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British non-alcoholic apéritif brand Everleaf has made its debut in the US. The Everleaf expressions are designed to represent three areas of the natural world The three natural areas act as inspiration for the individual flavour profiles, as well as sources for the key botanicals used in their creation.
A second Master was awarded to Pallini Limonzero, which offered a “great lemon aroma” on the nose. “Excellent body and lemony taste that resembles limoncello greatly. Slight spiciness at the end, but overall great,” noted Prousaefs. Ten Silver medals completed the flight, including medals for Glory Mornin’ Super Vivid, Lyre’s Agave Blanco Spirit, and Siegfried Wonderleaf.As the contest travelled from Scotland across the Irish Sea, we found another well-deserved Master medal winner, this time a blend from McConnell’s Irish Whisky, a Belfast distillery that has controversially decided to drop the ‘e’ from its spirit title. In the Lower‐Alcohol (26% to 30% ABV) round, meanwhile, Beefeater Botanics Lemon and and Ginger walked away with an impressive Gold medal. A large flight of Non‐Alcoholic White ‘Spirit’ (less than 0.5% ABV) delivered a pair of Master medallists. In the following flight – Non‐Alcoholic Dark ‘Spirit’ (less than 0.5% ABV) – three Golds and three Silvers were awarded. The flight closed with 11 Silver medals, which included Betty Buzz Meyer Lemon Club Soda, Banks Herbarium and Pink Grapefruit Tonic, and White Tea & Calamansi Cold Brew Nitro Tea. Despite its hefty ABV, this sea-turtle-saving distillery’s Navy Strength expression was praised for its “bright and tropical palate, with pineapple, papaya”, and was subsequently presented with a Gold medal.
In April, Dent paired a spritz, made using the Low and No Masters 2022 Silver medallist Everleaf Forest, with a British asparagus and parmesan risotto. We’re excited to see what else is to come from this young distillery, which sits at the foot of the famous Aber Falls waterfall that acts as the gateway of the beautiful Snowdonia national park. What we do know is they will continue to do Wales very proud. The Everleaf drinks company was founded by conservation biologist Paul Matthew, who has also spent time as a bartender. It’s a perfect combination to develop a range of aperitifs based on the natural world but with flavours designed with the customer in mind. Indeed, he has created a range of three non-alcoholic aperitifs to suit the mood of any discerning alcohol-free drinker. The brand was also awarded a Master medal for its Uncle Nearest Master Blend Edition, and Gold medals for the Uncle Nearest 1884 Premium Small Batch Whiskey and Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey. The brand named Mangrove UK as its distribution partner in January this year.
The verdict: Alcohol-free spirits
The data came from IWSR’s No‐ and Low‐ Alcohol Strategic Study, which looked at 10 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US. In terms of volume, the low‐and-no sector rose by 7% in the regions in 2022. The figures are testament to the ongoing consumer interest in low‐and‐no products. The cans are made with all three products from the brand’s collection – Everleaf Forest, Everleaf Marine and Everleaf Mountain. With only 1% of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey barrels selected as single barrels, it is perhaps not a surprise that this particular bottle walked away with a Master medal at this year’s tasting. This is a special whiskey. One brand that’s flying the flag for zero-ABV Spritzes is non-alcoholic aperitif Everleaf, which recently held the second incarnation of its nationwide Spritz competition. In a final held at Imbibe Live this year, Alessandro Todini from Seed Library in London took top spot, with an inspired combination of Everleaf Marine, a dashi and olive cordial and Mediterranean tonic, entitled Super Olive.
Reflecting on the standard of entries, Moss said: “The message I took from today is that this is clearly still an evolving category. Some were quite successful with a little complexity – but there is still room to create some convincing ‘switch‐outs’ for major spirit categories. One area that requires work is capturing the aromatic complexity of a product, which is clearly very hard. But it’s all moving in the right direction – I’m looking forward to seeing what future developments we’ll see from this relatively new part of the spirits world.” Transporting you to the white sand beaches of the Seychelles, Takamaka’s creamy white expression, Rum Blanc, was awarded a Gold medal for its “light tropical aromas”. The campaign features influencer partnerships, the launch of its first ready-to-drink (RTD) range, as well as a nationwide Spritz competition to be replicated at Imbibe Live in London on 4-5 July. Made using botanicals sourced from the English gardens of the famous Berkshire-based Highclere estate, it would seem like the iconic castle is now rightly becoming known for more than just the setting for BBC dramas.Said to be a good twist on the G&T, Everleaf’s Forest is loaded with sustainably sourced botanicals including saffron, citrus blossom and vanilla. The world’s most decorated female chef, Anne-Sophie Pic, isn’t just famed for her foodie flair, but for redefining the art of drink pairing. Just see the launch of ‘Imprégnation Absolue’, a new, non-alcoholic drink pairing menu at La Dame De Pic. The intricate extractions, fermentations and infusions of the flowers and herbs used have been tried and tested at her Valencian lab, with the teas taking on a new dimension, elevating the dishes they accompany. We particularly love the Genmaicha Collins, Seedlip Martini, and Hon Gyokura tea, which are served as an aromatic prelude to prepare diners for the aromas that will be blended into their dishes. With the tasting complete, the judges reset their palates in preparation for the Taste Master assessment. All of the Master winners were repoured for each judge, who was tasked with choosing their favourite low‐and-no product from the day. With the majority of the votes, The Low & No Taste Master 2023 title was bestowed upon De Kuyper Zero 0% Margarita. Pernod Ricard collected two Silver medals in this flight for Beefeater Pink Light and Beefeater Light. “This is an interesting category as there is still a decent amount of ABV,” noted Chambers at the end of the flight. “This helps to drive the flavours and aromas – some decent products on show.”
Lees noted: “A very diverse category, good to see natural flavours and very good to see balance achieved.” Aber Falls Single Malt is bottled at 40% ABV. The brand began rolling out its single malt whiskies internationally last month.
Seedlip Spice also found favour with the judges, winning a Gold medal. Tasting notes included: “Clove oil, cinnamon, and warming Christmas spices.” Gold‐winning Ceder’s Wild was found to be “complex, with ginger and woody spice”. Smith said: “It mixes well and has good potential with soda, tonic, ginger ale, Coke.” Drinkers are switching out full-strength spirits for lower-ABV alternatives Nc’Nean Organic Single Malt is bottled at 46% ABV. We recently interviewed Nc’nean’s founder, Annabel Thomas to talk about her trailblazing whisky and the future of sustainability in whisky production.
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