Club Soda Drink Special Podcast: Paul Mathew from Everleaf

Looking for a cocktail conversation that really hits the spot? This week, resident Club Soda mixologist and cocktail expert Noah Villeneuve talks to Paul Mathew, founder of Everleaf, in our first-ever Club Soda drink special podcast. Paul is a biologist by background before he got into making delicious AF drinks. He’s created this incredible drink, Everleaf, of which we stock three tantalising flavours in the Club Soda Tasting Room in Covent Garden which Noah uses to make our signature AF cocktails with. Paul and Noah have this brilliant conversation all about flavor and botany and ingredients and cocktail making, so get ready to nerd out over the delight of Everleaf in alcohol-free drinks.

Who is our podcast guest, Paul Mathew?

Many new alcohol-free drinks founders begin their journey trying to find a drink that they would really like to drink. While we know that Paul Mathew loves a glass of Everleaf, his journey into mixology actually began with the love of botany. His father was a master botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and Paul keenly followed his father’s footsteps, becoming a conservation biologist. Being surrounded by nature, delving into the world of plants, and learning about their delicious and positive uses led Paul to begin experimenting with mixology himself.

It was incredible to see different parts of the world, different biomes, and ecosystems, but also link those to drinks and how drinks were born out of the environment they came from. We spent a lot of time sourcing the best of everything and talking about where it came from and talking about sourcing of plants to create biomes to create flavor profiles. And to do that in a non-alc is just such a great opportunity. I think you could have done it in a gin or whatever. But for me, plants offered all the answers that we needed to create a great mouthfeel, great texture, great color, great aroma, and great flavor. So that was a really fantastic challenge to put together what I thought would be one of the best non-alcs, and that’s what we’ve tried to do with Everleaf.

Paul Mathew, founder of Everleaf

What is Everleaf?

Paul Mathew isn’t your average Alan Titchmarsh. Fast forward a few years from his biology days and Paul can be found behind his own trendy London bar, The Hide. He has combined his passion for plants with his charismatic approach to his customers to create non-alcoholic aperitifs that people love. Whether they’re enjoyed on their own as a spirit alternative popular with AF gin fans, or added to cocktails as Club Soda mixologist Noah has been discovering, Everleaf’s tantalising range of drinks are favourites of bartenders and alcohol-free connoisseurs alike.

There are plants that aren’t traditionally used in alcohol that we use because I know them and I love them or I know they have a really interesting flavor that will fill a gap that is left by something that we would otherwise need alcohol to extract. But I also have that kind of bartending background of understanding what flavors work, so I guess it’s those two things that have led to what we use in Everleaf. And what I’ve also tried to do with them is Make flavors that aren’t analogs of what’s in alcohol.

Paul Mathew, founder of Everleaf

Try Everleaf’s products in-store or order now on our new online shop

Later this February, we will start home delivery of drinks in the UK. It’s taken us a while to prepare for this, and thanks for your patience. Everleaf’s three delicious flavours, Marine, Mountain, and Forest, will be among the delicious spirit alternative that you’ll be able to order from our comprehensive online shop, so keep an eye on the website for the launch of this exciting new service!

If you’d rather try Everleaf before you buy, Noah and the team are ready to welcome you to 39 Drury Lane where you can try each of the three distinctly different and similarly mouthwatering drinks on offer from Everleaf. Noah has also created a range of alcohol-free cocktails unique to the Club Soda Tasting Room, often using premium product Everleaf to create his delectable concoctions, so come along and have a drink with us, courtesy of Paul Mathew. Cheers!