The Taste of BespOak

MODSUB110

Wotcha!

I’ve used up all my words this week on the drinks below. So without further ado …

Enjoy some great drinks this week.

Myles

P.S. Want to get ahead of the Holiday shopping? Check out the Black Friday sale offer from our sponsor below!

In this week’s edition:

NAN
New NA Drink News

SPIRIT
Little Saints - St. Oak

WINE
Tomorrow Cellars - Red Blend

EXTRA READS
EU Court Ruling
In Search of the Perfect Buzz

Read time: 5 minutes 53 seconds

New Non-Alcoholic Drink News

NORTH AMERICA

WINE: Meet Monté is the latest release from Noughty—a Syrah-forward non-alcoholic red. (Link)

COCKTAIL: Espresso Martini, crafted with Columbian Coffee, is the latest release from ISH. (Link)

FUNCTIONAL: As of this week, SunDay Drinks officially opened their doors with the launch of 4 low-dose hemp-derived THC Iced Teas. (Link)

FUNCTIONAL: Also new this week, Tipsy AF have debuted a functional mushroom Blood Orange Margarita. (Link)

From this week’s sponsor:

Introducing our new sponsor, The Zero Proof, a curated online marketplace of the world's best non-alcoholic wines, cocktails, beers and functional drinks.

Started by two best friends as a blog about the non-alc movement, they've quickly become the largest non-alc retailer in the US with over 400 products and have been helping bring in exciting new products from abroad like Oddbird, Sylva, Gnista and Ish.

They're having a massive 60% off Black Friday sale that ends soon.

Check them out at www.thezeroproof.com

Cheers,

Myles

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

SPIRIT

ModSub’s thoughts: I read an IG post recently that really got me thinking. It was from a non-alcoholic drinks advocate in Europe—sadly, I can’t find the post so can’t link it—who was talking about the difficulty journalists who regularly write about alcoholic spirits are having when they try to review their non-alcoholic counterparts. His point was: how do you give a fair shake to a non-alcoholic spirit that mimics a traditional spirit when your palate is expecting the alcoholic version?

It’s a quandary for journalists, but it’s also something beverage founders and consumers grapple with. Founders are fighting an uphill battle to meet consumer expectations.

I often mention that mindset is an important part of embracing certain categories of the non-alcoholic drink world. To give these drinks a real chance, you have to be open to the idea that they more than likely won’t be identical to the drink you’ve become accustomed to. Alcohol brings a lot to the table in terms of structure and taste profile, and it isn’t easy to replicate those attributes.

Of course, on the other side of the non-alc spirit coin are the brands trying to create something completely original—even if some of those still have a gentle nod to traditional spirits. Which leads me to the brand-new St. Oak from Little Saints, a whiskey-inspired, mushroom-infused spirit launched just in time for those of us searching for a cold-weather drink.

The Little Saints team spent hours tasting classic whiskeys like Maker’s Mark, Bulleit, and Basil Hayden, among others, finding inspiration in each of them to create what St. Oak would eventually become. And this brings us back to the difficulty in describing a drink that draws from an alcoholic template. St. Oak is not a whiskey. It is not 1:1 for whiskey. But if you put that expectation aside, you have a spirit that brings a bagful of flavors to the table. Some will feel familiar; others take a moment to sink in as they mingle with the rest. It’s a drink that may take you a minute to interpret, but then it unfolds as your taste buds figure out what’s being put in front of them.

Taken neat, there’s an almost strong tea-like quality—presumably from the mushrooms and the oak extract. Vanilla and caramel come into play, followed by a peaty, botanical bitterness that’s capped off with cardamom and capsicum for an impressive burn. The more you sip, the more the whiskey-like characteristics emerge and the more you see what Little Saints were aiming for. 

An upcoming Little Saints recipe book features a St. Oak Old Fashioned that leans heavily into the spirit’s woody notes, the two bitters deepening the flavors with cinnamon, ginger, walnut, and all manner of spices that slip above my pay grade. It’s a cracking cocktail, but not what you might expect if you’re anticipating the alcohol version you’re used to. You need to expect the unexpected and that’s the reward. 

As I looked for more St. Oak recipies, I find it difficlut to disagree with Mark Stock over at The Manual, who confidently states that his Hot Toddy recipe using St. Oak “more than resembles its traditional cousin.” I’ll certainly be pulling this out of my back pocket next time I’m under the weather.

I can see how it would be hard for some to make heads or tails of these non-alcoholic spirits. It requires a rewiring of the brain in a sense. But for this guy, sitting in his kitchen writing about non-alcoholic drinks every week… St. Oak is just the ticket for the cold months ahead.

How Little Saints describes St.Oak: A non-alcoholic whiskey worthy of contemplation. St. Oak delivers the warm embrace of rye with the sweet finish of bourbon—oak and wood spice notes mingling with vanilla, caramel, and cardamom. Enhanced with a trifecta of functional ingredients—Lion's Mane, Reishi for calm, for clarity, and Damiana for ease—this spirit softens your edges without dulling your shine.

WINE

ModSub’s thoughts: This Thanksgiving will be the first year in a while that I’ve been more excited about the drinks I’ll be serving than the food itself. I suppose it makes sense, given I don’t write about poultry and vegetable sides, but nonetheless I do have some corkers lined up. Unfortunately, you won’t find out about them until the week after Turkey Day, but at least you’ll be set up for the gatherings at the end of December should you need some ideas.

I am going to spill the beans on one of them though, because you’ll hopefully still have time to get it delivered before the turkey has to go in the oven.

Tomorrow Cellars’ Red Blend came out last May and has been garnering fanfare ever since. A non-alcoholic red wine was always on the cards for the California winery, but as most winemakers can attest, it’s no easy feat to make one that people will even like—let alone one that is highly praised. As I’m sure you’re aware by now, remove the alcohol from wine and you’ve removed large parts of its structure and depth. There’s significant complexity involved in rebuilding the flavor and, let’s be frank, most don’t succeed.

For Tomorrow Cellars, though, they had a secret weapon for creating Red Blend: a collaboration with former French Laundry sommelier and All The Bitter co-founder Ian Blessing to create a custom extract that could be added back into the wine. The process saw the winemakers create a full-strength wine made from Petite Syrah grapes, giving the wine a rich, earthy base of dark fruits and robust tannins. It was then aged in one-year-old oak, after which the alcohol was removed and Ian could work his magic.

Here’s what he has to say about the extract he created:

“This extract is made from whole botanicals carefully selected to enhance the depth and complexity of the Red Blend. Key ingredients like cassis, dark cherry, blueberry, cocoa, and oak evoke rich fruit and tannin structure, while warm spices and the subtle green notes of mint and sage add lift and intrigue, complementing the wine without overpowering it.”

For those of you on the seemingly never-ending search for a quality non-alc red, I’d urge you to give Red Blend a go. If a light claret is your thing, Red Blend might just be the answer.

How Tomorrow Cellars describes Red Blend: This lush, full-bodied red is for those who want depth and complexity without the alcohol. Grounded in Petite Sirah, you’ll taste blackberry, baking spice, and cocoa, with a dry, structured finish—perfect for pairing with grilled or roasted meats, pasta, or your favorite savory dish. At only 10 calories and 2 grams of sugar per glass, it’s as easy on your tomorrow as it is on your palate.

EXTRA READS