Wellness, that cultural watchword that’s transformed nearly everything we eat or drink, has been prodding the liquor industry to think a bit differently—the result being a heap of new products designed to meet changing tastes and habits.
in Sonoma County, Woody Hambrecht, a third-generation winemaker, and his wife, Helena Price Hambrecht, glimpsed a chance to create something new after growing tired of their old routines and they looked to Europe, with its light predinner aperitifs, for inspiration. Like, Aperol, Haus - their low Abv - can be used as a base spirit to create cocktails with other ingredients. But unlike Aperol, Haus is mellow enough in flavor to sip by itself as a ready-to-drink beverage.
While Haus has been teaching Americans how to drink like Europeans, the big domestic distilleries and breweries have been looking to capitalize on the same shifting predilections. This is how we ended up with at least a dozen new low-ABV, low-calorie, low-sugar products, all loosely contained within the buzzy, seemingly irresistible category of hard seltzer. California’s largest wine exporter created a drink called High Noon, and you’ve perhaps seen Bud Light Seltzer or Natty Light Seltzer or Molson Coors’s Vizzy or, from the makers of Sam Adams.
In the past couple of years, that people were drinking differently, socializing differently—for many, the ritualistic demands of being in a bar weren’t doing it for them. They had a distaste for getting drunk.
A similar aspiration guided Ben Branson to launch his nonalcoholic brand, Seedlip, in the U.K. in 2015. It has since spread to cocktail lounges and bar carts in the U.S. Seedlip is an actual distilled spirit, not a substitute for one, meaning it’s got all the heft of gin but none of the alcohol—an idea that prompted an early investment, and then outright acquisition, by liquor giant Diageo last year.
Jen Batchelor, cofounder of Kin Euphorics, realized that nootropics could be useful not only at the office but also in social situations. Batchelor was looking for something that would allow a person to participate in drinking culture without having to drink—and, crucially, without having to palm a tonic and lime all night. She wanted to make something that was more than just a prop. “All bliss, no booze.” she claims.
Across the industry, the data reflects the moment of transition. Liquor-store sales may be up, but with bars having been closed, the producers have spent the year selling significantly less booze overall. Which is to say: People are drinking at home more than ever before, and many of them are drinking more frequently, but in general we’re consuming less alcohol. We’ve discovered, finally, and partially by accident, a sort of new moderation—one that’s marked by an explosion of new things to try and new ways to experiment.
Commenti