it more successful than products like the ones in this video.
Also as someone who likes the creativity of craft cocktails but can’t regularly drink alcohol, I’m pleased to see more cocktail bars offering low- and no-ABV drinks.
It is fun to drink in front of your boss out of a paper bag. It is 0.00 and there is nothing they can do about it.
The last time I tried buying non-alcoholic spirits, the bottle was a whole year out of date and had become alcoholic but not in a good way in the meantime. Be careful in that regard, especially if they’re standing right next to actual nearly imperishable spirits, the people stocking the shelves are not used to checking „spirits“ for expiry.
As others have mentioned, I prefer the gin ones (currently have an open bottle of the Clean gin), but I also have one more suggestion. Try them in a long drink instead of a spirit forward one; they do better when they aren't quite as center stage. I find it makes a passable Tom Collins. I am curious to try maybe a zero proof rum in a tiki drink, might try that next.
Anders! I'm so glad you did a mocktail video. I've been experimenting with them for about a year and glad you are helping navigate it. I've tried a half dozen gins (they are all over the map on taste) and yet to be satisfied with one. But I've found some great no-alcohol aperitivos (Martini & Rossi), and the Ritual tequila is amazingly close to the real thing. I've been making low alcohol negronis and getting some great refreshing tastes without getting hammered. I usually keep real Campari because I like that bitter bite to it. But I thing I'll experiment with nonalcoholic Campari substitutes. Its fun.
Try Wilderton’s bittersweet aperitivo. It’s very good. I use it and the M&R Floreal and tea for a Negroni.
The Ghia aperitif is pretty good, I haven't actually tried it as a Negroni but I think the flavor profile would work.
I’ve been wondering about non-alcoholic whiskey alternatives! I got the Ritual rum substitute for my girlfriend, and I thought it tasted like garbage as a rum. It was good, but not rum at all, so that made me nervous to try the whiskey. I’m glad it didn’t have to be me by your reactions😅
why?
As a chemistry student, I‘m wondering if there’s any true substitute for ethanol that also isn’t terribly toxic. The best thing I‘ve come up with so far is the basically non-toxic DMSO but that tastes like garlic and not spicy and fruity like ethanol.
Haha it’s like a chef tasting vegan alternatives! I don’t do dry January, Lent takes care of that for me. Reverse Osmosis is how they make these things and why it’s still kind of pricey. I’m a winemaker and we use RO in the industry for alcohol adjustment or sweet spotting often. A great riff on a real whisky sour is using meyer lemons instead of regular Lemon. It lets you taste the whisky in your sour instead of the SOUR dominating!
I'm having a dry January because I just haven't gone to the store yet.
I love seeing this content though. Although, for the money I think I'd just prefer nothing over the mocktail.
what is dry january and.....WHY?
Oh my goodness! This has been so helpful! I became intolerant to alcohol about a year and a half ago and I miss my whisky! I made one gamble at finding one and it was an expensive failure - I had to pour it down the sink (kept the bottle, that was the nicest thing). I am British so I should be able to find the Clean Co.s Whisky version (their gin is everywhere, but I was never a gin drinker), I'll look out for the other one though.
Do any of them come in smaller bottles? With the expiration date that would make sense. And I don't know if it's just me, but I tend to assume there is some "If you want to try it you have to buy a big bottle, we need to make as much money as possible from you on the first purchase since we already know you wont be a repeat costumer"-tactic to stuff like this otherwise. Having smaller packages to try really shows faith in your product, to me at least.
I love this idea ❤ I just like to have cocktails but don’t always want the effects of alcohol. I hope you do a review of non alcoholic gins. I’ve heard there are some really good ones. And my friend and I are looking for nice alcohol free wines as well. ❤
Thank you Anders! Personally, I feel if I'm having a non-alcoholic drink, then I'm having a traditional non-alcoholic drink. That said, I have friends who gave up booze and am always interested in the options and the science. Thanks for the research and info ✌
You-I know some of you are doing dry January
Me-Not me bud!
You-I'm not
Me-*drinks another ochoko of sake*
Thank you for trying out the non-alcoholic whiskeys. I have been doing a lot of sports and decided to cut down on alcohol as it had a negative impact on my body and training.
I've cut out alcohol altogether and have been enjoying non-alcoholic beer lately (which is actually pretty good here in Austria). I've also found a solid replacement for my go-to Aperol Spritz - the already mixed Amalfi Spritz. But I haven't tried non-alcoholic versions of Whiskey, Gin or Rum yet because they’ll go bad faster than the originals.
Would be great to also see you testing non-alcoholic Gin and Rum! Thanks a bunch!
Loved this vid! Now I know (sort of...) what to expect 😊
Hi Anders, welcome back!….Interesting journey you took with the “non-alcoholic” beverages….since there’s no cost savings here really, I think the bang for my buck would be the “real deal” and therefore “no” dry January!🤣🤣🤣…..Have a wonderful weekend, STAY WARM and as always “CHEERS!”😁😁❤️❤️
Yeah I think I feel the same. Good to be back! Cheers
TO THE BAR! ➡️🥃 Welcome back!
Cheers!
The non-alcoholic amari usually taste better, or the NA gins (although I don't really like the NA gins, prefer just regular gin cocktails). Jeff Morgenthaler made a drink called The Wandering Path that uses Pathfinder, it's really good. But I agree with you, I'd rather do an orgeat+lemonade for people who don't have alcohol, or give them NA beers which are often much closer to the real thing.
Happy New Year! Glad you are back, on the channel.
My wife and I are a bit more reasonable, and do a "Dry February". Yes, of course, because it's the shortest month. Even in this year, with the longest possible February. 😁
It's very interesting! Younger people are not drinking nearly as much as your generation or mine - I'm 59! Any research I read in this area speaks to far less alcohol use for Gen X. I think there is quite a boom in business in these products but I have found most to be duds. I don't drink a lot (once a week - usually a dram of excellent single malt scotch) and if I want a nice mocktail I create a nice beverage and I don't care if it tastes like a spirit. A product would have to taste very good for me to pay the equivalent cost of an alcoholic spirit. It's very difficult to create a drink that tastes convincing! I much prefer to make mocktails from scratch! I have less of them actually! On days when I don't feel like a cocktail or a dram of fine single malt scotch I just have water, tea, whatever comes to mind at the time! Terrific video Anders! Cheers!
Great insights, Anders. My wife and I are doing dry(ish) January, so very helpful. These strike me as very unappealing between the weird taste and, as you, point out, high cost. What we've been doing is 1) alcohol free beer (I find the Bitburger 0.0 particularly good), 2) non alcoholic "champagne" which is pretty good and convincing and 3) mildly alcoholic cocktails. In the last category, 0.5-1.0 oz of (15% abv) Size and 4 oz tonic and a big squeeze of lemon is nice, at basically no alcohol. You can also do a kir royale with a small amount of low abv cassis and the alcohol free 'champagne' , though I found that less good without real booze. Anyway, I'm glad my wife suggested this break. I feel like I will consume more conscientiously once this is over. Cheers!
What is dry january and .......WHY?
Oz rocks!
It could be interesting to mixing and matching to get more 3 dimensionality, or maybe cooking them off to concentrate the flavor/make it stronger. color me intrigued
Prickly ash = Sichuan peppercorn. If you haven't had that, it has a tingle to it that's not capsaicin. There's actually an interest amaro that uses this from Baltimore--Baltamaro Szechuan.
I picked up the Lyre's Apertif Rosso (NA sweet vermouth), Italian Orange (NA Campari), and American Malt (NA bourbon) a couple months ago. I enjoyed the first two a lot, but I hated the Lyre's American Malt. It tasted strongly of sweet tea, which I do not like. I tried making a NA Boulevarider with them, but to my surprise and disappointment the American Malt completely overpowered the other two.
I saved the bottle by adding half a dozen cinnamon sticks and half a dozen dashes of black walnut bitters. After that, it went well with ginger ale. But I don't think I'd buy that bottle again. Maybe their Highland Malt is better but I think it'll be a while before a work up the nerve to try it.
Something we've found is thay making drinks with the amaro, bitter orange and triple sec seems to be the best way to enjoy N/A cocktails. We also enjoy many of the Lyres itens for low abv cocntails.
Loving your videos and education around cocktails. I would enjoy seeing a tour of how your studio space is set up with storage, fridges, etc. Just a thought... Thanks.
Ghee, I remember not long ago we were accused of watering down drinks. Now they bottle it and sell it at a premium.
Thanks for interesting, exploratory content. Wondering if you would consider delving into fat washed cocktails. I tried yogurt washed tequila. Interested in other applications and comparisons.
0:59 "without further ado..." The over a minute's worth of ado later... 🤣
with 24 years of sobriety under my belt, i'm really celebrating the emergence of alcohol-free spirits. haven't seen any alcohol free whiskies on the shelves here yet, but now i know what to look for!
Nice to see some non-alcoholic alternatives. I've tried some myself but I find it's hard to not expect the taste of the alcoholic base spirit and then get a bit disappointed, you kind of need to have the mindset that it'll be different but still good. The ones I've tried from Lyre's have been a pleasent surprise though, especially their Amaretti.
I am now going to ask every time I smell an alcohol, including wine and beer: Is that yellow dent corn? This was an excellent and very fun video. Thanks for taking one for the team!
Almost a year now alcohol free, I do miss my whiskey but when it hits 3 bottles a week it’s time to evaluate your choices. The spirits and wines left me wanting the real deal as it were, but the beers are so good as to be unnoticeable. It did open non alcoholic cocktails some of which were better than the alcohol versions as a refreshing drink in hot climes
As someone who enjoys neat whiskey, these do not do the thing. To me they taste like a not super flavorable wort. Not bad, but not great, and ultimately pretty overpriced for what they are (and not super long shelf lifes).
I've enjoyed the N/A amaros and beers more, as well as The Pathfinder hemp "spirit" and various Negroni's you can find (including the Lyre's canned amalfi) have hit the spot for me when avoiding alcohol.
I've found a mix of vinegar shrub, liquid smoke, and oversteeped tea to be easy to make at home and much cheaper to mimic the oakyness and burn of whiskey - liquid smoke works well for a NA "Mezcal" as well.
I did find a use for my Lyre's "Scotch" in N/A hot toddy's
In an effort to rationalise my alcohol intake somewhat, I tried the Clean Co rum some time ago. God, it was awful! I really wanted to like it, but as Az said, it was kind of like water that vaguely tasted of rum. Couldn’t even use it in a cocktail. Sorry, think I’ll have to stick to the real stuff, but just less often!😂
Okay as someone who can't smell this was fascinating to watch because there are two things that can be smelt without an olfactory bulb, mint and alcohol, given how much of the flavour of the alternatives was smells that obviously are not alcohol I'm intrigued how they would taste to someone that can't smell.
Lyres stuff is hands down the mocktail content of choice - I think in almost 100% of cases when I've tested non alcoholic beverages, Lyres has come out on top. although in my area some local small batch places do good work also.
A lot of these seem like making tea with extra steps (and pricier). It's probably better to just make lapsang souchang or a shrub, then just shake with some citrus.
Wait, what? This is a thing? So fascinating!!
I’m a recovering Alcoholic- 11+ years Sober.
However sometimes I do miss the flavor of the bourbon highballs I loved.
I appreciate this video. I do wish you had done a straight, nonalcoholic whiskey comparison, however, as I feel that would have been a truer test.
Question, when you say “you would prefer to make them from scratch” , how would you do that without the spiritless whiskey?
This was super helpful! A while ago I tried ritual's zero proof bourbon and thought it tasted like apple juice and dish soap. Will have to check out Lyre's now I guess.
I see Freyja moved on from working for PupEx. Good for her I hear the expected overtime is really ruff.
Yeah she knows how to hustle
I've tried a few of these, and more of the gins. I find that the Lyre makes some nice coffee, vermouth, and amaro alternatives. There are two problems overall that I have with the mock spirits, which were touched upon in the video. First, the mouthfeel is all wrong, even when mixed. For a sour, I overcame this somewhat by using gum syrup, to give a thicker feel. I wonder if adding some food quality glycerine or other thickener would help. The other problem I have is whatever is used to give the alcohol "burn". This is usually either capsicum, or Sichuan peppercorn. The problem is that this burn still persists even when mixed, even in a highball, which is not the behavior of actual alcohol. I would prefer if they dialed this down.
I don't care for the taste of whiskey so who knows
I don't drink all that much on the first place but non-alcoholic alternatives are always welcome for say the DD and such.
4:41 Americans don't own water glasses, not even Anders haha
I tried non-alcoholic gin once, it tasted like tears of desperation… it was salty, very similar to the water you can drink in the ocean for free, but that bottle costed me 16 euros (a standard gin cost around 13 euros)
Even before I looked at the complete video I was sure it is going to be a desaster. I tried those 0% all myself. The only way to get a Cocktail that tasts of anything near a Cocktail is to not use those ready products, that are basically only flavoured water, but use sirup & citus. E.g. Grapefruit juice & coffee sirup. (Billows & Thieves). 'Good Drinks' from Julia Bainbridge is a good book to give you some ideas of Mocktails.
I commend anyone choosing to limit their alcohol consumption for whatever their reason. Personally, I choose to abstain occasionally rather than try to replace. It just never works for me. I have tried and been let down. Just my 2 cents. I really do enjoy your channel. Keep up the great content!
I tried a few of the ritual alternatives a couple years back and I felt the tequila worked decently in a margarita and the gin was ok but not strong enough for what I want in a G&T. This year I had some of the Lyre's premixed drinks and those were super tastey! I think Lyre's is at the top of the list when it comes to alternative spirits, but they are also the most expensive. I guess it takes a lot to craft good alternatives.
Yellow dent corn is just the common field corn that is grown in masses across the united states, typically used for ethanol production and animal feeds.
Well this was great. I think if I'm doing a dry time, I'm just going to drink something else. I do need to learn more mocktails for kids that want a fancy drink.
why???? why a dry time
@lm6092 sometimes I like alcohol too much and when I get a little too comfortable having a drink, I stop for a while.
@@JustMe-fz5uc Ah, I see. Thanks.
I love you made a video on these... Having to make mocktails for my fiancee when she can't drink alcohol... I would rather make myself a Malort Old Fashioned or drink a quarter of Jagermeister.
Cocktail time with Kevin Kos goes into making zero proof spirits from scratch if you were looking for a process other than the reverse distillation. As a recovering alcoholic who still enjoys cocktail culture, I appreciate the UA-camrs making content like this, thanks dude.
I'd be suoer interested to see if a rum based one would be possible. I'd love to whip up a non alcoholic Mai Tai, daiquiri, or even a rum and coke lol. I suspect the market, limited as it already is, would probably be leaning towards a spiced rum though.
My favorite NA whiskey has been from NKD LDY. You're in Chicago so please go check out Bendición Bottle Shop/Dry Bar in Humboldt Park!
Quit alcohol myself, so many negative side affects. Didn't have a problem with drinking by any means, but the health aspects are universally really bad. In my experience non-alcoholic whiskeys are bad, especially considering pricing. Gins are better.
There are a lot of great non-alcoholic beers out there! Try them! Recently homemade berry-juice and kombucha are top of my favorites list. If you put some work into it you can make some really special carbonated drinks with oompf and great kick, no processes sugars either. Healthy, loaded with vitamins and gut-friendly bacteria.
Can't recommend it enough people. Try it!
Hi Anders, please consider making a video about alcohol-free gin - I understand it's better than alcohol-free whiskey. Thanks
Non-alc beers are definitely better as a category. Also just bitters sodas for cocktails have been a much better cocktail replacement.
I've never had non-alcoholic wine or whisky, but I have had non-alcoholic gin. The complexity of the botanicals makes for a nice non-alcoholic gin cocktail. Also, the Italian aperitif Crodino (non-alcoholic) is quite nice. It's bittersweet and doesn't have to pretend to be something that it's not.
I went sober for 84 days and while I saved money and had no official hangovers, it was the most dull time of my life. Literally thought about it everyday. I’m glad to be back a better consumer.
Anders, thank you for your sacrifice for my entertainment.
New Anders notification? Couldn't click fast enough
Appreciate you being here. Cheers
@@AndersErickson Love all your content. Grew up in Chicagoland and now live in Kenosha, so I love being able to relate to a lot of your experiences. Keep doing what you do, its all fantastic. 👏
Try the 2 towns cider sidekick line if you can find them. Based in my hometown. They’re great!
Props for the test, as this whiskey/bourbon/scotch drinker is 19 days into Dry January with 2 of the 5 you sampled, and to your point, drinking them neat is a no-go and making a cocktail is barely drinkable. Looking forward to February when I go back to sipping the real stuff. :)
Thanks for leading the tasting here. Not for me though. I usually make mocktails using some syrups, sparkling water maybe bitters and a garnish - more spritz like.
Interesting to know the Lyre's is decent. I often see it around here in Australia and haven't known what to think
Video starts at 5:55
I really wanted to try the gin variations of non alcoholic spirits, it would probably work better. Unfortunately we don’t get these too easily around I live.
Faces don’t lie….especially Ander’s face. Good show, lad.
Never had the Highland malt, but I did try the Lyre’s American Malt and I gotta say it has so much similarities with real bourbon when smelling it or mixing it in a cocktail
I have a feelin that the reason why most wont like to highlight the production process is that in essence, they are fancy flavoured waters, for which you cannot justify the high price. Especially in the uk where there is no alcohol duty taxes on them.
One time I took my buddy to Mother's Market in Orange county,
because I wanted to turn him onto this great German non-alc beer I found.
While there, we moseyed on over to the juice bar, where I treated him to a shot of wheatgrass.
On our way out of the store, he said,
"I remember when a brew and a shot a grass meant something very different."
I'm eyeing a NA Amaro Lucano in the window around the corner. Good to know the Lyre's is worth a try
I wonder how these would work in a lower alcohol cocktail, as in using one shot of this and one shot of actual whiskey. That might be interesting to try.
Is that yellow dented corn? 🌽 😂
I will use that line and look like a boss if I ever go to a whiskey tasting. 😊
Did you ever smell an empty glass of whisky, which dried out, the next day? There you get a perfect impression of how nonalcoholic whisky should smell.
Tbh I would still try to mimic the heat of alcohol a bit to make it less watery. I don't know how though, because just adding peppers might not be the solution.
It is interesting to see what's possible