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Designing Unforgettable Low and No Alcohol Cocktails

Dive into cocktail recipes, complimentary food pairings and menu tips to elevate your guests’ low and no alcohol cocktail experience.   

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

No alcohol? No problem.

With changes in consumer preferences, a greater interest worldwide on wellbeing and a desire for more choices and flavours, venues have an opportunity to offer a meaningful guest experience with a diverse range of low and no alcohol cocktails. This article will let you dive into low and no cocktail recipes, complimentary food pairings and menu tips.

What is the difference between no and low ABV?

Low ABV stands for low alcohol by volume, and no ABV stands for no alcohol by volume or zero alcohol.

  • At the stronger end of the lowABV spectrum, cocktails may include small volumes of 80-proof spirits such as tequila or gin.
  • At the weaker end of the lowABV spectrum, lower-proof spirits like Ketel One Botanical, vermouths, sherries and other spirit-adjacent elements can achieve a complex flavour profile without the spirituous punch.
  • No ABV or zero alcohol drinks use non-alcoholic spirits like Seedlip, teas, juices, ferments, and flavoured mixers to create cocktails that deliver flavour and complexity.
  • It's worth noting that the margins on no alcohol cocktails can be more significant due to the lower cost of ingredients.

Four Tips to Showcase Your Low and No Alcohol Offering

  1. Back Bar Categorisation: Consider grouping low or noalcohol spirits to help customers see what’s on offer.
  2. Menu Listing: Create a section in your menu for low or noABV drinks or blend drinks alongside their alcohol equivalent so customers can easily switch between the two.
  3. Half Serves: Offer a ‘half-cocktail’ to keep the alcohol level low so guests can try more of your creations.
  4. Food and Drink Pairings: Take inspiration from the Italian tradition of Aperitivo and offer an early evening Aperitivo menu with low and no cocktails and small bites like cheeses, charcuterie, bread and olives.

Italian-Style Aperitivo Pairing Menu Ideas

Four Tips for Great Low and No Alcohol Cocktails

  1. Reverse Classic Cocktails: Reverse the specification on a traditional classic cocktail with spirit and vermouth, to highlight the wine and bring down the ABV.
  2. Tannin and Spice: Replicate depth of flavour by using ingredients high on spice whilst replacing wine tannin and mouthfeel.  See Fresh Quince of Bel Air recipe.
  3. Bespoke Ingredients: Source local ingredients to make bespoke syrups, cordials, infusions, tinctures, ferments and pickles to add flavour, complexity and intrigue to your low alcohol signature serves.
  4. Sherries and Kombuchas: Substitute the base spirit in a Manhattan with dry sherry or play around with house fermentations like kombuchas to pump up the flavour dial. See Precursory recipe.

Great Tasting No and Low Cocktails

We asked three experts for their favourite low and zero-alcohol cocktail recipes.

Ben Branson, Seedlip Founder

NOgroni

A delicious no-alcoholic twist on the classic Negroni. See Recipe.

Seedlip Spice Ginger Highball

An aromatic and spicy kick with notes of ginger, citrus, and pepper. See recipe.

How to Make a Seedlip Spice Ginger Highball

Claire Warner, Æcorn Founder

CosNo

A no alcohol version of the classic Cosmopolitan cocktail, using Seedlip Grove 42, Æcorn Aromatic, cranberry juice, and fresh lime juice. See Recipe.

Apricity

Æcorn Dry, salted lemon cordial, and no alcohol sparkling wine create a light, celebratory, refreshing and zesty fizz. See Recipe.

Mr Howard

Halfway between a Daiquiri and Paloma, this no alcohol cocktail is refreshing and zesty with a subtle aromatic taste of anise and allspice. See Recipe.

Madam Eliza

Seedlip Spice 94, Black Pepper Tincture, Lemon Juice and Seville Orange Marmalade combine to bring bitterness, texture, aromatics and sourness. See Recipe.

Lowerside

Based on the classic Adonis cocktail, this low ABV serve is pleasantly bitter and perfect for pre-batching and popping in the fridge.

As the popularity of low and no alcohol drinks continues to grow, this category is a unique and potentially lucrative opportunity for venues and bartenders to push the boundaries, stand out from the crowd and provide an intriguing, exciting and inclusive experience for their guests. 

Key Takeaways

  • Health and Innovation: Global trends towards health-conscious drinking and exciting innovations like Seedlip, Ketel One, or Guinness 0.0 are driving greater availability of choice for no and low alcohol drinks and cocktails.
  • Understanding Low and No ABV: Low ABV drinks contain lower-proof spirits, while no ABV drinks rely on no alcohol spirits, teas, juices, ferments, and mixers to achieve flavour and complexity.
  • Showcase Your Offering: Share what's on offer with your guests by grouping your low or no alcohol spirits on your back bar and consider ways to highlight or group low or no ABV cocktails on your menu.
  • Add a Little Italiano: Try offering a light Aperitivo, pairing small bites with no or low alcohol signature serves.
  • Create Low and No Alcohol Signature Cocktails: Use local ingredients to make bespoke syrups, infusions and pickles, and experiment with sherry and house fermentations like kombuchas for added flavour and complexity.

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