Spirit Free Sippin’ in Jefferson County
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The Nigella and an NA Boulevardier, are just two of the Non-alcoholic drinks at Finistère [/caption]
By Emily Henry
“It’s helpful to have restrictions,” Alexander Moats explains while making me a non-alcoholic cocktail at Finistère’s bar. “I like the challenge and creativity in finessing the flavors needed to make each beverage an experience.” Within the last year, the restaurant has added N/A cocktails to its dinner menu as more and more people have asked for them.
Without the bite of ethanol providing balance, Moats explained, he uses a variety of different ingredients such as Scrappy’s Bitters Fire Tonic, Fever Tree tonic, ginger, rosemary, or orgeat to layer the elements (acid, sweet, bitter, and sour) in each drink. Upon my first sip of The Nigella, one of the options listed on the menu, the front of my palate was immediately hit with a burst of passionfruit. That sweetness quickly dispersed into levels of tang and bitterness from the citrus, the Wilderton Lustre (a botanical N/A spirit), and the other ingredients involved. The combination illustrated how the perfect balance can make a cocktail transformative. Moats described how he began the process of building these beverages by asking himself, “How do I replace the alcohol? Do I mimic it? Or do I find something else entirely?”
I asked myself similar questions at the start of this year. Like many others challenging themselves to a month of sobriety after an indulgent holiday season, I opted to participate in Dry January. During that time, I realized I didn’t miss drinking alcohol per se, but I did miss drinking something with complex flavors that felt like a main event. I searched for options that would allow me to replace or impersonate that feeling, and what I discovered was a whole new world. For better or, at times, definitely worse, the growing catalog of nonalcoholic options moved me to prolong my teetotaler status past January.
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The Bishop Block Bottle Shop and Garden has a wide array of NA tipples [/caption]
The “sober curious” movement started picking up a few years prior to the pandemic and has only gained momentum since. With over two in five (41%) Americans reportedly trying to drink less from 2023 to 2024, the nonalcoholic beverage industry has been booming. This growing trend can be experienced at Finistère and other beverage spots around Jefferson County, such as the Bishop Block Bottle Shop and Garden. Their array of N/A selections includes a St. Agrestis Phony Negroni, Little Saints spicy margarita, and Athletic Hazy IPA, to name just a few. This past winter, they hosted a tasting event featuring Curious Elixirs, a drink maker offering premade booze-free craft cocktails infused with herbs and adaptogens. As interest in these products grows, future tastings to highlight them are on the horizon.
Shaken and served up martini style at the Silverwater Cafe, the Salish Fog has house-made lavender syrup with peach purée, iced Earl Grey tea, and a splash of cream. It is just one of the selections, along with a Virgin Margarita and a Dry Tai that can be found on the mocktail menu at the venerable downtown fixture. The increase in requests for non-alcoholic options has led the restaurant to release a new menu this month, which includes even more innovative boozeless selections for diners to try. Restrictions do not limit a beverage’s ability to be flavorful or artistic – including what we sip on at home, too. This community offers many kinds of shrubs and no-or-low-nonalcoholic beers, wines, and spirits at places such as The Food Co-op, Aldrich’s Market, and The Wine Seller. If you are avoiding alcohol or just want to try something different, I encourage you to take your tastebuds on a tour and discover what this area has to offer.
