Cocktail Kit Confidential

Wotcha!

Whenever I get a new bottle of non-alcoholic spirits, one of the first places I look for cocktail recipes is the All The Bitter website. If you haven't bookmarked their recipe page yet, go do it right now!

So I was super stoked when All The Bitter co-founder Ian Blessing agreed to contribute to this edition of the newsletter and walk us through some of the cocktail kits he and his team have created.

If non-alcoholic cocktails are your thing, then this issue is for you!

As always, enjoy some great drinks this week!

Cheers,

Myles

In this week’s edition:

NAN
New NA Drink News

COCKTAIL KITS
• Agave Margarita
• Negroni
• Lavender Gin & Tonic

Read time: 3 minutes 3 seconds

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My NAN, who researches all the new non-alcoholic drink launches and brings them to you each week, is on her summer break.

She’ll be back on August 22.

COCKTAIL KIT

Ian’s thoughts: Of all the NA cocktails I’ve made or tasted, this one comes the closest to replicating the alcoholic version. Most people have had a “virgin Margarita” where the restaurant simply removes the tequila, leaving you with what is basically frozen limeade.

Instead, we combine two different NA tequilas—Free Spirits and Almave Blanco—to bring together the best characteristics of each. Free Spirits adds smoke, spice, oak, and an intense agave character, while Almave brings fresher, grassier, more herbal flavors.

Add lime juice, agave nectar, a pinch of salt, and the secret ingredient—our Orange Cardamom Bitters, which provide orange flavor without the heavy sweetness of triple sec—and the result truly drinks like a proper, top-shelf Margarita. The only thing it’s missing is the alcohol.

What’s Included:
• Free Spirits Tequila (25.4 oz)
• Almave Blanco (23.7 oz)
• ATB Orange Cardamom Bitters (5 oz)
• Chantico Wild Agave Nectar (11.75 oz)
• Cheeky Lime Juice (16 oz)
• Recipe booklet

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COCKTAIL KIT

Ian’s thoughts: Perfecting the NA Negroni has been a personal side quest of mine for years. It was my favorite cocktail before I quit drinking, but my first attempt at an alcohol-free version—using a brand that will go unnamed—was atrocious: watery, thin, and nowhere near bitter enough.

The problem is that most NA recipes copy the classic equal-parts formula without accounting for how removing alcohol changes the balance. We tweak the ratio, using more gin, less vermouth, and a generous dose of our Aromatic and Orange Bitters to bring back the intensity.

We also use three very specific brands: Monday gin, Roots Divino sweet vermouth, and Giffard Aperitif, which is by far the closest Campari substitute I’ve found. 

One final tip: keep the ingredients chilled and pour them directly over one large ice cube instead of stirring with ice. That prevents over-dilution and makes the finished drink sip like a proper Negroni.

What’s Included:
• Monday Zero Alcohol Gin (25.4 oz)
• Giffard Aperitif Sirop (33.8 oz)
• Roots Divino Sweet Vermouth (23.7 oz)
• ATB Orange Cardamom Bitters (2 oz)
• ATB Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters (2 oz)
• Recipe booklet

COCKTAIL KIT

Ian’s thoughts: This is the drink I didn't know I needed. A standard NA gin & tonic is great, and a perfect example of how to easily use non-alc gin: it's too thin to make a proper martini, but add some tonic and now you've got texture from bubbles, botanical bitterness, and balancing sweetness. It's a complete drink. 

But what happens when you start adding things to a G&T? Our Lavender Chamomile bitters add a nice floral note to the classic, lavender syrup pushes it even further and gives the drink a beautiful pink color, and then a splash of lemon juice keeps the sweetness in check.

It's shockingly crisp, refreshing, just bitter enough, and floral without being perfumey.

What’s Included:
• Monday Zero Alcohol Gin (25.4 oz)
• Portland Syrups Lavender Syrup (12 oz)
• Yuice Lemon Super Juice (12 oz)
• Fever Tree Light Tonic Water x8 (5.07 oz)
• ATB Lavender Chamomile Bitters (5 oz)
• Recipe booklet

EXTRA READS

• A quick heads-up: some links here are affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission—thank you for supporting my work at no extra cost to you.

• Blog thumbnail photo credit: Myles Faulkner