We’re back with a brand new season of our Club Soda podcast and we’re really excited about the content that we have to share with you. As you know, we took a break during October to run our Global Mindful Drinking Festival. We had lots of great conversations with some fascinating, inspirational, and enthusiastic people, and you can still access over 30 hours of video content to download right here.
We’ve chosen to kick off Season 3 of the podcast with one of our favourite festival conversations with the brilliant Tom from Wise Bartender. He chats with Club Soda founder Laura about how far the low alcohol and alcohol-free drinks industry has come over the last decade, and give tips and advice on their favourite wines, beers, botanicals, kombucha, and more!
What is Wise Bartender?
Wise Bartender is an alcohol-free drinks specialist website run by Tom Ward. Boasting the UK’s widest range of great alcohol-free drinks on the market, Club Soda and Wise Bartender are long time friends and work together to provide our fantastic subscription boxes. Having just turned 4 years old, the company, operating from the West Country, offers low and no alcohol beers, wines, sodas, kombucha, spirits, and cocktails. The aim of Wise Bartender is simple: to bring the largest selection of really great alcohol-free drinks to the largest audience so that we, consumers, of no and low alcohol drinks, get to choose gorgeous beverages that suit our particular palate.
What did we learn about great alcohol-free drinks from Tom?
We think it’s true to say that Tom is a pretty good person to ask about drinks alternatives. He’s not just a vendor of drinks, he really is an alcohol-free drink connoisseur with a passion for living well.
I guess the backstory to it is that my background is actually public health. So I’m not in the drinks industry or anything like that. But I kind of saw the need for us as a country, that we needed to drink a little bit less. So whether that means you moderate down or stop drinking whatever that decision is, people can make it. But how can they make that decision without some good alternatives?
Tom and Laura talk about new innovations coming out of the alcohol-free wine industry, the positives of single-serve bottles, low sugar cocktails, and how big brands are getting in on the alcohol-free spirits trend.
Great alcohol-free drinks to try
If you like the suggestions that Tom and Laura discuss in this podcast, then we invite you to subscribe to one of our two great alcohol-free drinks subscription boxes.
Want to be the first to have a taste of a range of new alcohol-free drinks around the world? Our very own curated Discovery box contains great alcohol-free drinks, from beers to cocktails, spirits to mixers. It includes exciting seasonal specials, new releases, and some of our favourites as discussed in this podcast.
If you’re more partial to a glass of wine but haven’t discovered your favourite yet, then our monthly Wine Box is the one for you. Each month, we will send you a curated box containing a mix of alcohol-free wines and wine alternatives. The box is built by Christine Parkinson and Laura Willoughby MBE – every month they film a tasting where you will get to learn how to taste alcohol-free wine with expert guidance.
And if you’re looking for a Christmas gift for someone in your life who’s discovering the plethora of great alcohol-free drinks alternatives (or you just quite fancy it for yourself), why not try Wise Bartender’s Interactive Alcohol-Free Advent Calendars? Choose from a Sweet and Tasty calendar, packed with cheeky ciders and fruity cocktails, or opt for the Beer Calendar, which includes lager, pilsner, stout, ale, IPA and wheat beers from your favourite brands.
Get more tips and tricks on the Club Soda podcast
Our podcast is available on all your favourite podcasting platforms, like Apple, Google and Spotify. Subscribe today and get all our latest news, interviews and drinks reviews.
The Club Soda podcast is available wherever you subscribe to podcasts. Find your platform here.