Æcorn Bitter Citrus, Non-Alcoholic Spritz 50cl

Product Information

But London member Claire Warner – founder and managing director of Aecorn Aperitifs, the world’s first range of non-alcoholic aperitifs for adults – is challenging all that. What did exist was Ben Branson’s revolutionary brand, Seedlip, which Warner had admired for some time. This all came from a desire to be in the drinks industry and be healthy, which at the time didn’t feel possible. That set up the expectation that it would be really more-ish, like a bottle of Baileys at a family Christmas. Having been pregnant in the last year, I speak from recent experience when I say that dinner parties as a non-drinker can be pretty lacklustre.

Information and statements about products are not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. Aecorn produce non-alcoholic sipping bitter drinks as a British take on the traditional aperitivo and contain less than 0. Aecorn is the result, named after a recipe for acorn wine they found in in John French’s The Art Of Distillation from the 1600s. Aecorn is a blend of that verjus base, fresh botanicals and a stabiliser that Warner and Branson keep top secret.

Non-alcoholic drinks options can seem both limited and unsophisticated: Coke, tonic, sparkling water (a bit like it was for vegetarians in the 1990s, those pre-Ottolenghi days when risotto was a given).

triggered by smaller and smaller amounts of alcohol, these are exactly what I imagine I’m looking for. While an absence of alcohol is the basis for both Aecorn and Seedlip’s business models, Warner observes that, across the board, drinks companies are now embracing ‘low and no’ as a means of making the industry more creative. As a sober member of a large Irish Catholic family, it's nice to be able to join in during the exotic drinks round. She became interested in cutting down on sugar (for example, reducing the quantity of syrup used in cocktails) and in exploring the ingredients offered by nature.

Warner, who spent 15 years developing vodkas as head of spirit creation and mixology at LVMH brand Belvedere, feels that alcohol offers a complexity of flavour to beverages which has, conventionally, not been matched by its soft-drink counterparts. On a separate note regarding your ‘why not lower alcohol rather than zero alcohol’ argument, spare a thought for those thousands who, like my daughter, are abstaining due to pregnancy. Aecorn Bitter Non-Alcoholic Aperitif 50cl is delicious served as a spritz, mix 50cl of Aecorn Bitter with ice, soda and a slice of orange. In the UK, we used verjus in cooking before we had citrus, so it’s a classic ingredient,’ says Warner. This dawned on Warner in her last years at Belvedere when low- and no-alcohol drinks took on a new appeal to her personally.

I was full of anxiety, run down, and started to look for ways to look after myself in a job that was seemingly glamorous but actually quite gruelling.

It was full of flavour and character and a halfway passable substitute for a classic Italian aperitif. I'm really enjoying it mixed with Fever Tree blood orange soda, where the sweetness of the soda balances the bitters perfectly. Aecorn Aperitifs are made from natural extracts and distillates there may be some sediments, this is normal and still suitable for consumption.