Chances are you know someone - or are someone - who doesn't drink alcohol. Restaurant and bar menus are increasingly adapting to feature mocktails and other booze-free drink options, and Vancouver is home to two stores that specialize in zero-proof bottles and cans.
Now Vancouver is about to have a fun tasting event called Free Spirit that is all about raising a glass to non-alcoholic beverages, and it takes place on Thursday, January 16.
Even better, it's being organized by a Vancouver sommelier and features the support of the proprietor of one of the city's best spots to buy spirit-free bevs, the Drive Canteen.
Free Spirit will be assembling in one spot for the first time several major players in the zero-proof sector, including importers and makers of alcohol-free wine, beer, spirits and packaged cocktails.
Kurtis Kolt, who co-founded Vancouver's chic natural wine tasting event Top Drop a decade ago, is putting together the event.
"Whether it's dubbed non-alc, zero-proof, or alcohol-free - the drinks category enjoyed by those doing Dry January, the sober-curious, and the rest of us continues to grow," he says in the event announcement.
To that end, he is bringing together over 25 participants who will be pouring samples, and the list includes folks like Vancouver's Edna's Cocktails and Nonny alongside imported labels like Phony Negroni out of the States.
To pair with the pours, the Top Drop somm has teamed up with one of Vancouver's top spots for burgers, DownLow, to provide eats for the event. Additionally, DownLow founder Doug Stephen will have a bottle shop on site from his biz, Drive Canteen. The Commercial Drive hangout is renown for its selection of zero-proof beer, wine, and packaged drinks.
Free Spirit will be held at the Ellis Building and tickets are on sale now for $48 per person.
Here's the full list of Free Spirit participants:
- Benjamin Bridge
- Bibi
- Brochet
- Caleño
- Cognato
- Colibri
- Domaines Des Grottes/L'antidote
- Dry Goods
- Edenvale
- Edna's Cocktails
- Free Spirits
- Ghia
- Glimmer
- La Colombette
- Lautus
- Leitz
- Luminara
- Maison Chavin
- Noa
- Non
- Nonny
- Noughty
- Oddbird
- Ones+
- Phony Negroni
- Strange Fellows
- Undone
- Wilfred's
Free Spirit Vancouver
When: Thursday, January 16, 2025 from 7-9 p.m.
Where: The Ellis Building, 1024 Main St
Tickets: $48 per person. Purchase online via Eventbrite.
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