Heard about the sober bar?

’Tis the season to make merry… but it may not be easy for teetotallers or folks who no longer crave alcohol. If you’re a non-drinker, or someone who has a low capacity for drinking, the options are usually an array of soft drinks, a sugary mocktail, or nimbu paani. And you may feel like the odd one out for eschewing alcohol.

But what if you could enjoy a drink and get in the spirit of celebrations…without actual spirits? (Not the kind that haunt Ebenezer Scrooge, the kind that you drink out of a highball glass). Social drinking is changing, and more people are cutting down on alcohol. We spoke to the founders of several non-alcoholic beverage brands to learn more about the space, and what to serve at your next gathering.

Seeking Out a Healthier Alternative

Health and wellness are the starting point for most people when it comes to embracing non-alcoholic beverages. For Isha Singh, the founder of Bhu Living kombucha and Strangr bar in Delhi, healthy eating has been a way of life, including making things from scratch versus buying them packaged. She began brewing kombucha, a naturally fermented tea, at home in 2016 and initially stocked her bottles at Greenr Cafe in Shahpur Jat. Today, she has a proper fermentation lab and her kombucha retails in stores and restaurants across India and is served at her bar Strangr, where it’s also incorporated into their cocktails. 

Fizz, Fermentation and Fruit

So, what can you choose? On one end of the spectrum is kombucha, a naturally fermented tea known for its health benefits. Traditional carbonated beverages contain excessive sugar and caffeine, none of which are good for your gut in the long run. Kombucha helps fill the gap: flavourful, fizzy, and without the nasties.

Says Cyriac, “It was during my travels through eastern Europe and Russia that I first encountered kombucha. Back home, I began brewing my own kombucha, more out of necessity than novelty. What started as a personal wellness experiment quickly became a passion, and soon, a mission: to make clean, tasty kombucha accessible to others seeking better choices.” He says their range of zero-proof kombuchas are great as-is, but can be spiced up with easy additions to make delicious, low-effort non-alcoholic drinks.

There’s also sugar-free shrub soda. Local Ferment Co is perhaps one of the only brands in India that does a shrub soda (which they have branded So-duh on their website), a fizzy drink with no added sugar that’s made with whole fruits and drinking vinegar. While kombucha gets its fizz through fermentation, shrub sodas use sparkling water. It’s better for you than a soft drink, with the right amount of zing, sweetness, and tartness thanks to the fruit and vinegar. Founder Noopur says, “Our shrub soda is fun for entertaining because it sits somewhere between a soda and a mixer. It pairs really well with fresh juices, botanical bitters, or even just a splash of sparkling water for a lighter serve.”

Zero-proof Spirits: Alcohol-free Buzz

On the other end of the spectrum are zero-proof beverages: they look and taste like alcohol, but have no alcohol content. Catwalk Botanics’ Ishan Arora says that unlike mocktails that are “sugar/syrup-forward,” zero proof drinks are “spirit-forward.”

Catwalk uses natural extracts and botanicals to get a similar flavour profile to alcohol. “Juniper is a big ingredient of a traditional gin. We worked with our flavour partners to build a natural gin flavour with juniper berry extracts and added more botanicals. One of our gins has pink grapefruit and lemongrass which are a little bitter in their natural form. That gives you the bitterness you are looking for, which you won't get in a mocktail,” he says.

Catwalk’s non-alcoholic spirits can be used the same way you would use alcohol: you put 30-60 ml of the spirit in, top it up with a mixer like soda or tonic water and you have what Ishan calls a “healthy cocktail in a glass.” And for people who want to take it a notch up, Catwalk has built recipes with fresh ingredients and garnishes that further enhance the flavour.

Tips for a Sober Bar Setup

Food and drink are central to any holiday party and it’s important to cater to every kind of guest. Ishan says, “There will always be guests who are not going to drink and they will thank you if you have a good, thoughtful product for them on the bar instead of the same old Diet Coke.” Catwalk Botanics’ sober gin and vodka offerings are ready-to-drink, so you can serve them straight up or tinker around with fresh ingredients to craft your own concoction.

Presentation is key, and Cyriac says it makes all the difference between a well-planned evening and a last-minute hangout. So, get out the good glassware, chill your drinks for at least six hours, and keep a set of easy garnishes. His go-tos are slit green chillies, fresh mint leaves and sprigs of rosemary for savoury drinks, and orange wedges, apple slices, or grapes for something sweet. For winter evenings, he suggests pairing their Umami Brew Apple Cinnamon kombucha with a thin apple slice, cinnamon stick, star anise, and an orange wedge, poured into a glass rimmed with brown sugar and cinnamon powder.