Summer and casual drinking have always gone hand in hand. Tinnies in the park, jugs of Pimm’s replacing pots of tea, and rosé in the sunshine. According to Waitrose, there is an actual “rosé tipping point” temperature — sales of the pink stuff soar 150 per cent when the mercury rises above 20 degrees.
But it’s been a different story this year. The supermarket says that we’re having something of a “sober summer”: data shows that sales of low and no-alcohol drinks at Waitrose are up 32 per cent compared to last year, with searches for non-alcoholic drinks up 185 per cent, and a staggering 756 per cent increase in searches for non-alcoholic lager.
“The ‘sober curious’ movement is growing, showing a trend towards wellbeing-focused drinking that doesn't compromise on flavour or social connection,” explains Sarah Holland, who is the Low and No buyer at the supermarket.
Whether they’re too embarrassed to get drunk lest someone document it on TikTok, or simply more health conscious, Gen Z are often cast as the spearheads of sober curiosity. Nearly 30 per cent of young British adults don’t drink at all, while others practise trends like zebra striping, where you alternate between alcoholic and soft drinks.
Alcohol-free drinks used to feel a little like they were made for children. Sickly sweet mocktails or sad bottles of sparkling grape juice. But recently a slew of new premium alcohol-free alternatives have come on the market.
Take Botivo, the alcohol free aperitif which has had a meteoric rise since it launched in 2022. With its yellow wax sealed lit, dark glass bottle and blend of botanical ingredients, it looks right at home next to fancy liquors in a drinks cabinet.
“We’re very much trying to create a category where we’re offering something very different,” says Botivo co-founder Imme Ermgassen. “Botivo is a really healthy product, but we choose to talk about taste and pleasure first.”
Made with apple cider vinegar, ginger and a blend of botanicals, the golden liquid had the bitter sweetness of an aperitif like Campari, but also happens to be good for you. It doesn’t come cheap at £28 a bottle, but Ermgassen explains that Botivo takes a year to make (the cider vinegar must be aged, you see) and it is handmade on a farm in Hertfordshire.
And people are buying into it. Botivo is now Whole Foods’ bestselling ‘spirit’, with sales outstripping alcoholic counterparts, and is also a top seller in its category at Majestic Wine. They recently did a collaboration with Ottolenghi (infused with pomegranate molasses, naturally), while the original is favoured by everyone from Michelin chefs to exacting food critics.
Ermgassen thinks that the lipstick index is part of the reason people are willing to spend more on nice drinks, even when they’re alcohol free. The theory is that in times of economic downturn, people will splash out on little treats rather than big luxuries.
The brand grew 300 per cent last year, as did one of its big competitors, Mother Root. While Botivo is aimed at “hedonists” — Ermgassen tells me that 95 per cent of their customers drink alcohol as well — Mother Root is more for the health conscious. Their ginger aperitif is similarly high end (£28 a pop) and has garnered legions of fans.
Mother Root’s founder Bethany Higson started the brand during maternity leave, for people who “still want to enjoy the ritual of a drink at the end of the day”.
Higson says that Mother Root is inspired by the Italian tradition of aperitivo hour, which is all about winding down and socialising with a drink. “Alcohol-free aperitifs give people the ability to keep that ritual alive without the physical and mental toll that comes with having one too many,” she explains.
Meanwhile the Crodino spritz, which is an alcohol-free lovechild of Campari and Aperol which comes in a tiny glass bottle, launched in the UK in May, and has since been pronounced the drink of the summer.
In a time when many are health-conscious label checkers, it feels somewhat outmoded that high ABV alcohol brands are exempt from displaying the ingredients and nutritional values on their bottles.
“Today’s consumers are more informed and ingredient-savvy — they’re looking for flavour complexity, functionality, and provenance,” says Higson.
It seems that having a sober(ish) summer is easier and more delicious than ever — and it’s not just the prudent and the health conscious — it’s those who simply want a delicious drink.
