Photos Courtesy of Three Spirits
Since launching in 2018, UK-based Three Spirit amassed a cult following that led their plant-based, non-alcoholic spirits to being listed in some of the world’s best bars, including Soho House and Connaught, and sold in luxury retailers like Harvey Nichols and Burford Garden Centre. And now, they’ve finally broken into the US market.
Three Spirits was developed in response to people looking for exciting alternatives to alcoholic drinks that gave them the same celebratory feelings without the need for actual alcohol. The brand worked with some of the best bartenders, herbalists, and plant scientists to get the final range, which combines 11 herbs and plants with naturally blissful qualities. Vegan and gluten-free, the social elixirs are hand-crafted with high-grade extracts, active plants, and adaptogens grown by cultivators.
“Our mission is pure pleasure innovation. This is not an imitation of an alcoholic drink. It is something that stands out on its own, enhances cocktails and creates a new option.” explains co-founder Dash Lilley, Head Alchemist. “We achieve this through an obsessive focus on maximizing the functional potency of our drinks, carefully extracting the active compounds from the highest-grade, ethically-sourced plants we can get our hands on. Our process, Botanical Alchemy, is complex, delicate and takes time – maceration, fermentation, distillation, reverse osmosis, freeze-drying, ultrasonic extraction – you name it, we’re pioneering it.”
Three Spirits broke into the US in January 2021 and since then the direct-to-consumer product has sold out twice, with thousands on the waiting list. They’ve also gotten a lot of attention from the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, where they took home Double Gold for Nightcap and Silver for both their Livener and Social Elixir spirits.
The brand has three products ($39 each) that each offer something very different:
- Fierce, fiery and fruity in flavor, Livener is a vibrant, powerful drink designed to liven the senses and perk you up. Notes of red berries, bright aromatics and heat compliment the tannic touches from guayusa and guava leaf. It contains a natural, friendly caffeine found in guayusa, along with L-Theanine from green tea and ginseng.
- Dark, bittersweet and curious, Social Elixir, is the ultimate social companion and mood elevator. Natural, blissful feeling with lion’s mane mushroom, yerba mate, tulsi, cacao and damiana. Bright, dry spiced on the nose lead to rich, complex dark apple and cacao notes. It’s a full-bodied and bittersweet drink with a curious savory bite.
- Sophisticated, soothing, calming, Nightcap is designed to sip and savor. For calming the senses, soothing the body after a long day (or night!), with notes of oak, citrus and freshly cut grass to complement the natural bitterness from Hüll hops and lemon balm. It contains restorative plants and herbs that have been used for centuries to induce calming feelings, including turmeric, ashwagandha, and lemon balm.
