Sober Curious, Mindful & Alcohol-Free Drinkers Podcast: Low No Drinker

#72 The problem with naming alcohol-free spirits

• Denise Hamilton-Mace • Episode 72

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In this episode, I explore why alcohol-free bottles are labelled as ‘botanical spirit’ or ‘dark spiced’ instead of gin or rum. These naming conventions aren't just creative marketing—they're legal requirements which force alcohol-free producers to use alternative terminology that hints at what their products are meant to replace. 

But does it cause more confusion? What do brands need to do to support low, no, light drinkers in finding, understanding and enjoying their drinks?


THIS WEEK, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:
0:00 Talking alcohol-free spirits
1:29 Legally protected
2:37 Minimum requirements
4:23 Producer creativity
5:49 Is it confusing?
8:01 Is it bad for brands?
9:55 Is it easier for non-replica brands?
11:24 Naming & comparing
12:01 Will the law change?
13:17 What brands can do to help consumers.
13:39 What would you prefer?

  

BEST EPISODE TO LISTEN TO NEXT:
#56 FAQ: What does ABV mean? (and how does it affect low/no drinks?)

 

ALSO MENTIONED:
CleanCo*
Lyre’s*
Rebels 0.0*

 

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Speaker 1:

Hello, hello and welcome to the Low-No Drinker podcast, the only twice-weekly podcast helping you find, understand and enjoy the world of low, no and light drinks, drinkers and drinking. My name is Denise Hamilton-Mace and I am the founder, editor and host of all things Low-No Drinker. This week we are talking spirits, so you've probably seen alcohol-free bottles labeled. When you've been out and about in the shops or perhaps online at one of the many dedicated suppliers, you've probably seen alcohol-free bottles with labels saying things like botanical spirit instead of gin or dark spiced perhaps instead of rum. So why is it that in the world of low and light drinks, these drinks can't use the real names? Why is it that they're not called gin or rum or whiskey? Well, today I want to break down the rules behind alcohol-free spirit, naming how brands are trying to work around them and what this means for you as a consumer. So here in the UK and in the States as well. But obviously I'm based in the UK, I'm in London, so I know more about the rules here than I do about the US, although I'll try to include some of the regulations as I understand them for the States as well, because I know that a lot of you are listening in from Stateside. I was almost then about to say hello with a really bad American accent. I'm really glad that I stopped myself from doing that. So names like gin, rum, whiskey, bourbon these aren't just general words that are thrown around. They're actually legally protected categories In the UK and the EU.

Speaker 1:

These terms come with specific definitions that are tied to things like the ingredients that are used, the production methods that are used and, most importantly, the alcohol content that is within them. Whenever people are buying full strength alcohol, they've come now to expect a minimum ABV within those drinks. Even if you don't know what the ABV is, you know that it's supposed to be quite high. So, starting at the beginning, here in the UK, to be considered a spirit, there is actually a minimum threshold. When I looked it up on the YouGov website, it said that a spirit needed to be a minimum of 15% ABV, but that's just for a general spirit term. I think the only exception it said was egg-based spirits. So things like Advocar or perhaps Eggnog for those stateside.

Speaker 1:

But for drinks that you might actually drink on a regular basis, there are certain minimum thresholds that they have to achieve before they can use the name. So a gin, for example, must contain 37.5% ABV. So that's alcohol by volume, and if you can't remember what that is, I will link to an episode that I did earlier on about ABV and what it actually means. But in brief, it's the amount of the drink that is pure alcohol. So gin must have at least 37.5% of pure alcohol in it and it must contain juniper to use the name gin. Whiskey has to be aged in wooden casks for at least three years and it has to have at least a 40% ABV. No-transcript. The list goes on.

Speaker 1:

Obviously, there are different drink types. You've got your derivatives and things that branch off, such as your bourbons or your vodkas, but they've all got different minimum requirements that they are legally required to achieve before they can use those labels. It is slightly different for things like beer and wine and wine. Alcohol-free beer can still be called beer because the definition focuses on the ingredients and the brewing methods rather than just the alcohol content. And wine and this is UK specific because I'm not sure about in the States, but wine in the UK has to have at least an 8.5% ABV to be called a wine. The only exception, I believe, is sacramental wine, which, as we know, doesn't contain any alcohol at all.

Speaker 1:

So if an alcohol-free gin isn't actually an alcohol-free gin, then what is it? This is where the creativity of alcohol-free spirit producers actually comes in and why you'll see that bottles of AF or non-alcohol or low-alcohol drinks, instead of calling themselves a gin or a vodka or a whiskey or a rum or tequila, have now started to use terms that are becoming a lot more recognized within the industry and a lot more expected. So quite often you'll see things on labels such as botanical spirit or spirit alternative. You might also see gin inspired or whiskey style or a vodka style drink. There are some descriptions are a little bit more long winded. You might see something that says non-alcoholic distilled botanical drink. So producers are finding ways to describe to you what their drink is meant to replicate or to remind you of, or how it's supposed to be used in a similar way, without using the terminology that they are not legally allowed to use, and I think it's great. I think it's great that brands are being very creative. I think that it's great that they are being forced to think about how their drinks are going to be used and to find ways to communicate to consumers how they're supposed to enjoy those drinks and what occasions they can be used in.

Speaker 1:

But I do worry that it is confusing. I think most consumers don't realize that these naming restrictions exist and that leads to confusion. You know, if you're picking up a bottle and you're not well versed in this space yet and you're not entirely certain of what it is that you're looking for and you're seeing things like botanical spirit, you might have no idea that gin is made using botanicals. The only thing you might know is that it's got juniper in it and that's perfectly okay. If you're not into this world and this industry, why would you know what goes into it? Most of us don't know what's in most of the things we eat and drink on a daily basis anyway. So the worry is that it's confusing for people and this is where I am really hoping that the brand founders out there and that the industry experts really recognize and keep working towards the education piece.

Speaker 1:

And because it's so young and because people are so inexperienced coming to it, everyone's a little bit naive, everyone's a little bit ignorant, and that's not in the negative way that it's often taken to be, but it just means a lack of knowledge or a lack of understanding, and the only people that can help to rectify that for us are the brands. It's the founders who are making these drinks, it's the marketing teams that are these drinks, it's the marketing teams that are putting together all these wonderful campaigns, but unless they're prepared to explain it to us in detail, then we as consumers are going to continue to be a little bit confused, and I don't want that to lead to us not trying these drinks. That's why I do episodes like these to hopefully shed a little bit of light on some of that confusion for you, so that you know that when you do go into your supermarket whether you like to buy in shops where you can pick up a bottle and have a look, or whether you prefer to go online that just because your bottle doesn't say tequila or it doesn't say whiskey, it doesn't mean that it can't be used and enjoyed in those same occasions that you are used to. On the flip side, this also has repercussions for the brands themselves, and I think it's always worth us remembering, as consumers, that the producers of low-no-light drinks, whilst we say the category is new for us who are coming into drinking it, it's also quite new for those people who are making it as well, right, there's a lot of brands, even a lot of founders, that come onto this show, who've only been doing what they've been doing for a couple of years, which, in business terms, is absolutely nothing. But these things, these labeling restrictions, makes things difficult for them as well.

Speaker 1:

Without the ability to use traditional, well-recognized names, brands have to spend more time and more money on marketing, on education, on advertising, on showing people how to use their drinks, on replicating situations where somebody might use a gin style drink to show them that that's exactly what you're supposed to do, that you need to add your tonic or that you can use it in this cocktail. Packaging and websites and marketing materials have to be really clear, and that takes time. Advertising and marketing isn't a quick business and it costs a lot of money to find the right people who can get the right message out in the right way, and that therefore has a knock-on effect on us. So, in fact, the more that brands can move forward in the education piece and the more that they can help consumers to understand, hopefully, the quicker they can stop spending money on things like showing us that a dark spirit is meant to be used in a mojito and just get on with explaining why their dark spirit is the one that we should be choosing. Some brands are fully embracing this distinction, though, which is great, because there are some out there who are really not trying to replicate alcohol full drinks.

Speaker 1:

There are some producers that I've spoken to whose stance is very much in the we are not alcohol. We are not replicating alcohol. We are not trying to be alcohol. We are a different type of spirit, and actually, for those brands it's almost a little bit easier because they're saying there's something different from the get go. People aren't going into consuming those drinks with the same expectations and therefore comparisons to full alcohol versions, which makes it slightly easier for a drink to stand up on its own. I think and say look, we are unique, we are individual, this is what we are doing, this is what I want you to feel when you have my drink, this is how I want it to impact you, these are the flavors you can experience, and you can't compare this to anything else. So it doesn't matter if it doesn't taste like your old favorite whiskey, because this isn't trying to replicate that, but there are some brands out there who are trying to replicate those moments. There are a lot of brands who have entire ranges that are designed to completely replace the alcohol-full versions of those range of spirits Brands like Clean Co or Liars or Rebels 0.0, who do have drinks for all of those moments that you would have normally had an alcohol-full version for. So you know the comparison game. I've spoken about it a lot of times. It is detrimental to your drinking experience when you're looking at low no and light drinks, but it's also very hard to avoid because we are creatures of habit. So therefore, we will compare things that we have now to what we had in the past. That a brand chooses to go with really can have an impact on how somebody ultimately enjoys that drink, because if they go into it expecting it to taste like a gin or to taste like a rum, they will compare it and that will impact how much somebody will enjoy it.

Speaker 1:

Now, as to whether these naming conventions are going to change, whether the laws are going to change, there is a lot of talk at the moment in the low-no space about the efforts that the UK government need to put in to help consumers understand their drinking choices. As I've mentioned before, there is a consultation taking place at the moment. It feels like it's been going on forever as to whether the label for alcohol free in the UK will change from 0.05, which it is at the moment, go up to 0.5. There is no, as far as I'm aware. There is no conversation about whether or not non-alcoholic spirit brands will be able to start using terms like gin or whiskey or rum. I think that we need to make sure that, whatever we're doing within the industry, we can't wait for government bodies to help make sense of it all for us. It's quite clear that, for all intents and purposes, we, as a low-know light industry, are pretty much on our own in terms of making this a viable, sustainable and enjoyable place for people to find a drink, so if I were to say anything to the brands out there, it would be to keep speaking to each other, because the more cohesion that brands have between themselves in terms of the wording and the language and the education that they're using and sharing with consumers, the easier it's going to be for consumers like me and you to understand what we're putting into our glass and how we can enjoy it.

Speaker 1:

What do you think, though? Do you think that alcohol-free brands should be able to use names like vodka, tequila, gin, whiskey, or do you think that that confuses things more? Would it be simpler for you, as somebody who's looking for a low-no or light drink, to just be able to go and ask for a gin with or without alcohol? Or is it better that you go into a shop and say can you point me to where your botanical spirits are? I don't know the answers. I don't have all the answers. I've got a lot of questions. I don't have all the answers, but if you have some questions, if you have some thoughts on this, I would love to know what you think. So do reach out to me.

Speaker 1:

I am available on most of the platforms, not all of them. I still can't get my head around TikTok. I think I might be just too old for it and I'm okay with that. But you can get me on Instagram. If you want to DM me, it's at Lono Drinker Magazine or you can drop me an email. I'm on denise at lonodrinkermagazinecom. I do want to hear from you. I want to hear your thoughts on these topics and I would love to hear your questions, because if there is an area of Lono or like drinks, drinkers or drinking that you would like to know more about, then I would be more than happy to dive into it for you.

Speaker 1:

Don't forget to go and check out Lono Drinker magazine, the number one UK magazine for mindful and sober curious drinkers, available online and in print anywhere in the world.

Speaker 1:

I am currently in the final throes of putting together issue number 13, which will be out for you in just a few days as of time of recording, and that will mark the two year anniversary of Lone no Drinker magazine. That's right, I have been producing this magazine for two years and I can't quite believe it, but I am super grateful to everybody who has subscribed to the magazine, whether that is in print or online, everyone who's bought a single copy to be sent to them anywhere in the world, and I'm super grateful to everybody who has contributed and written and helped make this magazine a reality, because I know that it's helping so many people. I know because you tell me and I will never, ever tire of receiving your emails or your messages saying how much you're enjoying the amazing articles and contributions that have been put in the magazine. So keep them coming. Keep them coming. That's it for me today, until next time. Cheers to a life less intoxicated.

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Denise Hamilton-Mace

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