With Dry January now upon us, we wanted to share some unique sans booze offerings from a selection of Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
Ranging from Hotel Californian’s Ginger Genie in Santa Barbara to the 0.0% Tanqueray Pomegranate Mocktail at Castelfalfi in Tuscany to Head Mixologist, Maurice Lawrence at Middle Eight in London’s low ABV and non-alcoholic theatrics including fun names like ‘Easy Skanking’ and Norway’s particularly “switched on” clever bar concept at Sommerro.
Middle Eight Hotel, London
Middle Eight, LONDON: Jamaican-born Head Mixologist Maurice Lawrence at Middle Eight does great mocktails with fun names, taking guests on a sensory journey through his childhood.
Low ABV offerings include ‘Easy Skanking’ (Everleaf Mountain, Del Professore sweet vermouth, elderflower, fresh lemon, topped with soda) and the ‘Well-Tempered’ (Sloe Gin, Seedlip Spice, chai spice syrup, Angostura Bitters, topped with lemonade), while non-alcoholic offerings include the ‘Diverse Influence’ (Seedlip Grove 42, orange bitters, raspberries, ginger, lime, cranberry and pineapple) and the ‘Coco-Pino’ (Everleaf Marine, Angostura Bitters, chocolate bitters, pineapple juice, lime juice, coconut milk, coconut crem and vanilla).
Sommerro Hotel, Oslo
Sommerro – Francisco Nogueira
Sommerro, OSLO: Ekspedisjonshallen (a.k.a. Expedition Hall in English) at Sommerro has been leading the way in Norway with its alcohol-free programme since the hotel’s opening.
Bar Manager Louika Blouti is spearheading this wellness trend and has created an innovative non-alcoholic menu called The Prohibitionists, after the National Prohibition Act of 1919 of course.
Notable items include ‘The Untouchables’ (the group tasked with capturing the infamous gangster Al Capone); undercover duo ‘Izzy & Moe’ and suffragette Georgia Hopley and Capone’s older brother “Two-Gun” Hart, just to name a few. Serving up classic brasserie-style favourites the restaurant and bar is set against an original wall fresco by artist Per Krohg, it is familiar, laidback and with a backdrop of jazz music by its house band, accompanied by guest vocalists.
Hotel Californian, Santa Barbara, USA
Hotel Californian, SANTA BARBARA: This iconoclastic enclave – part history, part imagination and all Californian – continues to drive the revitalisation of Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone while upending conventional expectations.
The 121-room Moroccan-inspired boutique hotel features Djinn, an eccentric library bar named after supernatural genies from Moroccan folklore. Each featured cocktail is handcrafted by legendary Mixologist Devon Espinosa, who is widely recognised throughout Southern California for his intriguing fusion of ingredients and creative presentation.
The Ginger Genie (House Ginger, Lime, Soda) is a guaranteed teetotalers’ favourite.
Castelfalfi Hotel, Tuscany, Italy
Castelfalfi Bar Ecrù
Castelfalfi, TUSCANY: With Panoramic views across the incredible Florentine hills, guests can enjoy an array of enticing drinks complemented by traditional Tuscan cuisine using Castelfalfi Hotel estate’s produce.
Bar Ecru Manager Tiziano Frontini and his incredible team have created a handful of non-alcoholic options available year-round, including a signature Castelfalfi Pomegranate Mocktail which is Tanqueray 0.0 and a splash of pomegranate juice and pink grapefruit soda.