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In all his years running bar programs at places like The Drawing Room and The Aviary in Chicago, Charles Joly can’t recall anyone requesting a low-alcohol drink. If they wanted a lighter cocktail, they chose something like a gin fizz, he says; if they wanted more booze, they ordered a Manhattan.
“I would question how in touch the average imbiber is with the actual abv [alcohol by volume] of what they’re drinking,” says Joly, cofounder of Crafthouse Cocktails.
Similarly, bartenders at the Mustards Grill in San Francisco International Airport report that “make mine a double” is still part of their day-to-day vernacular. Of course, those patrons might be drinking to calm their nerves before boarding a plane, or to help them sleep on a long flight.
However, there are other occasions, such as weddings, corporate events and casual evenings at home, where U.S. drinkers are keen to sip low-abv libations. Whether you call it mindful drinking or conscious consumption, according to industry analysts at the IWSR, the low- and no-alcohol category is expected to grow by 31% worldwide by 2024, as more people adopt organics and a healthier lifestyle.
“This way of drinking is not about getting wasted,” says Helena Price Hambrecht, cofounder of Haus, a line of lower-proof aperitifs created in Sonoma County. “It’s about having drinks with fine ingredients, having intellectual conversation and maybe getting tipsy.”
Helena Price Hambrecht (left) and Haus cocktails / Photos by Cody Gulifoyle
Dazed and Confused
What exactly do we mean when we say low-alcohol, though? It depends on the drink and, in some cases, the drinker.
For wine, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) defines low as under 11%, medium from 11–14% and high as over 14% abv. But there’s no set standard for what constitutes “low” in spirits, cocktails or beer.
Session beers are lighter beers that have a quality U.K. drinkers call “moreish,” says Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery. For him, session beers have 2.5–4.5% abv compared to the 5% in average mass-market American lagers.
“At 4.5%, you can have full beer flavor, but avoid moving things along too quickly,” says Oliver. A stout is a traditional session; it tastes substantial, but only has about 3.8% abv. “Fifteen years ago, the average craft beer fan wasn’t interested in session beers; they seemed to offer ‘less bang for the buck,’ just like kabinett Rieslings at 8% in the wine world,” he says.
