The Curious Botanical Spirit Taking The Country By Storm

🍹 TEQUILA: Scotland’s Spirits of Virtue have just released three new blends of Tequila (link)

🍺 BEER: Check out the teaser campaign for Canada’s Cold Ones, on shelves later this year. Proper logo too! (link)

🍷 WINE: The growth of NA wines and why buyers need to back them (link)

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.

UNTITLED ART - AMERICAN GOLD

• Waunakee, WI

• Calories: 35

• Serving: 12 oz

• <0.5%ABV

• Buy: www.drinkuntitled.com . store locator

• Price: $16.99 - 6 cans

The ModSub thoughts: If you, like me, are stupid enough to spend three hours chopping fire wood in 90°+ mid-August heat, you will either be rewarded with heatstroke or a strong need to collapse into a lawn chair and guzzle a few light beers to put you straight.

And so it was last weekend, that I found myself collapsed into a lawn chair cracking open an American Gold lager from Wisconsin’s highly-rated Untitled Art.

The brewery, introduced to me last year by my mate John, has fast become one of my favorite NA beer producers. With distribution seemingly increasing fairly rapidly, you’ll be seeing them in your local supermarket sooner rather than later.

Their cans are pretty hard to miss too as each new brew is a collaboration with a fine artist. The result allows for artistry to be proudly displayed both inside and outside the can.

American Gold embodies has all characteristics you would expect from a craft lager – light yet rich in flavor, a crisp texture, and a clean finish. It is however exceptionally easy to consume. I polished off two in rather quick succession as I admired my new pile of firewood.

If you are a fan of light beers, I would urge you to check out American Gold. It’s included in their Mix Pack (12-pack for $29.99) along the Juicy IPA, the Italian Pilsner and their Citrus Haze. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to the fantastic beers this brewery puts out.

How Untitled Art describes their American Gold: ‘Untitled Art Non-Alcoholic American Gold utilizes the mild floral hops of our German brewing heritage and brings them into the 21st century courtesy of state-of-the-art filtering technology to craft a smooth and crisp NA rendition of the world’s most-consumed style that’s perfect for pairing with spicy food, backyard barbeques, or a regret-free thirst-quenching reward after a hard workout or day in the yard. Crack a can, hoist a glass and salute this bracing booze-free brew!’.

Learn more about Untitled Art at drinkuntitled.com.

THE PATHFINDER SPIRIT

Immediate Relief for Malaise And Ennui, Cold Feet And Hot Tempers, Weak Knees And Low Spirits

• Seattle, WA

• Calories: 35

• Serving: 23.6 oz (700ml)

• 0.%ABV

• Buy: drinkpathfinder.com • Store and bar locator

• Price: $39.99 per bottle

The ModSub thoughts: If I had to point to one single drink that gave me hope that life could go on after alcohol, it would be The Pathfinder. Stumbling across it in the limited NA spirits section at my local liquor store, it’s striking old-timey, curious elixir label jumped out at me, standing out as it did from neighbouring bottles.

The current limited edition label is a graphics tour-de-force IMHO and the Wild West curiosity is something the company plays on, from the aforementioned label, to the website, to the very taste of the drink.

Think of old western movies and a bottle of The Pathfinder wouldn’t look out of place on the shelves of an apothecary or a snake oil salesman’s wagon.

The drink itself is as intriguing for its ingredients as it is versatility. From their website, they reveal it is concocted from a blend of wormwood, angelic root, ginger, sage, juniper, saffron, orange peel, wild-crafted Douglas-fir and natural terpenes, all boiled together in 16th Century-style copper pot stills and distilled to create an amaro-like botanical flavour.

The versatility comes in the various drink concoctions it so naturally marries with. Sip it straight or add it to a growing number of summer and winter cocktails you’ll find on The Pathfinder’s Libations webpage. 

For months I couldn’t get past a 2oz pour over ice, topped up with plain seltzer and a fresh squeezed blood orange. More recently though the Pathfinder E&T has been a big hit, an unusual but delicious espresso-infused take on a G&T. It has just the right pick-me-up for that late night out ahead which might feel a little daunting.

The Summer Highball is refreshing take on the classic cocktail with Pathfinder replacing the liquor of choice. It has a little of the Pimms and Lemonade flavor about it, especially with the muddled cucumber and mint and the slight bitter tang to the aftertaste.

The Pathfinder has experienced explosive growth in the last 18 months and can be tricky to find at times. Check your best local NA bottle shop or go to their web site and order directly.

With recent investment from the Stoli Group this year, fingers crossed supply will be able to meet the ever-growing demand. My advice is get your hands on a bottle as soon as you can but if there’s only one bottle left…..it’s mine!

How The Pathfinder describes their Spirit: ‘The Pathfinder is a fermented and distilled hemp-based liquid with the intense flavor and aromatic characteristics of a spirit, with none of the harmful effects of alcoholic beverages.’

Learn more about The Pathfinder Spirit at drinkthepathfinder.com

DOMINICAN STYLE GINGER ICE TEA

• Dominica Island

• Calories: 26

• Serving: Recipe makes 9 cups

• 0%ABV

• Price: <$5

Difficulty Level: MODERATE (Mainly due to the time it takes to make - 15-20 mins)

The ModSub thoughts: This fabulous ginger ice tea comes from Aysegul Sanford’s excellent Foolproof Living blog and is well worth the minimal effort it takes to put together.

She came across it while on vacation on Dominica Island and asked for the recipe. Fresh ginger, lemons and limes make up the ingredients of this cost-effective ice-tea that can be enjoyed pretty much anytime during the day.

One philosophy behind Foolproof Living is perfecting recipes that do not include refined sugar. So honey is used as a substitute, adding its own distinctive flavor to the mix. A little sour, a little sweet, a little bitterness, a little spice. This really has a touch of everything.

So start squeezing some lemons and limes, pour yourself a glass, close your eyes and dream of the Caribbean. Dominican-style.

Tip: On the Caribbean island the drink is served both sweetened and unsweetened. This is where it becomes a matter of preference and requires some trial and error.

I added the suggested 7 tablespoons of honey plus 1 for luck and it was still quite tart. I ended up liking that a lot as it made it a little more like a sipping cocktail as opposed to an ice tea that you might gulp down. Anyway, experiment and see what works for you.

Oh and I have no idea why Aysegul Sanford’s drink came out white and mine is yellow!!

Learn more about Foolproof Living at https://foolproofliving.com/

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Miss Last Week’s Newsletter?

Read about Spiced Pinarita, Pink G&T and the increasingly hard-to-find Geralt’s Gold.