Drinking was often part of Anna Scott’s former social life in the corporate banking and finance world. Work conferences came with the expectation of dining out, cocktails included.
A self-proclaimed lightweight, Scott developed a strategy to blend in without falling over: nursing a single glass of wine over the course of an evening event.
In the course of several years since Scott jumped off the corporate ladder, the options for imbibing look much different. Alongside the liquor-laden cocktails and craft brews – often on the very same menu – a newcomer has arrived.
Call it what you want: the “mocktail,” the “zero-proof drink,” or as Providence restaurant Persimmon does, the “neutral cocktail.” No matter the name, the business of non-alcoholic alternatives is booming.
Global alcoholic beverage giant IWSR projected domestic low- and no-alcohol beverages’ compound annual growth rate at 18.3% by 2022. Non-alcoholic beverages also made the cut for Whole Food’s top 10 food trends of 2020. The hashtag #soberissexy has more than 518,000 posts on Instagram and entire bars devoted to nonalcoholic drinks are popping up in major cities nationwide.
The young and health conscious in particular are increasingly opting for nonalcoholic beer and cocktails, with two-thirds of adults ages 31 to 34 saying they are trying to drink less alcohol, according to market-research firm Nielsen.
Rhode Island, which punches above its weight in the culinary scene, has quickly jumped in on the burgeoning faux-cocktail industry.
Scott traded in her corporate world for one steeped – literally – in apple cider vinegar. Anna’s Kitchen Shrub began in the Hope & Main incubator in Warren and has since graduated to a warehouse space in Lincoln.
Shrub, a type of vinegar and fruit syrup, was originally used as a mixer for brandy and rum drinks in the 17th and 18th centuries. Scott’s product, which comes in flavors such as cranberry mint and peach jalapeno, can similarly serve as a complement to alcohol. But with the surge of sobriety-focused options, she’s also seen increasing demand for her products in mocktails.
Laura Taylor, maker of Philadelphia-based Mingle Mocktails, which sells at Stop & Shop Supermarkets in Rhode Island, described November as a “banner month” for sales for her premade mixers, which hit shelves in the state in March. Local distribution doubled from 250 cases in October to 500 cases in November, and Taylor expected continued growth through December.
Demand for more-sophisticated nonalcoholic drinks has also benefited Yacht Club Bottling Works Inc. in North Providence, which produces soda, and Granny Squibb Co. in Providence, which makes iced tea.
Nick Carr, managing partner for Granny Squibb, framed the company’s products as both a complement and an alternative to alcoholic beverages. Whether the growth in sales comes from those mixing iced tea with alcohol or the sober-curious crowd is hard to tell, but anecdotal interest points to demand for nonalcoholic alternatives, Carr said.
Yacht Club President John Sgambato estimated the company’s sales had grown 30% in the last five years, at least in part due to demand for products such as root beer and ginger beer as nonalcoholic options.
Nick’s on Broadway uses Yacht Club’s flavored seltzers frequently in its made-to-order mocktails, while Scott’s shrubs have been featured on menus including Plant City, and Bluewater Bar + Grill in Barrington.
‘The challenge is to get real complex flavors in a mocktail.’
ANNA SCOTT, Anna’s Kitchen Shrub owner
Shrub’s vinegary tang offers a reasonable imitation of liquor, according to Scott.
“The challenge is to get real complex flavors in a mocktail,” Scott said. “You’re not wanting to serve Shirley Temples.”
Indeed, the culinary prowess of Rhode Island calls for something more than club soda with lime to stand up to the craft beer and herb-infused cocktails, said Dale Venturini, president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association.
“Because of our incubator with Johnson & Wales University, and just our culinary scene in general, people like to be on the edge [of trends],” Venturini said.
Increasingly, restaurants are offering alcohol-free options on the same menu as their craft cocktails and beer lists. At Persimmon, for example, all cocktails can be made without alcohol, but the restaurant also includes a grouping of no-alcohol “neutral cocktails” on the same menu as the alcoholic counterparts.
“The idea is that instead of having a stigmatized separate menu, it’s all there on one,” said Kevin O’Connor, Persimmon’s dining room and beverage manager.
Why “neutral?” Again, it takes away the more juvenile language of “mocktail” but offers a more succinct description than “alcohol free,” O’Connor said.
With this more sophisticated offering comes a grown-up price tag. Persimmon’s neutral cocktails cost $5 or $6, still half the cost of its alcoholic offerings but by no means a cheap drink.
“People are willing to pay for an experience or if they think they’re getting a [health] benefit from what they’re consuming,” Venturini said.
Like any trend, Venturini said she expected the mocktail madness to eventually flatten out. But she didn’t anticipate that happening anytime soon.
As for the possibility of a sober bar opening in Providence?
“There’s a spot for a totally plant-based restaurant, so why not,” said Scott.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
