The 7 key aspects in tasting great alcohol-free drinks

Parkinson was previously head of wine for Hakkasan and co-founded the World Alcohol-Free Awards in 2022, having seen the future of low & no drinks some time beforehand.

It was in 2014 that she convinced her then employer to start putting money into researching, developing and assembling a “really good list of drinks without alcohol”.

She noted: “One of the very first things we noticed of the drinks arriving from all over the world, was that the aromas were either not there or were pretty terrible.

“And to this day, the aroma of a drink without alcohol is one of the most telling factors as to whether it’s been understood by the producer and a good job has been done.”

Talking to students at the Laura Willoughby-operated Club Soda premises in central London, Parkinson set about giving attendees a way to “approach the idea of tasting and assessing drinks without alcohol and give a framework and context”.

She talked about putting this session “in the context of drinks that do have alcohol because, in many cases, the drinks are designed to replace alcohol” and that appearance is not relevant as the class looked at drinks 0.5% ABV and below.

Aroma​

Parkinson explained: “Alcohol has a very important role in lifting aroma. Aromatic compounds are volatile, they will evaporate and you will smell them but alcohol is also volatile and will lift them out of the glass and a lot of drinks, which actually have really beautiful aromas will be hard to smell if there’s nothing there to lift them.

“So what can replace alcohol and what can you do if there isn’t anything that lifts the aroma?”

She said there are a couple of things that have successfully done the job of alcohol in drinks like these with one of the best understood propellants for aroma being vinegar.

However, vinegar is acetic and if used to drinking wine, this is an instant “red flag”, but it does lift other aromas.

For example, drinks like shrub which is a vinegar-based drink can be aromatic.

Also, if a vinegar is diluted too much, it can ruin the aromatics and you are left with more of a vinegar smell.

Meanwhile, bubbles are a “great friend” of aroma and when they pop as they rise to the surface of a liquid they can impart smell.

Parkinson added: “Bubbles can be helpful, perhaps less so where the drink has been carbonated rather than naturally fermented.

“If there are vinegars or there are bubbles, there’s not really an excuse for the aroma not to be decent.”

She added a lot of modern drinks without alcohol have flavourings added and may have aromatic compounds added specifically to give aroma so both flavourings will have aroma of their own.

Aromatic compounds can be hugely varied – whether produced by very clever chemists in a lab and bear no similarity to a natural product – or they can be natural products and extracts.

“What you’re looking for is something that’s not overpowering and not one-dimensional and doesn’t smell artificial so I’m at ease with somebody developing an aroma or flavour additive if it contributes to a complex and nicely lifted aroma that makes you want to drink the drink,” Parkinson said.

Mouthfeel: weight and texture​

Mouthfeel is in the territory of what is provided by drinks with alcohol and Parkinson splits this into weight and texture.

She said alcohol tends to influence the weight and one of the downfalls of the “first generation” of drinks without alcohol was that in an attempt to build body, too much sugar was used in some cases and still is.

“Whether it’s a tin of golden syrup or a syrup you make behind the bar, sugar thickens up liquid, gives it viscosity, and with wines, they often use rectified, concentrated grape must. Some may use sugar, honey or agave syrup but this creates a balance issue that we don’t necessarily have with drinks that contain alcohol.

“So you’re assessing the weight. Has it got an appealing weight in the mouth and is there a penalty to pay for that?

“There are other things that can contribute to weight in the mouth. Lots of drinks will be manufactured with products designed to thicken them that are not just sugar, but they’re cellulose gums, for example.”

So a taster should look for weight but also being refreshing and it should not be thin, sludgy or syrupy.

When it comes to texture, it should add a layer of interest with nothing angular or rasping.

Parkinson explained tanins are a key thing to note here. It’s the taste you get when a teabag has been in the cup for too long and has a drying note.

She said: “Tanins are a great giver of texture in a very subtle way and that can be a positive if that’s there.”

Another way to create texture include “solid matter in suspension” referring to cloudy drinks such as hazy beers is a way of getting more flavour into drinks.

And, once again, bubbles do this too and create a sense of freshness on the tongue.

Sweetness​

Parkinson said: “When I first got involved with non-alcoholic drinks, the holy grail was drinks that were dry and savoury because everything was sweet.

“Most of your generations still have a preference a lot of time towards a drier drink, but something is happening with Generation Z. Because a lot of them have never tasted alcohol, they’ve never gone through that stage, that rite of passage, so although they want more sophisticated and interesting drinks, their palate is still demanding something a bit sweeter and fruitier.”

She added one has to consider where the sweetness has come from – sugar, grape must, honey, etc, are things we are used to but there’s also artificial sweeteners like stevia that stand out when tasted so the type of sweetness must be looked at and does it balance?

Balancing can take place via acidity, herbal character, bubbles, complexity, whether it is light or medium bodied (not syrupy) and there are no aftertastes of the artificial varieties like stevia, saccharin, aspartame.

Herbal notes can also be used to offset sweetness.

Dryness​

Akin to sweetness, this is something that needs balancing by fruitiness, rounded acidity, creamy flavours and a fuller body – or it is used for impact but still refreshing.

Dryness, like sweetness, is a style not a fault with the drink.

Parkinson explained: “Back in 2012 to 2014, pioneers often either accidentally made their drinks too sweet or tried very hard to make a dry drink that was really quite unpleasant.

“Dryness also has to be balanced. It can be appealing and it can create impact but will need something to help it.”

Functional ingredients​

This is when a taster seeks any odd or bitter flavour that may be well incorporated and is offset well by other ingredients.

Parkinson said: “We’ve all just tasted the kombucha that has CBD in it but we weren’t aware of it and I’m particularly impressed we didn’t notice it because CBD is one of the most notorious functional ingredients for adding an unwanted bitterness, particularly on the finish.”

She added the issue with functional drinks is producers are setting out to make a vehicle for their ingredients but how well handled is that?

As a CBD drink as an example, the only thing someone can look at from the functional ingredients is any negative impact on the flavour profile and the texture – you cannot in judge such drinks in terms of their medicinal or health effectiveness.

Fermentation character​

“Fermentation character is a ‘nice to have’ aspect in a drink and some drinks will have been through fermentation at some point or some components of the drink have been,” she said.

“But it’s not always obvious – it’s actually quite hard to see – and I would say it’s easier for a producer whose drink has had some fermentation to build flavours around it and that feel natural perhaps than it is for somebody who’s putting flavourings together from the start.

“Fermentation gives so much, even if it’s in a very subtle way. You can’t tell a flavour that comes from fermentation but it could be a yeastiness you might notice or there can be funky notes or slightly sour ones.”

Impact ​

This is the “biggest elephant in the room” and that is the alcohol itself.

Parkinson said: “The real inescapable aspect of alcohol is that heat that it brings… that burn. If you do shots, you know exactly what I mean, you know that, you know that mouthful of mustard feel when it goes down but actually, every alcoholic drink has some elements of that warmth.”

She added the first generation of alcohol-free drinks lasted from 2014 to about 2020 and then second generation up to 2023 and now there’s a third set.

The first used chilli heat to give that alcohol heat but it didn’t work for all alcohol-free drinks.

Later drinks used additives to bring that warmth and were blended into drinks.

But the latest generation has realised heat is not necessarily needed and may use herbal intensity to give a kick. “Sheer complexity” can do this as well.

Parkinson talks about a “linear purity” that doesn’t have lots of complexity and can be found in some de-alcoholised wines and can be found in some sodas but defines it as an ‘impact’.

• Mindful drinking movement Club Soda​, which Laura Willoughby founded about 10 years ago, operated four sessions in the Drinks Academy for students wanting to gain an in-depth knowledge of the low & no category. They met drinks makers, creative experts, insight specialists and marketeers with the course’s goal of equipping each student with the confidence to buy and execute a great alcohol-free range.