No Smoke Without Fire

Wotcha!

Any of you interested in non-alcoholic cider? The adult kind, not the sparkling apple juice variety?

Well, I’m working on a new guide to non-alc ciders in the U.S. and Canada. There should be 50+ ciders for you to explore.

I hope to have it available by the end of the month.

Anyway enjoy some great drinks this week.

Cheers,

Myles

In last week’s issue (MODSUB150), The Best/Worst Kept Secret in NA Beer, this link got the most attention.

In this week’s edition:

NAN
New NA Drink News

WINE ALTERNATIVE/COCKTAIL
Bôtan Distillery - Pomelo Asada

COCKTAIL
No Fun Beverages - Ashes To Orange

Read time: 3 minutes 25 seconds

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NORTH AMERICA

WINE: Who’s looking for non-alcoholic Chardonnay? Well, you’re in luck. Paragraph Wine has launched one. (Link)

BEER: One from last month: Molson Coors released a non-alc version of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. (Link)

WORLDWIDE

APERITIF: I’m going to have to get a bigger suitcase for my next trip home. Warner’s Distillery has debuted their new alcohol-free Botanical Aperitif. (Link)

WINE ALTERNATIVE/COCKTAIL

ModSub thoughts: Bôtan Distillery’s beverages fall into that category of wine alternatives, or built wines if you will, created first and foremost to be enjoyed with food. But where some wine alternatives lean closer to actual wine, Bôtan’s products sit more closely to aperitifs.

Describing itself as a field-to-bottle brand, Bôtan grows its botanicals in its own fields and then distils botanical blends, sometimes utilising a combination of ingredients that reaches double digits. Cultivating the produce on its own land allows the team to experiment with the seasons, explore different harvest times and experience the effects of weather and soil to create terroir that will differ from one year to the next. Variety is the botanical spice of life, right?

Pomelo Asada is actually Bôtan’s nod to a Mezcal Paloma and is designed to accompany a delicious dark mole or lamb rubbed in cumin, rather than be slung back while talking to your mates in a beachside bar in Puerto Vallarta. I’m sadly not munching on some carne asada tacos while I sample this bottle, but I truly wish I was.

What you can’t fail to notice as soon as you raise glass to mouth is the sweet, slightly smoky, charred aroma of roasted chillies. For Mexican food enthusiasts or spice lovers like myself, Pomelo Asada had me at the nose. But the real treat is the first sip. You’ll be glad to know those roasted jalapeños maintain their presence throughout the experience, strolling hand in hand with the zesty sourness of grapefruit, which unfailingly leaves a trail of bitterness in its wake. Lemon verbena brings a hint of lemon but mostly herbaceous support, while honey adds a touch of sweetness.

Every summer, I go through the painstaking but highly rewarding task of making a large batch of Mark Miller’s Mole Rojo. I don’t believe there is a better sauce in the world to put on chicken. I’ve made a note in the cookbook: “Buy some Bôtan Distillery Pomelo Asada to pair with this” for next year’s efforts.

¡Provecho!

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COCKTAIL

ModSub thoughts: There must be something in the Michigan water. I’ve yet to have anything resembling a disappointing non-alcoholic drink from the Great Lakes State, and thankfully, it turns out that the debut cocktail from No Fun Beverages doesn’t buck that trend.

The Detroit start-up, founded by Haimanti Germain and Matt Mitchell, kicked off just a few months ago, in June of this year. Remember the World Cup? Yeah, they’re just that old! But they have come out of the traps with a bold move—a canned cocktail inspired by a smoky Old Fashioned—and this puppy is smoky as all get out.

The backbone of the drink is smoked black tea, its flavor permeating the cocktail with a deep, rich smokiness, resin and tobacco. Demerara sugar adds to the richness and lends body, while orange oil centers the cocktail with citrus.

This is a cocktail made by bar people for bar people. It’s a cocktail that’ll make you sit up on your bar stool, raise your eyebrows, turn to the stranger sitting next to you staring into their pint, and say, “Damn. This is good.” It’s a cocktail the founders aim to get behind every bar in Detroit, Michigan and beyond. And boy, I hope they succeed.

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