In Vino Veritas XCVIII: Alcohol Alternatives
As restauranteurs and hoteliers, you have a serious obligation to ensure that your guests do not drink and drive. Legal penalties are significant. The good news is that there are alternatives, and these alternatives are growing in availability, quality and popularity.
Concurrently, the number of people abstaining from alcohol – either fully or curtailing their frequency per week – is growing. Whether for health reasons or otherwise, such patrons may look favorably upon anything beyond sodas or carbonated water – like mocktails or freshly squeezed juice concoctions – as to way to augment their meal experiences. With the growth of wellness, wellbeing and nutrition during the pandemic, this trend is bound to only increase even further.
Domestically, the alcoholic beverage market is approximately one quarter trillion dollars (2021 data). Growing quickly, the alcohol alternative beverage market, or imitation beverages like zero-alcohol wine, beer and spirits is estimated at $29 billion, or roughly one tenth the size. To put this in perspective, the alcoholic alternative market is equal to the sum of all ‘brown’ spirits – Bourbon, Irish Whisky, Scotch, Brandy/Cognac, Canadian and American Rye Whisky (data sources: Statistica and Distilled Spirits Council).
For those familiar with the television series the Simpsons, the secret rooftop garden was accessible through the fake door on the Kwik-E-Mart’s non-alcoholic beer cooler because no one really drank those products, at least according to Homer Simpson. Oh, how times have changed since that episode (titled “Lisa the Vegetarian” for those with a Disney+ subscription) aired in late 1995.
Nowadays, spirit alternatives such as Seedlip, a gin equivalent with an expanding lineup of plant-based liquor substitutes, have made a tremendous impact in the marketplace. According to Seedlip’s website, their first product is based on the distilled non-alcoholic remedies from The Art of Distillation written in 1651 by John French. Having tested their Grove 42 (Seedlip sells three different varieties), we can tell you that it is very close to its alcoholic equivalent.
As another example, Jukes Cordialities produces several of what we may call wine equivalents. They happen to be organic apple cider vinegar-based drinks made through the maceration of vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices and flowers with no fermentation.
The opportunity for your mixologist is to develop non-alcoholic cocktails based on these and others, recognizing the potential for additional revenues per cover as well as satisfaction enhancement. Much like how the growth of veganism and vegetarian influence a group’s selection of restaurants, so too will the presence of alcohol alternatives for non-drinkers in a party. Moreover, by promoting these risk-free products within your cocktail list, your designated-driver customers will no longer be relegated to soft drinks.
These are all good reasons to investigate your options. And you can go one step further by making the project a teambuilding exercise by transforming it into a contest for your bar staff to determine the final selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
This article represents but one section from our latest book on how to enhance your wine sales entitled, “In Vino Veritas: A Guide for Hoteliers and Restauranteurs to Sell More Wine”. Buy your copy today on Amazon, or for bulk orders contact us directly.
