The Inbetweener

MODSUB113

Wotcha!

I’m not an online grocery shopper personally—I still like to wander around the aisles—but one bit of news caught my eye this week.

The online health and grocery store Thrive Market has removed all alcohol products from its marketplace. In their place, they’re now offering more than 100 SKUs from 20 non-alcoholic brands.

Is this a reflection of declining demand for alcohol, or simply an adjustment to better align with the brand’s mission? Perhaps a bit of both. Either way, it’s an interesting development. The full article is at the bottom of the newsletter.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Anyway, as always — enjoy some great drinks this week.

Myles

In this week’s edition:

NAN
New NA Drink News

FUNCTIONAL SODA
Spacers - Cherry Lime

SPIRITS
Becketts ‘27 - Cinnamon Whiskey
Becketts ‘27 - Amaretto

EXTRA READS
Online Grocer Bets Big on Alcohol-Free Boom

Read time: 6 minutes 46 seconds

From this week’s sponsor: The Zero Proof

The Zero Proof has recently launched a limited supply of Sylva Paduk to U and Canadian customers.

Sylva, founded by former Seedlip founder, Ben Branson, is one of the few non-alc spirits worth drinking neat and is made from British fruit wood and malted barley. It’s fruit-forward with gentle smoke, made to sip slowly over ice (or mixed with soda).

There is a very limited supply of Sylva left, so get yours while you can at www.thezeroproof.com.

Thank you for supporting our sponsors who in turn support this newsletter.

New Non-Alcoholic Drink News

NORTH AMERICA

SPIRITS: Canada’ Empress 1908 has launched 0.0 Indigo. (Link)

COCKTAILS: Previously available only at Sprouts supermarkets, Sedona Spritz from Parch is now available nationwide. (Link)

COCKTAILS: Also from Arizona, last month saw the launch of new kava brand Better Days, debuting with two flavors. (Link)

FUNCTIONAL: Hightail has launched their first THC-free beverage, Halo. (Link)

WORLDWIDE

SPIRITS: More non-alcoholic gin news, this time from Wales, Cygnet have created Infinity, their first 0% spirit. (Link)

SPIRITS: Sylva has introduced Walnut in a limited run of just 300 bottles. (Link)

FUNCTIONAL SODA

ModSub’s thoughts: The term zebra-striping has been floating around for a few years now: have a cocktail, then have a non-alcoholic version, followed by another full-strength drink, and so on. Half the amount of drinking is, hopefully, half the disrupted sleep and half the hangover the next day. In the old days—five-plus years ago—if you were smart enough, that second and fourth drink would have been water.

Now, though, we have a whole host of non-alcoholic drinks across every category to play the role of the inbetweener. A beer can be followed by the very same beer, minus the alcohol, with almost—and in some cases, absolutely—no deviation in taste. You can build a cocktail using 1 oz of full-strength spirits and 1 oz of the non-alcoholic version. Wine is a little trickier but certainly doable if your mind is open enough.

Overall, very few brands out there are marketing this idea to consumers, which is all the more baffling when you consider that an overwhelming percentage of non-alcoholic drink consumers also drink alcohol. Sober folks like me are a very small slice of the non-alc consumer base.

One brand, though, is laying all their chips on this idea. The cleverly named Spacers, a new company from Texas, has positioned their debut beverage as the non-alcoholic drink in-between. Their first offering combines cherry and lime in an organic coconut water base, with a little ginger and chicory root. Also in the mix: prebiotics for gut health, vitamin B to help process alcohol, and electrolytes for hydration. It’s like a self-care kit designed to help mitigate the effects of the drink before and after.

I enjoyed Spacers’ Cherry Lime straight from the can, and I can see the real benefit of having this as a go-to option when you’re trying to “space out” your night. Where I was more wowed, though, was using Cherry Lime as a mixer. I only had time to knock up one cocktail, but 1.5 oz of The Pathfinder with a generous shake or two of All The Bitter’s Cherry Coffee Bitters made for a fabulous start.

The Pathfinder’s spiced orange and Spacers’ lime wrap around each other tightly, while tart cherries shake hands with the spirit’s family of botanicals. It’s sweet, spiced citrus warmth balanced by an earthy, herbal bitterness. If you’re looking for a fireside winter cocktail in the coming months, you could do a lot worse than one of these.

A fun drink, and a brand to keep an eye on in 2026.

How Spacers describes Cherry Lime: Spacers Cosmic Cherry Lime is a refreshing, non-alcoholic beverage that combines the perfect balance of tart lime and sweet cherry. Ideal for those who embrace mindful drinking, it offers a crisp, guilt-free refreshment with zero alcohol and all-natural ingredients. 

SPIRITS

ModSub’s thoughts: You remember those stocking-stuffer ideas from the Holiday Guide a couple of weeks back? Here are a couple other ideas for the non-alcoholic cocktail enthusiast and their bar cart: Cinnamon Whiskey and Amaretto from Beckett’s ’27. These half-bottle spirits make for a timely gift, especially as both are the base for some fabulous festive cocktails.

Let’s dive in.

Cinnamon Flying Mule

If you’re a cinnamon lover looking for a cocktail with a serious kick, then the Cinnamon Flying Mule is the one for you. Simple to make but sure to leave an impression, this combines Beckett’s ’27 Cinnamon Whiskey with Beckett’s Tonics Moscow Mule and a long squeeze of lime juice. Cinnamon hits on the front end and melts into ginger on the back with the two strong spices delivering a wallop to the throat that lingers. Definitely gives off a lovely winter holiday vibe.

Money Penny

If you’re English of a certain era, you’ll know that James Bond is synonymous with Christmas Day. Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, the latest Bond film was the matinee of choice on the BBC immediately after the Queen’s Speech. So, with a nod to those days—whether you were Team Connery or Team Moore—here’s a fun holiday-party cocktail using Beckett’s ’27 Amaretto.

Combine 1.5oz of the Amaretto with 3oz of Peach Black Tea and 3/4oz of fresh lemon juice. The Beckett’s recipe calls for Trader Joe’s Sparkling Black Tea with Peach Juice. I swapped that out for 2.5oz of Earl Grey and 0.5oz of peach simple syrup, which I already had on hand. The peach blends beautifully with the almond, while the Earl Grey adds a citrus-tinged, earthy spice twist to ground the sweetness. Pop in a sprig of rosemary for garnish and a little herbal lift. It would be fun to play around with different black teas, but this Earl Grey version is a keeper.

The Godfather

The marathon mobster trilogy holds a special place in the ModSub family, and it seemed only fitting—given that Amaretto is on the table—that a Godfather cocktail be included in this round-up. Why special? The trilogy was playing back-to-back on the hospital TV for days as we waited for ModSub Baby to show up.

This classic cocktail is super easy: two parts Scotch whisky (or bourbon if that’s what you’ve got) to one part Amaretto.

I used 2oz of Glen Dochus Export from Spirit of Virtue with 1oz of Beckett’s ’27 Amaretto for this classic ’70s cocktail. It’s super smooth, with the malty Scotch character tamed by the sweet, nutty almond of the Amaretto. The two spirits combine nicely to create a solid mouthfeel—still not viscous enough to fool you into thinking it’s a real whisky, but it ain’t half close. Personally, I needed an extra 1/2oz of NKD Whiskey to give it a little more bite. This is one I’ll likely experiment with more in the future.

Vampire’s Bite

It felt remiss not to try the one recipe on Beckett’s website that includes both spirits. The recipe calls for 1.5oz of Cinnamon Whiskey and Amaretto topped with blood orange juice. There’s also an option to swap the blood orange for pomegranate-cherry. In an effort to use up some half-finished bottles in my fridge, I went with a mix of tart cherry and cranberry instead. This made the cocktail a little more festive and added a bonus bit of zip. I was intrigued to see how the cinnamon and almond would marry and was really pleased with the outcome.

Both the Cinnamon Whiskey and Amaretto are worthy additions to your non-alc bar cart. You’re not likely to sip either neat, but they’re a whole lot of fun to mix into cocktails. There are other spirits out there that will grab more attention, but Beckett’s ’27 has stood the test of time for good reason.

How Beckett’s describes Cinnamon Whiskey: Spicy and warm Non-Alcoholic Cinnamon Whiskey crafted using natural flavors and distilled botanicals. Only 5 calories and 1 gram sugar per serving. Enjoy straight up, on ice, or as a fiery cinnamon twist in ginger beer, tea, coffee, lemonade, juice or your favorite soda.

How Beckett’s describes Amaretto: Classic Italian-inspired, Non-Alcoholic Amaretto crafted using natural flavors and distilled botanicals. Only 5 calories and 2 grams sugar per serving. Enjoy straight up, on ice, in your favorite cocktail, or as a delicious almond accent in coffee, tea, juice, sodas, smoothies and desserts.

Beckett’s ‘27 spirits can be found out at Total Wine & More

EXTRA READS