Meet Seedlip, The World's First Alcohol-Free Spirit Brand

May 10, 2021

Following a year like no other, I’m certain that many of us have been taking better care of our health by cutting out alcohol and choosing mocktails over their headier cousin. Mixologists too have recently stepped up their game, many creating their own alcohol-free libations.

Here in Vancouver, Kaitlyn Stewart, award-winning bartender, mixologist and founder of @likeablecocktails, recently partnered with UK alcohol-free spirits brand Seedlip to create a seasonal sipper, Mall Madness. Seedlip is also a 1% for the Planet member — they donate 1% of global annual revenues from sales to environmental charities dedicated to celebrating and protecting the planet.

When I heard that this drink reminded Stewart of hanging out at the mall foot court with friends and drinking a ‘bitter version’ of an Orange Julius, I was inspired to recreate that vibe right here at our home office!

For those of you that have not yet heard of Seedlip, they were founded in 2015 by Ben Branson, to solve the dilemma of “what to drink when you’re not drinking”. He took inspiration from The Art of Distillation, taking plants from his own garden and using a small copper still to distill them. And from there was born the world’s first non-alcoholic spirit brand.

There are currently three flavours in the line-up: Aromatic Spice 94, Herbal Garden 108 and Citrus Grove 42, the latter of which we used to create Mall Madness. Grove 42 has a refreshingly citrus appeal, combining blood orange, bitter orange and mandarin, balanced by zesty ginger root, lemongrass and lemon peel. This combination will surely blend well with many other ingredients for several other summery cocktails.

MALL MADNESS

Ingredients:
2 oz Grove 42
0.5 oz Vanilla Simple Syrup
1.5 oz Fresh Orange Juice
0.25 oz Lemon Juice
2 oz Stappi Red Bitter Soda

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, excluding the Stappi Red Bitter Soda, into a shaker tin or mason jar.
Add ice and hard shake.
Fine strain into a Rocks glass over a large cube of ice and top with Stappi Red Bitter Soda.
Garnish with an orange twist.

[Very refreshing! Mall Madness made with Seedlip Grove 42]

Each Seedlip spirit comes in a 700 ml (23.7 fl oz) bottle with a unique illustrated label, retails for CAD $45 and is currently available at the following locations:

Mainland/Greater Vancouver: Crate & Barrel, Gourmet Warehouse, Modern Bartender, select Fresh Street Market & IGA Marketplace stores
Vancouver Island: The Market Garden, The Market on Millstream, Nicholas Randall & Cascadia Liquor (select locations)
Calgary: Willow Park Wine & Spirits, Wine and Beyond and Crate & Barrel
Edmonton: Wine and Beyond