The alcohol-free spirits sector is rapidly developing, both in terms of quality and the number of brands coming to market. It all started in 2014 with the launch of Seedlip, which sat within the premium gin space, and non-alcoholic alternatives have since percolated into the different spirits categories from Almave in agave, Sylva occupying whisky to Lyre’s covering cane spirits. However, one of the late bloomers has been liqueurs. Confusion over its role within the low/no space and a differing approach from the major players has stalled proceedings, but non-alcoholic liqueurs are arriving late to the party in style.
Liqueurs have always lent themselves to moderation. The majority carry a lower abv than most spirits which means combined with a mixer, liqueurs offer a low-abv serve with ease. It’s probably a major factor as to why liqueurs brands didn’t rush to enter the alcohol-free market, because they’d sort of already got it covered. However, consumers also want a non-alcoholic option while bartenders are starting to use them in regular cocktails, which has blurred the boundaries and led to a surge in innovation.
“There’s a difference between being a base product and a modifier in the non-alcoholic spirits sector and with liqueurs it’s an interesting space,” says Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip and current owner of non-alcoholic bitters brand Seasn and whisky alternative Sylva.
“I also think using the term ‘liqueur’ for non-alcoholic alternatives is dangerous because of the connotations with high sugar content, which goes against the language of health-conscious consumers seeking alcohol-free options.”
The sugar element is a key point in the identity of non-alcoholic liqueurs. Traditional liqueurs are rich with sugar which is what gives them such vibrant flavour. Simply remove the alcohol and you’d near enough be left with a cordial, so there needs to be a substitute for the alcohol as well as adjustments to sugar levels.
That being said, premium brands are well aware of the volume and type of sugar they use. For example, Amaretto Adriatico recently launched a Zero expression which, as well as being alcohol free, contains less sugar than the majority of traditional amaretto on the market and the source is natural cane sugar.
Vermouth sector
In 2019 Branson, alongside Claire Warner, launched non-alcoholic aperitif brand Aecorn. It initially launched in three varieties – Dry, Bitter and Aromatic – and, despite being discontinued by Diageo, the brand still features in the trending list in Drinks International’s Brands Report, highlighting its popularity among the bar trade.
Branson adds: “The non-alcoholic vermouth sector is an interesting one and with Aecorn we were blurring the lines between Aperol, Campari and vermouth. We’d absolutely love to bring it back because I guess in the lifecycle of the non-alcoholic category you could argue it was too early.”
One of the industry’s traditional liqueurs producers thriving on non-alcoholic alternatives is Giffard. For 140 years Giffard has made liqueurs in the French town of Angers and in the most recent of those years has put significant focus on its alcohol-free development. In its current range it has five non-alcoholic liqueurs with Spritz being the latest addition at the end of 2024.
“We use the same maceration tank as we use for our regular liqueurs, we just replace the alcohol with white wine vinegar before carrying out the maceration process,” says Emilie Giffard, co-managing director and family member. “It gives the liqueurs a rich flavour and the vinegar actually provides a bit of a kick like regular alcoholic liqueurs do.”
According to Giffard, its alternative liqueurs range is performing well in the US in both the on-trade and off-trade while Europe is on a similar trajectory.
“We’ve targeted bartenders specifically, who have provided positive feedback,” adds Giffard. “When we created these products we wanted them to have the same role as our regular liqueurs range – to be used by bartenders to make sophisticated cocktails. Of course they can work as an aperitif but the real purpose was for cocktails.”
These alcohol-free liqueurs are a flexible offering. They can act as the base of a simple boozeless serve but also a moderator in more sophisticated drinks, even alcoholic cocktails.
Branson believes this is an important role for the developing category: “In the non-alcoholic sector it can be really useful to have liqueurs without abv as modifiers with mouthfeel and texture, while also being able to bring down the strength of a regular cocktail, which Aecorn achieved.”
Different focus
But not all producers are aligned in their tactics. De Kuyper is one of the industry’s leaders when it comes to liqueurs. The Dutch producer makes a vast range of different products, but rather than moving into the non-alcoholic liqueurs category, the company has focused on non-alcoholic RTDs. It currently has four cocktails in its De Kuyper Zero range and the company’s stance is to use its expertise to create a final product which satisfies consumers, rather than offering each ingredient in zero format. Of course, to create the cocktails De Kuyper will essentially make its own non-alcoholic liqueurs, such as a triple sec equivalent for its De Kuyper Zero Margarita, it just doesn’t sell it commercially.
Godelief Van Erve, global marketing director at De Kuyper, says: “It is still a challenge to make a good alcohol-free cocktail with all different alcohol-free components – in the end a cocktail is a well-balanced craft. With just bringing out alcohol-free liqueurs, we cannot guarantee that the final alcohol-free cocktail will be well balanced and up to all standards, so that’s why so far our development is focused on crafting alcohol-free cocktails.”
It’s a smart move from the Dutch giants, particularly with the upward trajectory of RTDs globally. In the November 2024 edition of Drinks International De Kuyper chief executive Leo Evers expressed his desire to invest in the non-alcoholic space and the company appears to be backing this up.
For the wider non-alcoholic spirits sector it’s taken a number of years for consumers to widely accept it – you could argue they still haven’t – so the idea of non-alcoholic liqueurs may take even longer. However, with the emergence of alternatives to the classic liqueur trademarks such as Martini Vibrante (vermouth), Lucano Amaro Zero and Amaretto Adriatico Zero, the landscape may be easier to navigate for consumers with familiar reference points. Furthermore, there’s opportunity for non-alcoholic liqueurs on both sides of the sobriety fence.
Non-alcoholic cocktails being the operative space, bartenders are also expressing a use for liqueur alternatives in alcoholic cocktails as a moderator to bring down the abv of a serve.
Whether this is targeting discerning drinkers with a healthy conscious or to achieve superior taste, it’s an unexpected opportunity for the liqueur sector on which to capitalise.
