The Soft Sell

by Alice Lascelles

I recently found myself spending a bit of time on the wagon - a dismal state of affairs to be sure - and even worse I was meant to be on a bar crawl to a clutch of new openings around the Big Smoke.

So there I was, in front of from some of our capital's finest bartenders, bashfully ordering 'something non-alcoholic'. It felt like sacrilage - and yet I must commend the gusto with which some of them embraced the challenge. Star prize must go to Rich Hunt at Hawksmoor Seven Dials, who proceeded to improvise a string of brilliant non-alcoholic cocktails that tasted gorgeous, looked as cool as anything, and were even designed to match the bar snacks I was eating. A tiki-style drinks with pineapple, sage and passionfruit as an aperitif, and a childishly lovely milkshake for my burger with cornflake infused milk and icecream were highlights.

It made me think - when you can't fall back on the delightful effects of alcohol, it becomes 100% about flavour and aroma. Does this mean the non-alcoholic cocktail is in fact the ultimate test for a bartender?