For better or worse, Dry January is upon us, and a significant proportion of Scotland’s adult population has temporarily embraced the annual post-Christmas tradition of cutting down on alcohol.
But where others might see a problem, Andy Stewart at The Albyn in Aberdeen is choosing to see an opportunity.
The venue, opened in 2021 by the Cruickshank family, already maintains a popular cocktail list, within which there are already well established alcohol-free options. Andy’s strategy for January has been to increase that offering of mindful and ‘adult’ libations to tempt customers with cocktails based on a range of ‘functional’ spirit alternatives.
The Albyn has partnered with Three Spirits Drinks, a manufacturer that claims to ‘maximise the functional potency’ of its drinks by extracting active compounds from the highest grade, ethically sourced ingredients it can get its hands on.
A brand that is relatively new to the Scottish market, Three Spirits uses maceration, fermentation, distillation, reverse osmosis, freeze-drying and ultrasonic extraction to squeeze the best out of ingredients like Lion’s Mane mushroom, ginseng, manuka, guayasa, ashwaganda, and manuka.
The resultant blends of adaptogens, nootropics, herbs, distillates and ferments are marketed under three functional labels – the energising ‘Livener’; the gregarious ‘Social’, and the relaxing ‘Nightcap’.
Using these bases, Stewart has curated a special six drink menu to suit all occasions, whether guests are perpetually sober-centric, partaking in Dry January for the month, or just indulging in ‘zebra’ drinking.
He describes this selection of functional cocktails as ‘drinks that aren’t a glass of fruit juice suited to sitting at the kids table, but grown up drinks that are crafted to look, taste, and most importantly, sip like a cocktail’.
She’s Electric
Live, Laugh, Toaster Bath
Light’n’Breezy
Social World
Get Up, Get Down
Sleepy Mama
