Creating cocktails with lower alcohol content.
Botanical water cocktails from Cocktail Curations.
Photo by Manda Weaver/ courtesy of Cocktail Curations
A new study by the London-based International Wines and Spirts Record found that more than half of Americans want to reduce their alcohol intake. Yet low- and no-alcohol products currently account for only 0.5 percent of the total domestic beverage alcohol market. Two Falls Church-based spirits companies are filling that void.
Falls Church Distillers founder Michael Paluzzi recently debuted his first Frozen Falls Infusions, a low-alcohol, low-calorie vodka steamed over limes, pomegranates, dark cherries, and ginger root. Add soda water and a slice of lime to create a cocktail with fewer than 30 calories. “My whole family follows a healthy lifestyle, so this came as a natural to us,” says Paluzzi.
Nicole Hassoun, co-owner of Cocktail Curations, produces zero-alcohol adult libations for catered events. “We don’t always want the alcohol, but we want the flavors,” Hassoun says. Her process involves steeping customizable combinations of botanicals in water run through a small still. Currently bottled for booked events, which she presents with co-founder Thy Parra, the alcohol-free spirits are on track to be branded, labeled, and retailed soon. FCDistillers.comCocktailCurations.com
This article originally appeared in our Drink 2019 issue.
