NAN

Non-alcoholic News my Nan would approve of!

• 🍹 COCKTAIL: An exciting collaboration between Botivo Drinks and restaurant Maison Francois. (link) 🇺🇸 🇬🇧

• 🍺 BEER: Victoria BC’s IOTA Beer are rolling out a brand new limited edition Cerveza. (link) 🇨🇦

• 🍺 BEER: If you are in Spain any time soon, look out for the new El Águila Sin Filtrar 0.0. (link) 🇪🇸

• 🥃 SPIRITS: Scottish Gin producer, Ben Lomand, has just launched a Non-Alcoholic Botanical Spirit. (link) 🇬🇧

• 🍺 BEER: Little Wave is the first non-alcoholic beer from Firebrand Brewing Co. out of Cornwall, England. (link) 🇬🇧 

CONTEST

WIN AN UNCOOL SAMPLE SIX PACK!

Here’s how you win. Simply visit the Uncool Brewing website, look for their Galaxy IPA, hit reply to this email and tell me what the color the label is. Simple as that.

Two lucky winners will be pulled out of the hat and will recieve the Uncool Sample Six Pack!

_{Much as we’d love to open this up to our international readers, this contest is only for those residing in the U.S.}

ON THE BAR

In each edition of The Modern Substitute, ON THE BAR focuses on three drinks you should be on the look out for. We’ll give you a quick rundown of our thoughts on the drink, who makes it, where to buy it or, in the case of mocktails, how to make it.

Please note: due to popularity or limited runs, some drinks may be out of stock - please check with the beverage companies for updates.

SOVI - SPARKLING WHITE

• Origin: Napa, CA

• Calories: 25

• Sugar: 3g

• Serving: 8.4 fl.oz.

• ABV: 0.5%

• Buy: drinksovi.com • store locator • widely available online

• Price: $30.00 (4-pack)

The ModSub thoughts: Wine has pretty much always been woven into the fabric of Julia and Alex Littauer’s careers. Their professional journey took them from coast to coast and even included periods in Europe before they met at Treasury Wine Estates in 2015.

After a handful of years they decided to leave Napa Valley and the corporate wine industry and pursue business school at Cornell University, aiming to start their own venture. Initially focused on a different business idea, they pivoted when consumer feedback consistently highlighted a demand for quality non-alcoholic wine. This insight, combined with their personal reassessment of alcohol’s role in their lives, inspired them to create Sovi.

Relocating to the West Coast and settling in Napa Valley, they partnered with a family-owned vineyard in Clarksburg, located in Sacramento’s Delta region. This vineyard’s commitment to sustainably grown grapes aligned perfectly with Sovi’s environmental values.

After 18 months of blending trials in their garage, they were ready to launch their first product, Sparkling Rosé, in March 2021. This single-serve can was soon followed by a Red Blend and a Sparkling White. I recently picked up a 2023 version of the Sparkling White during a trip to California.

The wine, a blend of Pinot Gris, Chenin Blanc and Gewürztraminer, is de-alcoholized using vacuum distillation. It pours slightly on the pink side, and delivers a refreshingly crisp dry wine, combining peach, apple and lemon with a gently acidic finish. Wow, I love how dry this is.

While Sovi offers a range of appealing full-size bottles that I am eager to try, I appreciate their single-serve options. These smaller portions address shelf life concerns and allow consumers to sample wines before committing to a $25+ bottle. Although a few companies provide single-serve wines, I wish more would follow suit.

Still, if you haven’t already, I would urge you to find yourself some Sparkling Whites. You’ll be very pleased you did.

Exciting times ahead!

How does Sovi describe their Sparkling White: 2023 is our third vintage of this wine. This year, the blend leans more heavily on Pinot Gris, which brings a lot of rounded, peachy fruit notes. The Chenin Blanc in the blend lends it some crisp orchard fruit flavors. Finally, a small portion of Gewürztraminer adds some high-toned floral notes. The color of the wine also has a beautiful pinkish yellow hue from extended skin contact when pressing the Pinot Gris grapes.

Learn more about Sovi at drinksovi.com

PARCH - DESERT MARGARITA

• Tuscon, AZ

• Calories: 50

• Sugar: 10g

• Serving: 8.4 fl.oz.

• ABV: 0%

• Buy: drinkparch.com • store locator • widely available online

• Price: $40.00 (8-pack)

The ModSub thoughts: It feels like a long time ago now, but the very first drink I wrote about last August, when I started this newsletter, was the Spiced Piñarita from Parch. As I mentioned in a recent LinkedIn post celebrating the beverage company’s second anniversary, popping open that can bursting with smoky Southwest flavors was a significant factor in inspiring me to start this newsletter. If drinks like this were available, I thought, I need to share what I’m finding.

Parch has released two new drinks this year. The first, Sunrise Supertonic, is a collaboration with the global dance community Daybreaker and offers a “Golden Turmeric meets Yaupon Tea” blend designed to give you a boost from the very start of the day. I’ve yet to track one down, but I’ve heard nothing but positive things. The second, which I was able to find, is the Desert Margarita, a Sonoran Desert-inspired treat you won’t want to miss this summer.

One of the things I find so appealing about Parch is their nod to the history of beverage-making in the area. They craft modern-day non-alcoholic cocktails steeped in the generational traditions of the region, using local ingredients that were, and are, readily at hand.

While they aren’t the only beverage company with a regional ingredient focus, I've always had a special place in my heart for the Southwest—for their cuisine, the big skies, and yes, for introducing me to margaritas when I first landed in this country 30 years ago.

The Desert Margarita combines blue agave, orange bitters, lime, tamarind and tangerine juice with an adaptogenic boost from Ginseng, L-Theanine, and Ashwagandha to help alleviate stress. The result is a glorious fruit basket of citrus flavors all jockeying for pole position, with the sweet and sour of the tamarind just edging out the others. Damn. I didn’t think the Spiced Piñarita could be toppled from the top spot of Parch’s line, but I think it might just have to make way.

Parch simply makes some of the best non-alcoholic cocktails on the market. Period.

(Btw check out the 22% discount in that LinkedIn post above.)

How does Parch describe their Desert Margarita: Inspired by the unique combination of sour oranges & sweet limes that thrive at the Mission Garden Tucson, in the heart of the Sonoran Desert - our tang-tastic triple citrus margarita is so tasty & salty you won't miss the booze. Tamarind, tangerine juice and chamomile round out the complex flavor profile.

Learn more about Parch at drinkparch.com

LAGUNITAS - HOPPY REFRESHER

• Petaluma, CA

• Calories: 0

• Sugar: 0g

• Serving: 12 fl.oz.

• ABV: 0%

• Buy: store locator • widely available in stores and online

• Price: $5.99-$7.99 (4-pack)

The ModSub thoughts: With the absolute flood of new drinks hitting the market for non-alcoholic drink lovers, it is sometimes easy to forget some of the old-school beverages that quietly go about their business but still hold a prime position on the shelves!

When Lagunitas launched the Hoppy Refresher, it was one of those “huh?” moments. Sparkling water that has the hops of an IPA but isn’t a beer, yet vaguely seems like you are drinking one? I’m not sure if they were truly the first to create hop water, but Lagunitas certainly made the biggest splash at the time and Hoppy Refresher has been the poster child for a hundred other hop water companies to spring up since.

I would imagine the vast majority of you reading this are already very familiar with Hoppy Refresher. For those who aren’t, it’s one to keep in the arsenal. To be fair, I’ve only tried the original, and now there’s Passionfruit, Blood Orange and Berry Lime. Flavors come and go, I’ll wager the original will outlive them all, along with most of their competitors and still be sitting on the shelves in a decade. 

Though it may not be as refined as some of the spirits or cocktails I’ve recommended or quite fulfill the need that a quality NA beer might, the Hoppy Refresher is a versatile drink. It’s reliable, reasonably priced, and, as its name suggests—refreshing.

How does Lagunitas describe their Hoppy Refresher: Crisp, zingy and hoppily refreshing. This sparkling beverage is made using everything Lagunitas knows about hops. Chock-full of Citra, Equinox, and Centennial hops, for a big splash of flavor that’s surprisingly fruity.

Learn more about Lagunitas Brewing Company at lagunitas.com