A bottle of non-alcoholic spirit is only as good as the drink you build with it. Below is every spirit currently in the cellar, what it actually tastes like, and one drink worth making with it tonight. No guesswork, no substitutions, nothing to explain.
Start here: the four rules that make these work
- Serve them colder than you think. Without alcohol carrying the aromatics, temperature and ice do that job instead.
- Use a big glass and plenty of ice. Crowded ice melts slower. A large cube in a small glass is the whole trick.
- Acid is your friend. Fresh lemon or lime gives a 0.0% drink the bite alcohol used to provide.
- Check whether it is a concentrate. One of the bottles below is, and pouring it neat is the single most common mistake people make.
1. Monday Gin — the Gin & Tonic, built properly
Tastes like: juniper-forward and botanical, crafted in Southern California, at 0.0% ABV.
Make: 2 oz Monday Gin · 4 oz tonic water · lime wedge. Fill a large glass to the top with ice, pour the gin, add tonic down the side of the glass to keep the bubbles, stir once. Squeeze the lime and drop it in.
Also try: the Raspberry Lemon Gimlet. Shop Monday Gin (0.0%) →
2. Monday Mezcal — the Paloma
Tastes like: roasted agave, a whisper of smoke, bright citrus. 0.0% ABV.
Make: 2 oz Monday Mezcal · 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice · ½ oz lime juice · pinch of salt · soda water. Shake everything but the soda with ice, strain over fresh ice, top with soda. Grapefruit peel to finish.
Also try: the smoky Margarita. Shop Monday Mezcal (0.0%) →
3. Monday Whiskey — the Old Fashioned
Tastes like: butterscotch, raisin and toasted brown sugar on the nose; roasted coffee, caramel and molasses on the palate; a spicy finish with a hint of orange. Mixes 1:1 in classic cocktails. 0.0% ABV.
Make: 2 oz Monday Whiskey · 1 tsp simple syrup · 2 dashes aromatic bitters · one large ice cube. Stir for a full 30 seconds — this drink is built on dilution. Express a broad orange peel over the top and drop it in.
4. Mahala Botanical Classic — the Southside
Tastes like: bright and herbaceous, triple-distilled and farm-to-glass from an all-female distillery in Cape Town. 0.0% ABV.
Make: 2 oz Mahala Classic · ¾ oz lime juice · ½ oz simple syrup · 8 mint leaves · 3 slices cucumber. Muddle the cucumber gently, add everything else with ice, shake hard, double-strain into a chilled coupe. Float one mint leaf.
Also try: the Citrus Botanical. Shop Mahala Classic (0.0%) →
5. Mahala Botanical Amber — Amber & Ginger
Tastes like: warming, smoky and spiced, with oak notes and a gentle heat. 0.0% ABV.
Make: 2 oz Mahala Amber · 4 oz spicy ginger beer · ½ oz lime juice. Build over ice in a tall glass, stir once, lime wedge on the rim. The ginger heat and the oak do the work together.
Also try: the Whiskey Sour. Shop Mahala Amber (0.0%) →
6. Ginsin 12 Botanics — the Bramble
Tastes like: juniper first, then citrus peel and soft florals; crisp and aromatic with cardamom and coriander, finishing clean and gently spiced. Twelve botanicals, Spanish, never fermented — 0.0% ABV by nature rather than by removal.
Make: 50ml Ginsin · 25ml lemon juice · 15ml simple syrup · 4 blackberries. Shake the first three with ice, strain over crushed ice, then muddle the blackberries and spoon them over the top so the colour bleeds down through the glass.
7. Espadafor Whissin — the Highball (read this one first)
Important: Whissin is a concentrate. Poured neat it is far too intense. Always dilute one part Whissin to three parts liquid — that is what unlocks it.
Tastes like: soft caramel and toasted grain, gently sweet with malt, cereal and light oak, finishing smooth and rounded. Spanish, macerated rather than fermented — 0.0% ABV.
Make: 1 part Whissin · 3 parts soda water · lemon twist. Build over plenty of ice and stir once. Swap the soda for ginger ale with a slice of fresh ginger, or for still water with a broad orange twist if you want it closer to an Old Fashioned.
8. Espadafor Ronsin — the Mojito
Tastes like: warm golden amber in the glass; cane and caramel over soft vanilla and spice, with a rounded, gently sweet finish. Spanish, never fermented — 0.0% ABV. A full litre, so a party does not run dry.
Make: 50ml Ronsin · 100ml soda water · ½ lime in wedges · 10 mint leaves · crushed ice. Press the lime and mint together in the glass — press, do not shred — fill with crushed ice, add Ronsin, top with soda, and stir up from the bottom.
9. Espadafor Versin — the Spanish vermut serve
Tastes like: clove, cinnamon, ginger and citrus zest; naturally sweet, spiced and herbaceous, with a warming, gently bitter finish. Spanish, never fermented — 0.0% ABV.
Make: 100ml Versin · one large ice cube · orange twist · one good olive. That is the whole drink, and it is how it is served across Spain on a Sunday. Something salty beside it is not optional.
Want it longer? 75ml Versin with 100ml soda and an orange wheel.
10. Melati Botanical Aperitif — the Melati Spritz
Tastes like: herbaceous on the nose with citrus peel, bittersweet across the palate with warm spice, finishing long and dry. Deep amber in the bottle — it turns sunset red the moment it meets tonic. From Singapore, never fermented — 0.0% ABV.
Make: 1 part Melati · 3 parts tonic water · slice of orange. Build in a large wine glass over plenty of ice. Watch the colour change as you pour; that is the reason to make this one in front of guests.
11. Le Petit Béret Natural Botanic — the French 75
Tastes like: crystal-clear, with classic juniper, citrus zest and warm spice on the nose; dry and crisp with juniper, citrus peel and cardamom, finishing clean. From France — 0.0% ABV.
Make: 1 oz Le Petit Béret · ½ oz lemon juice · ¼ oz simple syrup · So Jennie Paris Blanc to top. Shake the first three hard with ice, strain into a flute, top with So Jennie. Long lemon twist.
Building a 0.0% bar from scratch?
Three bottles cover almost everything: one juniper-led spirit for anything crisp and citrus, one amber for anything stirred and spiced, and one bitter aperitif for the hour before dinner. Add tonic, soda, good ice and fresh lemons, and there is very little you cannot pour.
