The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
Beyond Booze is a new podcast series from Club Soda exploring the world’s best alcohol-free drinks.
Hosted by Noah Villeneuve, who heads the cocktail programme at our Drury Lane Tasting Room, Beyond Booze introduces the amazing humans behind some of the best alcohol-free drinks on the market today.
Week by week, you’ll hear more about how their drinks came to be and get their views on the low and no industry. Noah’s guests share the highs and lows of creating alcohol-free brands, recommendations for cocktail serves, and the best places to find alcohol-free drinks around the world.
Each episode of Beyond Booze explores the story and perspectives of innovators in low and no alcohol drinking. Follow the links below for shownotes and more information.
Before Beyond Booze, our podcast has episodes stretch back to 2019. Explore our back catalogue for inspirational stories about drinking mindfully and living well.
Coming originally from a background in the music industry, Noah Villeneuve is an established drinks professional, with wide-ranging experience of bar management, cocktail creation and wine service.
Noah’s cocktails have been featured in Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Time Out and Bloomberg. In 2023, was named Bar Magazine’s Bartender of the week, selected for panels and workshops at Bon Vivant Festival in Barcelona, Latitude Festival and Tales Of The Cocktail in New Orleans. He is also on the judging panel for the World Alcohol-Free Awards and Great Taste Awards, and he’s passionate about developing outstanding alcohol-free experiences that are inclusive of everyone.
You can connect with Noah on Instagram.
Camille Vidal is on a mission to inspire the world to bring mindfulness into the glass showing that tasty doesn’t have to be boozy. Cami founded La Maison Wellness in 2018, giving her a platform to advocate for mindful drinking and inspire people to live like health hedonists.
Cami is a respected figure in the drinks industry. Her accolades include Forbes Women Leading the Drinks Industry, Bar World 100 Industry most influential figures in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and Tales of the Cocktails top 10 International bar mentor nominee 2022. She is a leading voice in the mindful drinking movement, author of two cocktail books, keynote speaker, creative consultant, mindfulness teacher, and holistic coach. Oh, and she’s also a mum to beautiful twin boys.
Connect with Cami on Instagram and head to La Maison Wellness for alcohol-free and low alcohol cocktail inspiration and recipes.
In episode 2 of Beyond Booze, Noah meets James Edis, national account manager for New London Light.
New London Light is a collection of three non-alcoholic spirits and aperitifs led by taste and inspired by adventure. Marking the start of Salcombe Distilling Co.’s adventure into the non-alcoholic world, their non-alcoholic spirit First Light launched with critical acclaim in 2020.
Inspired by the sea and their expertise in creating exceptional gin, First Light is a bold and refreshing non-alcoholic spirit combines juniper, ginger, habanero, orange and sage to open a door into a new world of flavour. It’s made in one of the only distilleries in the world directly accessible by boat, so it’s no surprise that the company’s love of life on and around the water inspires all that they do.
L.A Brewery was founded on Louise Avery’s love of flavour, foraging and fermentation while seeking a healthier and more delicious drink.
Louise first discovered kombucha while travelling and fell in love with the taste, finding it was the first drink that satisfied her cravings for alcohol and sugar. Inspired by her Hebrides upbringing, she began brewing in her kitchen here in London with blends of tea, wild plants & flowers.
Over time, the brewery has progressed from Louise’s kitchen to a space in Hackney (lovingly referred to as ‘the cupboard under the stairs’) to a nano-brewery before finally landing in their micro-brewery in Suffolk.
Follow L.A Brewery on Instagram, and read more about why kombucha is a great alternative to alcohol.
Episode 4 of Beyond Booze introduces Chris Wilfred Hughes, creator of Wilfred’s Aperitif.
Chris had always been passionate about creating drinks, and eventually turned his hobby into a business. Wilfred’s is a carefully crafted blend of natural rosemary, bitter orange, rhubarb and clove to create an unusual but unmistakably British drink.
Creating a non-alcoholic aperitif was an obvious choice for Chris, whose has drunk less and less over the years. With personal drinking choices that are now 99% alcohol-free, creating an impactful alcohol-free drink was top of his to-do list. Wilfred’s has become an export success story too, becoming widely available in the US and being America’s Test Kitchen’s most-recommended non-alcoholic spirit.
Ellie Webb, the creator of alcohol-free spirit brand Caleño, is Noah Villeneuve’s guest this week for episode 5 of Beyond Booze.
Ellie was working for an alcohol company and doing dry January when inspiration for her solo business struck her. Caleño first came to life in Ellie’s kitchen, but it was 5,000 miles later on a trip back to Colombia when she felt re-inspired by her Latin roots. After soaking up the vibrant colours, tropical flavours, and Latin beats of her family’s homeland, she returned home to bottle it.
Fuelled by that Latin positivity, Ellie set out to infuse the sun-drenched flavours of Colombia with her non-alcoholic spirits. The result? Caleño.
Connect with Caleño on Instagram and follow Ellie’s adventurers as The Joyful Drinker.
In episode 6 of Beyond Booze, Noah Villeneuve explores life as a sober bartender with Davide Segat.
Born in Venice, Davide came to London in 2003, working in bars and restaurants. After a lucky break into luxury hotels, he’s built a career as a highly respected hospitality professional. But when his social drinking tipped into using alcohol to cope, Davide decided to quit drinking.
Davide continues to work in the hospitality industry and leads the bar team at the NoMad hotel in London, where he’s involved in menu development and staff education and training. And he’s excited about the development of the mindful cocktail scene in London and beyond.
Follow Davide and the NoMad hotel on Instagram.
In episode 7 of Beyond Booze, we meet Amanda Thomson, the creator of Noughty alcohol-free wines.
Amanda founded her company, Thomson & Scott, following a career in broadcasting and the arts. Loving the buzz of champagne, she set out to create alcohol-free alternatives. Building on the success of their original sparkling chardonnay, the brand’s latest wine is Noughty Rosé.
The company now has a portfolio of alcohol-free wines. In her interview with Noah Villeneuve, Amanda talks about her background, her range of wines, and finding a place for alcohol-free in the wine trade.
Follow Amanda on Instagram and find Noughty there too.
Dash Lilley of Three Spirit talks to Noah Villeneuve in episode 8 of Beyond Booze.
Dash’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all in the wine trade, so he grew up with an instinctive passion for food and drink. He has been developing drinks brands since 2012 and created Three Spirit in 2018.
Fascinated by the functional benefits of food and drink, and wanting to avoid alcohol, Dash created Three Spirit to offer a mood-enhancing alternative.
In this interview, Dash shares his experience of creating Three Spirit’s original Social Elixir, and how the brand is developing with their latest drinks, Blurred Vines Sharp and Spark.
Connect with Three Spirit on Instagram.
Episode 9 of Beyond Booze explores the magic of camellia sinensis with Adrian Hodgson of REAL Drinks.
Adrian’s PhD studies focused on the health benefits of tea. Looking for an alternative to wine, he set up REAL with his co-founder David Begg to find complexity in drinks through non-alcoholic fermentation.
REAL’s sparkling teas are designed to pair with food and fill the gap typically occupied by wine. Royal Flush uses first-flush Darjeeling tea, which is fermented for six weeks bringing out stone fruit and peach characteristics. Dry Dragon has a base of hand-picked Chinese tea, with a natural astringency and acidity. And they have just launched their brand new rosé, Peony Blush.
Connect with REAL on Instagram or visit their fermentery on the Waddesdon Estate.
Inspirational bartender, writer and wellness coach Derek Brown is our guest for episode 10 of Beyond Booze.
Derek began work as a bartender in 2000. He went on to establish The Columbia Room, an award-winning bar that shaped Washington DC’s cocktail culture for over a decade.
Derek’s personal relationship with alcohol took a turn following the birth of his son. He no longer drinks alcohol, and he’s become a passionate advocate for people drinking differently. He established Positive Damage Inc to create a culture of mindful drinking and making room for everyone at the bar with delicious low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks.
Connect with Positive Damage Inc on Instagram and visit their website for more.
Lucky Saint founder Luke Boase is our guest for episode 11 of Beyond Booze.
Luke’s journey to creating Lucky Saint started with two simple questions. How do you make a great-tasting alcohol-free beer? And how do you build a brand that will attract people? After two years of development, Lucky Saint launched in 2018.
Luke’s dogged determination to Lucky Saint has seen the brand’s reputation grow. Unsatisfied with simply delivering their unfiltered lager in cans and bottles, Lucky Saint launched on draught in January 2020. And the company recently opened their very own pub, The Lucky Saint, in London’s Marylebone.
Find Lucky Saint on Instagram. And check their interactive map of places they’re on tap.
Creator of All The Bitter, Ian Blessing, is Noah’s guest for episode 12 of Beyond Booze.
Ian and his wife Carly met while working together as sommeliers at one of the world’s finest three Michelin-star restaurants, The French Laundry, in Napa Valley. After having kids, they decided that alcohol wasn’t in their plan anymore, and immersed themselves in alcohol-free alternatives.
Surprised when they found limited alcohol-free bitters on the market – and nothing that truly felt classic – so they decided to make their own. The result is the remarkable alcohol-free cocktail bitters, All The Bitter.
All The Bitter is a favourite ingredient in our Tasting Room cocktails. Find the range exclusively in-store at 39 Drury Lane and follow All The Bitter on Instagram.
Episode 13 of Beyond Booze features Imme Ermgassen, co-founder of Botivo.
Prior to trying and falling in love with the complexity of Botivo, Imme was the last person anyone expected to rave about a non-alcoholic drink. Coming from a background in consumer strategy and insight, Imme has become a fierce advocate for healthy hedonism.
Botivo is breaking new ground among alcohol-free drinks, leaning into the herbal aperitif space with a refreshing, handmade infusion of five citrus, bittersweet and aromatic botanicals and a fermented apple base, balanced out with wildflower honey.
Try Botivo in-store at the Club Soda Tasting Room and follow Botivo on Instagram for inspiration.
In the Beyond Booze season finale, Noah meets Netflix Drink Masters champion LP O’Brien and her co-founder Alex Jump, the forces behind Focus on Health.
Focus on Health offers health and wellness training in the drinks and hospitality industry. Both LP and Alex have built formidable reputations in the drinks industry, and their joint venture was born out of their shared hope that with proper education, programming and conversations, hospitality workers can finally take care of their own wellbeing first while still pursuing excellence at work.
In their conversation with Noah, LP and Alex reflect on working together and making a difference in hospitality. And they share tips for making outstanding alcohol-free cocktails.
Find LP, Alex and Focus on Health on Instagram.
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