For most beverage categories, there is generally some level of consensus: We can all agree on what beer is. We share a common understanding of what we mean by “wine.” And, thanks to the strict legal definitions surrounding the spirit, we know what makes bourbon. bourbon. But the category of non-alcoholic—or N/A, or non-alcoholic, or spirit-free—beverages is an evolving frontier.
At their most basic, non-alcoholic drinks are those without alcohol, including water and ginger ale and chocolate milk, but obviously, we know, that's not what we're talking about. So: Non-alcoholic beverages are… well, what? Drinks that serve the social function of alcohol? And what exactly is that? To give you something to hold at a party? To do something, not alcoholic, to give some kind of buzz? This is an existential question. Even the brands that make up the space can't completely agree on one answer.
“What's great about the category is that really, there's a lot of tolerance and a lot of room for innovation,” said Lorelei Bandrovschi, founder and CEO of alcohol-free. Listen Bar in New York City. And as the options within the non-alcoholic beverage market have exploded, so has the vocabulary to describe them. “It's changing as we speak,” says Victoria Watters, co-founder of Dry Atlas, a media company focused on alternatives to alcohol (her preferred term). Currently, the category is largely defined by what it is not: Non-alcoholic. It has no spirit and is zero-proof. It is described in opposition to its alcoholic cousins, which makes sense, for communication purposes – alcohol, however, is still the default when it comes to adult-oriented drinks served at expensive glass—but it's also limited.
Often, as of this writing, people talk about the taste of N/A drinks the same way they do for booze, says Laura Silverman, founder of the non-alcoholic information hub. Zero Proof Nation: Drinks are hoppy, smoky, bitter, botanical. (There was a time, he points out, when the feel of non-alcoholic options was often, accurately, described as “thin,” but we've moved past that now.) Instead, the current vocabulary of non-alcoholic drinking is centered on carving out a different space—something different from booze but similar to it, with its own evolving subcategories.
Because of this, the definitions of booze-free buzzwords are fuzzy, nuanced and often controversial. It is a language that is constantly evolving. But since all we have to go on is the present, here is an incomplete guide to the current lexicon of non-alcoholic beverages.
Adaptogens: Certain herbs, roots and fungi are believed to help the body cope with stress and return to a more balanced state. Many of them have long histories in Eastern medicine; their role in Western medicine is… enrichment. Common examples include ashwagandha, ginseng, licorice root, lion's mane, reishi and rhodiola rosea.
Alcohol alternatives: On occasions when a person usually drinks alcoholic beverages, a person may choose to take care of an alternative to alcohol. Essentially the same as ANAs (see below), alcohol alternatives are beverages that 1. do not contain alcohol, and 2. occupy the logistical and emotional space occupied by alcohol. Some people argue that to qualify as a true alternative to alcohol, a drink must also provide some sort of alcohol-esque buzz, although this is not the consensus.
No alcohol: A product with no detectable alcohol, meaning it has been tested by the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and—actually—0.0 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). All non-alcoholic beverages are non-alcoholic, but not all non-alcoholic beverages qualify as non-alcoholic.
AND: N/A is the more common name for the category, but some experts argue that “ANA”—for ADULTS non-alcoholic drink—is the superior term, because it specifies that the drink in question is intended to obtain the experience and/or social function of drinking alcohol. Seltzer, soda and milk, for example, are all technically N/A drinks, but they are not THOSE drinks.
Analog: Non-alcoholic versions of products that traditionally contain alcohol. A bourbon without spirit, for example, is an analogue of bourbon, because it has a clear alcoholic counterpart.
Blends: A non-alcoholic product—usually a proxy for wine—made not by dealcoholizing an alcoholic base, but by infusing fruits, vinegars and/or teas with herbs and spices to create a similarly complex flavor profile.
Botanical: Literally, “obtained from plants.” The use of this term often indicates that this is not the type of artificially sugared water that one might have come to expect from previous eras of non-alcoholic beverages.
Burning: The feeling of, well, burning associated with drinking high-proof alcohol. To successfully recreate that part of the alcohol experience, a zero-proof analogue (see also: Analogue) must find another way to evoke the same heat, sometimes through spices like of ginger and chiles.
It can be: Drinks containing THC (a psychoactive compound in cannabis), with or without the addition of CBD.
California sober: Using weed but no other drugs or alcohol, as one does in the (supposedly) relaxed but (supposedly) health-conscious idyll of California. The term is also the original framework for describing a person who changes the mind consumption in terms of place, a classic source of jokes. New entrants in the category, via internet comedians, include: New York sober (no alcohol, yes meth); an alternative New York sober (no alcohol, yes cocaine); Berlin sober (no alcohol, yes ketamine) and Chicago sober (yes alcohol).
Now Entering the Golden Age of N/A Beer
In just five years, the category has moved beyond its solid roots to become a booming industry with its own cast of big players and independent upstarts.
Damp intake, flex/flexi intake: Different ways of defining the intentionally moderate—though not completely abstemious—relationship with alcohol have slightly different implications. While “wet drinking” is similar to (though perhaps somewhat less sober than) “conscious drinking” and indicates a deliberate reduction in alcohol consumption, “drinking drinking”—Watters' preferred term—refers to the neutrality of alcohol, with no hierarchy between alcoholic and nonalcoholic. drinks.
Dealcoholization: The process of removing alcohol from a product that normally contains it, such as wine or beer. The two most common ways to do this are reverse osmosis—an elaborate filtration process that separates the alcohol from the rest of the liquid—and vacuum distillation, where the product is heated until the alcohol evaporates. Because both of these processes can spoil the taste, some producers, the head of Athletic Brewing Co. among them, are very proud that they do not dealcoholize their products, but instead use proprietary manufacturing methods that prevent the production of alcohol in the first place.
Elixir, tonic: Drinks that do not have any prescriptive definition, but carry an attractive air of witchy mystery and/or 19th century pharmaceuticals. Elixirs, in particular, sound fascinatingly complicated, and while neither term is regulated in any way, they both connote—ironically or otherwise—some kind of curative state change.
Ferments (noun): A vague but cool-and sophisticated-sounding term for non-alcoholic fermented beverages intended to serve the same high social function as alcoholic ones.
Functionality: Applies to beverages that serve some sort of mind-altering or mood-altering purpose beyond basic hydration. Usually, this means drinks that contain adaptogens and/or nootropics (see also: Adaptogens; Nootropics). Some people also consider infused drinks (see also: Infused) to be part of this category—they are, in many ways, MUCH functional—but many are not. In the world of soft drinks, “functional” tends to mean “with pre- or probiotics,” but this is not usually the case when describing alcohol alternatives (see also: Non-alcoholic; Alcohol alternative).
Infused drinks: In theory, “infusing” means infusing something (fruit, herb, garlic, coffee beans) in some kind of liquid (water, oil, grain alcohol) for flavor and/or benefits. in nutrition. But in the realm of non-alcoholic beverages, “infused beverage” usually refers to just one type of infusion: THC, a psychoactive chemical in cannabis. In part, the label was created to avoid violating the terms of service of social media platforms such as Instagram.
Kava: Known for its calming and mood-enhancing effects—it's comparable to Xanax—kava, a drink made from the ground roots of the kava shrub, has been used socially and ceremonially for centuries in the Pacific Islands, and only recently popularity as an alternative to alcohol in the United States. Consumption of kava is legal, if not regulated.
N/A, non-alcoholic, non-alcoholic, spirit-free, zero-proof: Not-entirely-but-mostly interchangeable terms used to describe non-alcoholic beverages, which federal regulations defined as drinks with less than 0.5 percent ABV. No one agrees on the best term, although experts debate their relative merits passionately. However, they all mean the same thing: This drink does not, colloquially speaking, have booze in it.
Nootropics: Natural and synthetic substances that supposedly increase a person's cognitive ability. Caffeine is the most common example—everyone does it—but other players include 5-HTP, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and L-theanine. Some nootropics are also adaptogens—lion's mane qualifies as both—and as a result, the two categories are often combined. (See also: Adaptogens; Functional.)
Zebra cutting: This British term refers to the practice of alternating between non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks throughout the night. Associated with the also-British practice of “bookending,” where one begins and ends the evening with non-alcoholic options, but may have an alcoholic drink or two in between.