There are a number of things that fascinate me, one is when people come into the Apothecary shop and wander over to the shelf of Wild Eve. I watch them look at the bottle with interest, I see them read the label and spot the 0% ABV, then one of two things happens. They pick it up with interest and usually ask a question or they immediately turn away.
If I catch them turning, I ask if they would like to try it. Then it gets really interesting, some people, probably the majority will say yes, especially when I explain how we make it and what it does but, some will be a flat 'no' commenting that alcohol free is not for them, some even hold their hands up, stepping back as if you've just suggested that they commune with the devil.
There is a category problem in the drinks industry. Non-alcs are often still sold as something to tolerate when you're not drinking, a second best option on a par with a soft drink. I think this is because early non-alcs were often lacking in taste, texture and finish. Even now, many are over sweet, or leave a vinegary finish, or are attempting to mimic a spirit or are utterly forgettable in terms of flavour profile. Beers fare better and there are some good options, Jumpship Beer is really good and innovative, led by Sonja Mitchell and her team just outside Edinburgh.
Then there's price, non-alcs are not cheap, people question why a drink without alcohol should be on a price par with some alcoholic drinks. Much of this is to do with the economies of scale, big companies can buy bottles by the container, get great prices on labels, buy in ingredients by the pallet, produce, bottle and label with the aid of industrial machinery. It makes a huge difference to the price per unit. For us it's also because Wild Eve is incredibly labour intensive.
I was at a dinner a few years ago with a master distiller from a whisky distillery. We sat together and he asked what I did - I explained as best I could (it's a very hard question to answer briefly) and showed him a bottle of Wild Eve. He looked at the bottle and label admiringly and then spotted the 0% ABV and said it wasn't for him. I explained a bit about it and he agreed to try it and in turn I agreed to try his whisky. He loved it (and I thought his whisky was beautifully balanced) and took a bottle away with him.
He said he had never tasted anything like it and that it was true, it had all the heat, length and complexity of alcohol. He couldn't understand how that was achieved.
Wild Eve took over 4 years to develop. It was really hard, far harder than anything else I've made, because to work it had to include all the therapeutic plants I needed and taste utterly delicious. And in fact, even when I perfected the recipe, getting consistency across batches proved a real challenge because every season the plants taste slightly different and that affects the flavour. I now embrace that!
I think it's time we stopped regarding non-alcs as second class drinks, even the strap line of Seedlip 'what to drink when you're not drinking' drives me mad as does 'mocktail'. The best non-alcs are a choice to drink irrespective of their ABV. Some of the best contain adaptogenic and nervine herbs to soothe the mind and create resilience to stress. It may not be alcohol but it has a deeply lovely effect.
With Wild Eve, I realised that the reason people reach for an alcoholic drink at the end of the day is to create a step change from the stress of the day to the relaxation of the evening. For that reason I put in Ashwagandha for it's adaptogenic, soothing effects, Chamomile for its slightly sedative, GABA supportive function and Milky Oat Tops to nourish an overwhelmed nervous system.
Then I used bitter plants to support the function of the digestive system and to reduce inflammation and disperse congestion. The Chillis that give the heat contain capsaicin, which is a compound that helps the body release joy inducing endorphins. The piles of Roses I add help to lift the mood but also reduce inflammation in the body.
Unusually in the drinks industry, I didn't just think of Wild Eve as a nice drink, I also wanted it to fit in with all our other products, offering really wonderful therapeutic value too. So every part of it is approached in the same way that we make everything at the Apothecary - from our skincare to our teas and tinctures - the plants are either grown by us or wild harvested responsibly. Those that we need to buy in are well sourced and fresh. Every ingredient is full of life and vitality, even the Sugar Kelp Seaweed is line dried for the very best finish.
Our batches are 30 bottles and on a good day we can make 5 batches but it's a very long day and the whole cycle from prep to bottling takes 3 days so we can't make a lot. This is a choice. This is what makes it so special. It would be so much easier to buy in extracts, mix them in acidulated water and then use an industrial machine bottler.
For me, that approach not only destroys the therapeutic value of the drink and creates a shadow of its true flavour, it also lacks the intention and energy that a handmade plant based drink carries within it.
There is also the question of waste. Wild Eve produces no waste, the spent plant matter goes to make compost to feed the next season of plants.
The price of £29 is low for the effort involved - picking Honeysuckle hanging onto a nearby rock, canoeing or wading out to pick Bogbean, line drying sugar Kelp in this climate, the endless care and attention needed to grow Roses organically in a greenhouse, picking Chamomile flowers from their wiry, snappy stems. It's a huge effort before the making is possible, but the final drink is something magical, it shimmers with vibrancy and plant based medicine has never tasted so good.
So when you're looking for a drink, forget the alcohol content and instead think of what it can do for you and how delicious it is. The alcohol part is just another ingredient and it doesn't always make a drink taste better.