Non-alcoholic distilled spirit an innovative first in Canada
CHALLENGE
DistillX Beverages Inc. engaged with the Canadian Food & Wine Institute (CFWI) Innovation Centre to create Canada’s first non-alcoholic gin, under the brand label Sobrii Ø-Gin. The team needed to create a non-alcoholic distilled spirit better than anything on the market, with these constraints: no added sugar, natural ingredients, a clean label, and must incorporate a local ingredient. Sobrii’s mission is to create familiar yet unique authentic non-alcoholic cocktails with no compromise in taste. Producing a distilled non-alcoholic gin was a challenging endeavour since the flavour is first derived from ethanol. The trick was to remove the alcohol while leaving flavour behind while considering taste, colour, mouthfeel and shelf stability.
SOLUTION
The team brainstormed different methodologies and processes to determine the ideal method to produce something that has no added sugar, uses natural ingredients, a clean label and incorporates a local ingredient. Determining the process that matches the formulation was a difficult task, but by exploring various recipe options, the team determined the ideal ratio of ingredients and a process for creating the beverage. In replicating the refreshing flavour profile of traditional gin with juniper notes, the distilled non-alcoholic spirit includes classic botanicals such as coriander, star anise and allspice, as well as the non-traditional addition of local Canadian ginseng.
This project was made possible thanks to the CFWI Innovation Centre Technology Access Centre (TAC), funded by the Natural Sciences Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
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