"Spirit-Free," the New Trend in Cocktail Bars

NEWS | September 16, 2020

Alcohol-free cocktails are getting invites to all our parties! A rundown on the recent trend.

On July 18, 2020, a crowd gathered in front of an intriguing new address in Paris' 2nd arrondissement. La Constellation, a bar with a fresh spin, opened its doors that evening. The new spot was based on an idea imported from Brooklyn: parties for the LGBTQ+ community where no alcoholic beverages were served. This great success was reminiscent of an earlier pioneer, The Shell, a cocktail bar in the Grands Boulevards Hotel that attracts a loyal clientele with its impressive alcohol-free cocktail menu. More than a simple commercial success, these initiatives reflect a rising new trend that's shaking up nightlife.

A new mindset is arriving in France. "Spirit-free" is gaining ground and overturning the idea that alcohol is a necessity for sociability, freedom, and fun. Today, one in five orders in Parisian bars are for alcohol-free beverages. In this novel context, specialized brands are deciding to go further than simple virgin mojitos and other fruit-based cocktails to convert the most stubborn connaisseurs among us. New and innovative solutions are delivering high spirits without the booze.

These groundbreaking formulations highlight the sensory pleasures of herbs, spices, and plants. In order to produce these new spirits, manufacturers macerate and infuse aromatics in water before distilling them, exactly as in traditional spirits, but with an eye to removing all traces of alcohol. Front-running startups in the game have experienced impressive success. Among them is France's JNPR and, across the channel, England's Seedlip and its best-selling Spice 94. The alcohol-free gin brings out the medicinal values of juniper berries and is now featured at some of the hottest spots around the world.

International leaders in spirits are also entering this new arena and proposing their own alcohol-free vodkas and whiskeys. The English Diageo, a market leader, has even become a major shareholder in Seedlip. As for France's Pernod Ricard, early last year it launched Ceder's, its own first alcohol-free gin. Are the giants of the spirits market finally going dry? A paradox that might seem a little comical, but one that also signals a shift in party paradigms.