The Zero Heroes of Happy Hour

The Zero Heroes of Happy Hour! Happy hour, that time of the week many residents look forward to, but in a world that is shifting its relationship with alcohol, many Kiwis are looking for no-to-low alcoholic alternatives to their favourite tipples.

Trends like premiumisation are about choosing a quality drink that may cost a little more and then taking a ‘sip and savour’ approach to enjoy the flavours and the experience of the drink in a slow and relaxed way.

Meanwhile, the health and wellbeing trend seen globally and in New Zealand is influencing demand for ‘better for me’ drinks, such as zero-alcohol beers, lighter wines, lowalcohol seltzers, and lower carb and sugar options.

Over the past few years, the quality and range of noalcohol drinks have increased dramatically, primarily due to sophisticated de-alcoholising technology and processes maintaining the integrity of beverages. Brewers, winemakers, and distillers continue to refine their craft to ensure there is no compromise on flavour for discerning palates.

This Aviation Cocktail Flies Free From Alcohol

The Aviation is a classic cocktail made with gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette, and lemon juice created by Hugo Ensslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallick in New York, in the early twentieth century. Harry Craddock’s influential Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) omitted the crème de violette and many later bartenders have followed Craddock’s lead, leaving out the difficult-to-find violet liqueur. Terps & Co’s gin-like already has a beautiful light purple hue, making it the perfect non-alcoholic alternative for this classic drink.

Ingredients:

• Two shots (60mls) Terps & Co gin-like • A dash (8ml) of Maraschino brine • A dash (8ml) freshly squeezed orange juice • A splash (16ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice • Peeled and curled lemon rind

Method:

Add gin-like, lemon juice, and liqueur to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake until cold. Strain into a coupe glass, then garnish with a lemon twist. Extra Maraschino cherry brine can always be added for those with a sweeter tooth. The CosNOpolitan

While the Cosmopolitan cocktail is widely perceived to be a more modern creation – rising in popularity in the early 2000s as the drink of choice for the ladies in the hugely popular television series, Sex and the City, there is a recipe for a Cosmopolitan Daisy which appears in Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars 1903–1933, published in 1934. This cocktail remains a firm favourite and can easily be made into a non-alcoholic alternative.

Ingredients:

• Two shots (60mls) Seedlip Grove 42 • 30 mls cranberry juice • 15 mls lime juice • 15 mls simple syrup

Method:

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker w/ ice. Shake & strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an Orange peel.

Speights Summit Zero

Off the back of Speight’s Summit’s soaring popularity, Speight’s Summit Zero lager was born. With the lighter options beer category growing by +30 percent, the market for great tasting beer with less alcohol can’t be ignored. This is the first zero alcohol beer under the Speight’s brand, which is New Zealand’s most popular beer brand by volume. It has 100 percent of the crisp and refreshing flavour with <0.05% Alcohol.

Terps & Co

Whether Kiwis are out all night, around the barbecue or nestled into a comfy chair, Terps & Co will give them more feeling with every sip. Harnessing the elevating properties of the terpenes found in fruits, herbs and plants, Terps & Co takes the drinker somewhere tonic water and lime never dreamed of. Terpenes are the organic compounds found everywhere in nature within each herb, flower, and fruit that give them their unique scent and flavour. So, when someone says, “Stop and smell the roses,” what they’re saying is, “Stop and smell the terpenes.” With five distinct varieties, gin-like, whiskey-feel, rumesque, vodka-vibe, and tequila-style, Terps & Co has less than three calories per serve, is plant-based and gluten free, made in New Zealand, and 100% natural.

Pals 0%

A better-for-you RTD, Pals went the extra mile on all aspects with high quality base spirits for a far more premium product, all-natural flavours, and real fruit extracts. No artificial colours, sweeteners, or preservatives and zero compromise on taste. You can now enjoy that 100% Pals taste, with 0% alcohol. Low in sugar (1 gram per 100ml), low carb, gluten free, vegan friendly and low calories (5 cals per 100ml). Flavours include Central Otago Peach, Passionfruit and Soda and Hawke’s Bay Lemon, Cucumber and Soda.