The best new non-alcoholic beverages: Spencer Matthews’ rum, Cornish spirit and sparkling cacaojuice

Spencer Matthews’ alternative spirits

 

CleanCo, founded by media personality Spencer Matthews, is offering its alcohol-free spirits to the on-trade. Clean R is a 0% rum alternative and Clean G and Clean G Rhubarb are non-alcoholic gin alternatives. Clean W is a whiskey equivalent with notes of oak, vanilla, spice, apple and fig, and Clean T is made to be mixed as a classic Margarita, with notes of green agave, olive, melon, black pepper and cedar wood.

 

Price 70cl bottle, from £14

 

Cornish alcohol-free spirit

 

Tarquin’s Gin has entered the alcohol-free category with Tarquin’s Cornish Dry Non-Alcoholic Spirit. The beverage has been developed by founder and master distiller Tarquin Leadbetter to capture the same juniper, citrus and floral notes as his Cornish Dry Gin, but with 0% alcohol. It is distilled with real dry gin and Cornish coastal botanicals, including sea salt, gorse flowers, sea buckthorn and violets, and is designed to replace traditional dry gin in any serve.

 

Price 70cl bottle, £16.50

 

Traditional flavours in a can

 

Luscombe Drinks has introduced a range of premium canned soft drinks. The  Sicilian Lemonade is a traditional still lemonade made from organic Sicilian lemons and Madagascan vanilla, while the Sicilian Citrus Crush is crafted using the juice of organic Sicilian oranges and lemons. The Elderflower Bubbly showcases English hand-picked elderflowers paired with lemony notes and a gentle sparkle, and the Ginger Beer uses organic Peruvian fresh root ginger, organic Sicilian lemons and carbonated Dartmoor spring water.

 

Price Case of 24 x 32cl cans, £30

 

Cocktail seasonings inspired by Sri Lanka

 

Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, has launched Three Families cocktail seasonings, originating from a partnership of three families from Sri Lanka with drinks expertise. The new range of five seasonings comprises Ceylon Sour, Verdant Sinhaya, Pettah Market, Sunset Pekoe and Amethyst Punch. Three Families combines traditional bitters methods with fruit distillates and extracts to produce an ingredient to elevate cocktails or mocktails. The blends have been created from a diverse palate and array of ingredients, including coriander seeds, rambutan, lemongrass and peppercorns.

 

Price 200ml bottle, £27.40

The UK’s first sparkling cacaojuice soda

 

Kaoba, the first sparkling cacaojuice soda to be produced on a large scale in the UK, is now available. The 100% natural drink is made from the often-overlooked sweet, rich pulp of the cacaofruit (the plant’s beans produce cocoa and chocolate), repurposing it to create a sparkling beverage. Kaoba contains just two ingredients – cacaofruit juice and sparkling water – delivering a naturally sweet, fruity flavour reminiscent of pineapple, lychee and pear. The range is initially available in original and garden mint flavours and will expand to include ginger and acerola cherry.

 

Price 250ml can, £1.50