ON THE ROAD

In the last few days, there have been a flurry of news articles on places to find NA drinks around the country. So if you happen to live in one of these cities or are visiting, here are some options to check out. Let us know what they are like!

• 🦞 BATON ROUGE - In-depth list of bars and stores (link)

• 🏖 SAN DIEGO - 5 mocktail hotspots (link)

• 🎥 LOS ANGELES - A handful of options in LA (link)

• 🔔 PHILADELPHIA - 5 stores with deep inventories (link)

• 🥜 BIRMINGHAM - 2 stores to find NA goodies (link)

• 🍑 ATLANTA - 5 places to check across the city (link)

• 🚂 CHATTANOOGA - 7 bars for non-alcoholic drinks (link)

• 🎭 NEW ORLEANS - A mobile NA bar and more (link)

• 🤠 AUSTIN - 5 great spots for mocktails (link)

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.

WELLBEING BREWING COMPANY

- MATCH DAY LIGHT

• St. Louis, MO

• Calories: 35

• Serving: 12 fl.oz.

• ABV: <0.5%

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

• Price: $14.99 for a 6-pack

The ModSub thoughts: Hold on a second! There’s an NA beer called Match Day Light that celebrates both football (soccer, if you must) and English Pale Ale? Well you had me at….well with any of that collection of words.

WellBeing Brewing Company from St Louis has been around since 2018 and thankfully their beers are widely available across the country. Their Victory Citrus Wheat is most commonly seen in bars and stores alike and was an early pioneer in the NA beer field.

Match Day Light along with it’s superb packaging pay homage to the highest level of English football, while also recognizing the deep passion for the game in St. Louis, especially during the inaugural season of St. Louis City SC in Major League Soccer (MLS).

This may be the first English Pale Ale that I have seen in the non alc beer category and it is quite fabulous. A collaboration with St Louis’s famous Schlafly brewery, Match Day Light is based on the recipe of one of their flagship Pale Ale.

The pour delvers a deep golden brown color and a lovely head. I’m going to leave the taste description to the brewery (see below) because they’ve hit the nail on the head with theirs.

I will say, this one should be on everyone’s list to track down as we come into the fall and move away from the lighter beers. An absolute winner and a standout amongst the sea of IPAs and lagers.

How WellBeing describes their Match Day Light: Match Day Light is a classic style, bready pale ale that has a well-balanced malt character and hop profile with a light mouthfeel, crisp with a slight roasted malty after taste.

The English Pale Ale has been intricately linked to the beautiful game since the Football Association wrote down the first set of rules in 1863. Based on ye olde recipe from The St. Louis Brewery, it’s an ale born of artistry.

Learn more about WellBeing Brewing Company at wellbeingbrewing.com

GREENBAR DISTILLERY - UN RUM & COLA

• Los Angeles, CA

• Calories: 62

• Serving: 12 fl.oz.

• ABV: 0%

• Buy: A little tricky to find to be honest and it might need a bit more perseverance than usual. There is a ‘Find’ link on their website. The WholeFoods link, found there, was the most fruitful to see if you can find it in your local Wholefoods, if you have one. That’s where I found it and just this morning I spotted it in a local independant bottle shop.

• Price: $3.75 a can or $14.99 for a 4-pack

The ModSub thoughts: I had a 'plane drink' in the before times. Essentially, a drink I only ever consumed while flying. To curb the anxiety of floating along at 30,000 feet, my drink of choice would be a double Rum and Coke, ordered the moment I could lock eyes with the flight attendant.

I'm not sure why I latched on to that particular drink. Neither rum nor cola was part of my drinking habit, but for some reason, that was the equivalent of a beverage comfort blanket. It served me well for years.

So, strolling through Whole Foods the other week, I spotted Greenbar's Un Rum & Cola and thought, why not?!

Greenbar Distillery was started, in Los Angeles in 2004, by Mellon Khosravoani and Litty Mathew, two USC grad sweethearts. Over nearly two decades, they have become the largest distiller of organic spirits in the world, with an extensive range of spirits and RTDs. They created their NA range in 2018 with UnSpritz and have expanded their line to now include six drinks.

The taste of UnRum and Coke takes a few seconds to register. You expect that strong, sugary, caramelized flavor of the soda and followed by the hit from the rum. The alcoholized version is full-flavored, to say the least.

Greenbar's version reins in the intensity and instead gives you a lighter, crisper version of the cocktail. What's refreshing is that with every sip, you discover a little more about the drink. Nutmeg, ginger, coriander, clove, cinnamon, allspice, and orange all make an appearance, one after the other on your tongue, like the rolling credits at the end of a movie. It's not in-your-face, and that's what makes it all the more special.

Oh, and I bet you're expecting it to be laden with sugar given that it’s base is a cola. It was one of the first things I looked for. Nope, just 8g!

Of equal importance to the owners is keeping an eye firmly on offsetting their environmental impact by tree-planting (1m+ planted so far!) and by the material choices of their products. It's the icing on the cake of what seems like a really cool company. This was a great find, and I'm excited to explore the rest of their line.

How Greenbar describes their Un Rum + Cola: Warm and crisp. Real rum favors layered with baking spices, fresh citrus and kola nut, skipping the buzz means no compromise.

Learn more about Greenbar Distillery at greenbardistillery.com

TOMATO & BASIL MARGARITA

• Olivia Noceda

• Calories: Unknown

• Serving: 8-10 fl.oz.

• ABV: 0%

The ModSub thoughts: As the tomato season starts to wind down, it seemed only appropriate to try and find an end-of-summer cocktail that could make use of some leftovers from this year’s crop. Knowing my love of a good mocktail, a friend of mine recently shared Olivia Noceda’s Instagram page which has a wealth of food and drink recipes, wellness suggestions and the odd bit of travel thrown in. It’s a really great page and I encourage you follow her for some fabulous mocktail recipes.

Scrolling through her feed I spotted a recipe for a Tomato Basil Margarita. Inspired herself by @cafehailee (I was not able to find Hailee’s recipe to see the difference), she has created a cocktail that is a wonderful concoction of flavors.

The sweetness of the tomato and maple syrup, cut by the salt and Tajin and rounded out by the herbiness of the basil and gentle kick of the garlic.

It’s a little time-consuming if you are making this for multiple guests, mainly due to grating the tomatoes, but it is so worth it. Definitely give this a go while the local tomatoes are still in the stores. My only disappointment is discovering this so late in the season. Next year this will be on heavy rotation for sure.

For ingredient and recipe instructions please click on the Instagram link below. ⬇️

olivianoceda

View more on Instagram

Tip 1:  It will be tempting to save time and just buy some pre-squeezed tomato juice in place of grating fresh tomatoes. I would urge you not to. The flavor will be completely different and not half as good. It is worth the effort to follow recipe as shown. Promise.

How Olivia Noceda describes the Tomato Basil Margarita: Refreshing, tangy and a little bit salty PLUS a hint of garlic. believe me, this is going to be on repeat as we finish out the summer.

Learn more about Olivia Noceda at olivianoceda.com or on Instagram at @olivianoceda

BEFORE YOU GO……

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   Thank you and have a great weekend!

Did You Miss Last Week’s Newsletter?

Read about Self Care’s Block Party Fest(ival) Bier, Unititled Art’s Oktoberfest and Athletic Brewing’s Oktoberfest Fest Brew.