The world of alcohol-free spirits is growing fast, with new drinks appearing weekly, if not daily. Some of the new non-alcoholic drinks are very different from their alcoholic counterparts, so it may be difficult to know how best to serve them. We try to provide some help in this article, with expert help from Double Dutch, producers of premium mixers and tonics. Double Dutch was founded by twin sisters Joyce and Raissa de Haas (yes, they are Dutch too!) in London and has won many awards for the quality of their drinks. They are widely available in the UK, and also sold online in the EU and a few other countries.
Types of drink mixers
The four most commonly used types of mixers are tonic, ginger ale/ginger beer, cola, and lemonades. Tonic water, sometimes also called Indian tonic, gets its bitter taste from quinine. Quinine has been used as a medicine against the tropical disease malaria. You can buy unflavoured tonic, low calorie versions, and nowadays also many flavoured variations.
Ginger ale is a light, carbonated, clean drink made with ginger and water. Ginger beer is brewed and fermented, which makes it more spicy with more heat and ginger flavour than ginger ale. Mass produced cola drinks are amongst the most popular drinks on earth, but for a mixer for your alcohol-free spirit you may want to look for better quality brands. We are big fans of Square Root cola for example. And lemonades and other soft drinks come in an infinite variety.
Choosing a mixer for a non-alcoholic spirit
So how to go about choosing a mixer for your alcohol-free spirit? Sometimes just thinking about the alcoholic alternative may be helpful, especially for alcohol-free drinks that mimic a full strength one (for example rums, gins, and vodkas). There may be a classic mixer you can use for your alcohol-free spirit as well – gin with tonic is perhaps the example most of us would think of first.
A more difficult – and interesting – question is what to mix with a non-alcoholic drink that doesn’t resemble any existing alcoholic drink. And these types of drinks are becoming more common as producers experiment with new flavours and production methods. A good starting point is to consider the flavours and ingredients of your drink, and try to match your mixer to them. Feel free to experiment and try different combinations of drinks! And don’t forget that most drink producers have suggested serves on their websites, so it’s worth checking what they recommend too.
To help you get started, we have listed below the suggestions from Double Dutch for all the spirits for sale in our alcohol-free pop-up shop in London.
Pairing an alcohol-free spirit with a mixer
The table below lists, first in the left-hand column, in alphabetical order 64 alcohol-free spirits. The second column has the suggested Double Dutch mixer (or mixers, for some drinks we have more than one recommendation).
Alcohol-free spirit | Matching Double Dutch mixer |
Anon Bittersweet Aperitif | Pomegranate & Basil |
Anon Spiced Cane | Ginger Beer |
Atopia Spiced Citrus | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Caleño Dark and Spicy | Cranberry & Ginger / Ginger Ale / Ginger Beer |
Caleño Light and Zesty | Cucumber & Watermelon / Bloody Mary Soda |
CEDER’S Crisp | Cucumber & Watermelon |
CEDER’S Pink Rose | Cranberry & Ginger |
Celtic Soul | Ginger Ale |
CleanCo Clean G | Cucumber & Watermelon |
CleanCo Clean G Rhubarb | Cranberry & Ginger / Cucumber & Watermelon |
CleanCo Clean R | Cranberry & Ginger |
CleanCo Clean T | Margarita Soda |
CleanCo Clean V | Cranberry & Ginger / Cucumber & Watermelon |
Conker Bowser LEAF | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Everleaf Forest | Ginger Beer |
Everleaf Marine | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Everleaf Mountain | Pomegranate & Basil |
Fluére Original Botanical Blend | Indian Tonic Water / Skinny Tonic Water |
Fluére Raspberry Blend | Pomegranate & Basil |
Fluére Smoked Agave | Margarita Soda |
Fluére Spiced Cane | Ginger Beer |
Gimber No 1 | Margarita Soda |
Gnista Barreled Oak | Ginger Ale |
Gnista Floral Wormwood | Pomegranate & Basil |
Good Koffee Black Cardamon | Ginger Ale |
Good Koffee Saffron Gold | Double Lemon |
Highpoint Amber Digestif | Ginger Ale |
Highpoint Ruby Aperitif | Pomegranate & Basil |
Lyre’s Absinthe | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Lyre’s Amaretti | Cranberry & Ginger |
Lyre’s American Malt | Ginger Ale |
Lyre’s Aperitif Dry | Cranberry & Ginger / Cucumber & Watermelon |
Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso | Pomegranate & Basil |
Lyre’s Coffee Originale | Double Lemon |
Lyre’s Dark Cane | Ginger Beer |
Lyre’s Dry London Spirit | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Lyre’s Italian Orange | Pomegranate & Basil |
Lyre’s Italian Spritz | Pomegranate & Basil |
Lyre’s Orange Sec | Ginger Beer |
Lyre’s Pink London Spirit | Pomegranate & Basil |
Lyre’s Spiced Cane | Margarita Soda |
Lyre’s White Cane Spirit | Cranberry & Ginger / Margarita Soda |
Mahala Botanical | Cranberry & Ginger |
Maria and Craig’s | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Marie Laveau | Margarita Soda |
NLL Aegean Sky | Pomegranate & Basil |
NLL First Light | Cucumber & Watermelon |
NLL Midnight Sun | Cranberry & Ginger |
Ovant Grace | Pomegranate & Basil |
Ovant Royal | Ginger Ale |
Ovant Verve | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Penrhos Zero Raspberry | Pomegranate & Basil |
Pentire Adrift | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Pentire Seaward | Cranberry & Ginger |
Sea Arch Coastal Juniper | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Seedlip Garden 108 | Cucumber & Watermelon |
Seedlip Grove 42 | Pomegranate & Basil |
Seedlip Spice 94 | Indian Tonic Water / Pomegranate & Basil |
Sprigster Original Shrub Infused Liquor | Double Lemon |
Strykk Not Vanilla Vodka | Double Lemon |
Strykk Not Vodka | Bloody Mary Soda |
Three Spirit Livener | Margarita Soda |
Three Spirit Nightcap | Cranberry & Ginger |
Three Spirit Social Elixir | Ginger Ale |
Pairing a mixer with an alcohol-free spirit
Our second table works the opposite the way: for each mixer type in the first column, we list the matching alcohol-free spirits in the second column.
Double Dutch mixer | Matching non-alcoholic spirits |
Bloody Mary Soda | Caleño Light and Zesty, Strykk Not Vodka |
Cranberry & Ginger | Caleño Dark and Spicy, CEDER’S Pink Rose, CleanCo Clean G Rhubarb, CleanCo Clean R, CleanCo Clean V, Lyre’s Amaretti, Lyre’s Aperitif Dry, Lyre’s White Cane Spirit, Mahala Botanical, NLL Midnight Sun, Pentire Seaward, Three Spirit Nightcap |
Cucumber & Watermelon | Atopia Spiced Citrus, Caleño Light and Zesty, CEDER’S Crisp, CleanCo Clean G, CleanCo Clean G Rhubarb, CleanCo Clean V, Conker Bowser LEAF, Everleaf Marine, Lyre’s Absinthe, Lyre’s Aperitif Dry, Lyre’s Dry London Spirit, Maria and Craig’s, NLL First Light, Ovant Verve, Pentire Adrift, Sea Arch Coastal Juniper, Seedlip Garden 108 |
Double Lemon | Good Koffee Saffron Gold, Lyre’s Coffee Originale, Sprigster Original Shrub Infused Liquor, Strykk Not Vanilla Vodka |
Ginger Ale | Caleño Dark and Spicy, Celtic Soul, Gnista Barreled Oak, Good Koffee Black Cardamon, Highpoint Amber Digestif, Lyre’s American Malt, Ovant Royal, Three Spirit Social Elixir |
Ginger Beer | Anon Spiced Cane, Caleño Dark and Spicy, Everleaf Forest, Fluére Spiced Cane, Lyre’s Dark Cane, Lyre’s Orange Sec |
Indian Tonic Water | Fluére Original Botanical Blend, Seedlip Spice 94 |
Margarita Soda | CleanCo Clean T, Fluére Smoked Agave, Gimber No 1, Lyre’s Spiced Cane, Lyre’s White Cane Spirit, Marie Laveau, Three Spirit Livener |
Pomegranate & Basil | Anon Bittersweet Aperitif, Everleaf Mountain, Fluére Raspberry Blend, Gnista Floral Wormwood, Highpoint Ruby Aperitif, Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso, Lyre’s Italian Orange, Lyre’s Italian Spritz, Lyre’s Pink London Spirit, NLL Aegean Sky, Ovant Grace, Penrhos Zero Raspberry, Seedlip Grove 42, Seedlip Spice 94 |
Skinny Tonic Water | Fluére Original Botanical Blend |