Just how ‘sober curious’ are you about Dry January?
After weeks of holiday indulgence, the new year heralds Dry January" campaigns inviting us to add alcohol abstinence to health resolutions.
Wikipedia reports that a Morning Consult poll conducted in January 2021 found that 13 per cent of American respondents were participating in Dry January' ... 72 per cent were trying to drink less alcohol in general ... and 49 per cent said they were drinking too much during the COVID-19 pandemic."
What else can I drink?" is a question asked by people with various motivations for abstinence - physical/mental health, pregnancy, religion or simply saving money. Sometimes referred to as the sober curious," their goals can range from cutting down, stopping for a bit or quitting.
Though not the focus of this article, non-alcoholic (NA) beer has existed for some time. However, there's consensus that NA wine and liquors are more challenging to make. A panel in November's Terroir Symposium featured some of the major players in the growing Zero Proof" trend - Cole Pearsall (Acid League), Bob Huitema (DistillX Beverages Inc.), Laura Willoughby (Club Soda), and Jennifer Commins (Pluck Tea).
Terroir Symposium was founded in 2006 by executive director Arlene Stein as a catalyst for creative collaboration and social and environmental responsibility in the hospitality industry." The annual symposiums have been held at prestigious Toronto locations such as the Art Gallery of Ontario. The symposium that connects Canadian industry leaders with each other and international innovators is a highlight of the year for food professionals. Offshoot events now take place in Europe as well.
Panellist Laura Willoughby is co-founder of the U.K.'s Club Soda which offers their mindful drinking community events, courses and a podcast. Willoughby noted that in the U.K. the trend is more of a movement" focusing on equalization - promoting the idea that a non-drinker should be entitled to the same experience at a restaurant/bar where drinkers are presented with lengthy drinks menus and a server/sommelier who can speak in an informed manner about the beverage.
Panellist Bob Huitema considers the U.K. to be at least five years ahead of the Canadian scene. Huitema worked with Niagara College to develop Canada's first NA spirit - Sobrii 0-Gin - which purports to create non-alcoholic cocktails without compromising taste, with the benefits of zero calories, zero sugar and zero hangover. In full agreement were the dragons on a recent CBC Dragons' Den, most offering him a deal.
Huitema describes their gin as small-batch distillery made from a traditional blend of botanicals, including juniper berries, coriander, all spice, star anise ... (the) botanicals are macerated in alcohol and distilled several times. Then, the alcohol is removed using a proprietary process." Huitema recently added tequila to their product line. They are currently collaborating with Gruvi a Toronto-based company creating NA beers, dry secco and bubbly rose.
In the spring of 2019, two Guelph food scientists - Allan Mai and Cole Pearsall - were exploring fermentation and reimagining vinegars. By January 2021, their project had a name - Acid League - and included wine alternatives called Proxies. We experiment on our own, and we work with a league of like-minded collaborators - scientists, chefs, bartenders, brewers, winemakers, artists, and writers across the globe." Recognition came quickly especially in the U.S., where the renowned French Laundry restaurant added Proxies to their drinks menu.
At the Terroir Symposium, Cole explained that rather than de-alcoholizing wine they are blending single origin fruits, teas, spices, bitters to create the complexities you'd normally find in wine. When ordered, Proxies arrive with details about ingredients, suggested food pairings and tantalizing tasting notes that don't disappoint. The Acid Club offers fresh flavours each month and the best of 2021 have just been released. Their entire product line of acid-based foods is worth exploring.
When there is no dedicated NA drinks program in a restaurant, the offer to prepare any listed cocktail as a trivialized mocktail or virgin beverage can feel like an afterthought, often delivering a boring citrus drink. Head of Wine Proxies, Charlie Friedmann, pointed out that nondrinking diners may feel like second-class citizens with no interesting options.
Failure to have a NA drinks program can also be a financial oversight. Alcoholic beverages offer restaurants their widest profit margins, but both Cole and Friedmann point put that the diner who is not enticed by NA offerings is likely sitting in front of a glass of water. Says Willoughby, there's no money to be made in tap water." Friedmann adds that a diner who declines the offer of more wine or spirits, may be willing to try an interesting NA drink.
Sobrii's Huitema says I love cocktails. I hate hangovers." He accomplished his mission to replicate the experience of a cocktail - the same cues in terms of taste, aroma and texture - with no alcohol, leaving him asking why he needed the alcohol in the first place.
Good question, with more than one answer, the most common referring to the buzz" of alcohol. Technically, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant with bodily impacts that are on the whole negative but initially may translate into a state of relaxation and reduced anxiety and inhibitions. One drink is not likely to trigger a buzz, so what else do we like about drinking?
Drinking rituals such as the mixing and classy presentation of a cocktail are also appealing. The theatre of popping the wine bottle, sipping and pouring, accompanied by the poetry of the sommelier's descriptions are part of a dining experience. It's no surprise that Acid League Proxies come in bottles with corks.
A wine or cocktail glass is also a social prop and being the only diner at a table without a wine glass can feel exclusionary. Restaurant Pearl Morissette (RPM) offers juice parings" served in lovely glassware. Kristen Daigle, RPM's Hospitality Manager and Sommelier outlined that the juices are seasonal with winter demanding more creativity, using fermented bases such as tisane or kombucha onto which are layered combos such as Concord grape with cardamom, thyme and spicebush.
Embracing Dry January is not a prerequisite for taking an interest in non-alcohol/low alcohol (LA) beverages. Watch for new products such as LA kombuchas, shrubs, switchels, craft sodas, botanicals and adaptogen (health-promoting) beverages joining the ever-increasing list of NA beers.
The pandemic has accustomed us to e-commerce and these new products are available online. In Hamilton, contact your local bottle shop or boutique grocer; for example Crown Point Market, Dundurn, Ottawa and Strathcona Markets or Synonym Shop.
Diane Galambos is a food writer who shares stories and recipes at her blog kitchenbliss.ca. Follow her on Instagram https://instagram.com/kitchenblissca
Acid League
What you'll pay: Proxies Club (3 new flavours every month) $68
Club Soda (U.K.)
Sobrii
bartenderatlas.com/features/spirits/non-alcoholic-spirits/
What you'll pay: Sobrii 0-Gin with Fever Tree tonic samplers $39.95
Gruvi
Crown Point Market
162 Ottawa St. N., Hamilton
instagram.com/crownpointmarket/
Dundurn, Ottawa and Strathcona Markets
Synonym Shop
328 James St. N., Hamilton
905-525-7974