Alcohol-free spirits with spice instead of alcohol
On the "alcohol-free spirits" shelf at nur Gutes, you will find bottles in which clove and allspice accompany juniper, cucumber lingers in the finish, gentian lies beneath bitter orange, and chili follows blood orange at the end. These are meant to be sipped long, usually over ice.
Alcohol-free spirits stands for spicy beverages without alcohol whose aroma is derived as a distillate, hydrolat, or infusion from herbs, berries, and peels. They are sought after as non-alcoholic spirits, but legally none of these drinks is a spirit, as that category only begins at 15% vol. according to EU law.
Juniper and herbs enter the bottle as distillate, hydrolat, or infusion
There are three ways to achieve spice on this shelf, and each time, the result is a drink without alcohol. Windspiel in the Volcanic Eifel macerates its botanicals—letting the plants soak in liquid—and then distills them. The master distiller there is Holger Borchers, and the recipe remains a company secret.
Jörg Geiger in Schlat puts juniper or caraway in water and distills them. What runs out of the still then is a hydrolat, a water full of plant fragrance. With juices of apple, cucumber, and gooseberry and a little carbonation, this becomes the Dzin Bitter, ready to drink from the bottle.
In the San Orangello from Berlin, herbal distillates from which the alcohol has been removed after distillation stand alongside bitter orange, gentian root, and artichoke leaves. The San Limello from the same house, on the other hand, is carried by an infusion of lemons.
In November 2025, the European Court of Justice ruled that a beverage without alcohol may not be called gin, not even with the addition of "alcohol-free." In 2026, the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, though not yet final, also prohibited descriptions that measure such a drink against a spirit. As a beverage name, "Kümmel" (caraway) is as protected as gin, whereas the word "bitter" may be used by a drink without alcohol.
The scent of juniper and dill from Schlat, alongside the spice of clove, gentian, and chili
The two bottles from the Jörg Geiger manufactory are in the highest demand, above all the Dzin Bitter. This virgin long drink with juniper and cucumber smells of lemon and bitter orange before the cucumber appears in the long finish.
The Aecht Kimmel smells green like dill, with notes of honey and chamomile blossom, before caraway and, at the end, a touch of tannin follow. For this, Wilfried Holder grows the meadow caraway on the Swabian Alb again.
From the Volcanic Eifel comes the alcohol-free distillate with juniper, which Windspiel offers as a base for long drinks and cocktails. The fragrance is led by clove and allspice, followed by berries and a citrus note that lingers.
The bitter herbal side is represented by the bitter orange with herbal distillates from Christina Jagla's house, dark amber-orange in the bottle. Providing spice in the finish is the Zero Spritz from Werne, a blood orange with chili and a tart herbal note in between. We introduce the spritzes and bases from Dr. Jaglas and Windspiel in detail in our non-alcoholic aperitifs and spritzes collection.
For alcohol-free spirits, the spice leads you to the right glass
Those picking a bottle from the alcohol-free spirits shelf at nur Gutes first ask about the spice, then the production method, and finally the glass it goes into. Regarding spice, there are four directions to choose from: juniper in the Windspiel distillate and the Dzin Bitter; caraway and dill in the Aecht Kimmel; bitter orange with gentian in the San Orangello; and chili with blood orange in the Zero Spritz.
Regarding the production method, a distinction is made between the distillate, which you pour as a base (e.g., with tonic), and the hydrolat from Schlat, which is already ready to drink with juice and carbonation. The San Orangello is also mixed with tonic according to the house recipe.
Two houses specify the glass: Jörg Geiger suggests a Burgundy or long drink glass over ice at 8 to 10 °C, while Dr. Jaglas recommends a wine glass with ice and an orange slice for the San Orangello. Choose by spice, distinguish by method, and serve in the appropriate glass.
The distillate wants tonic, the long drinks from Schlat want cold and ice
You mix the Windspiel distillate with a tonic water from the same manufactory or use it as a base for a cocktail. Once opened, it keeps unrefrigerated for at least eight weeks, so the bottle waits in the cupboard until the next evening calls for it.
You pour the two long drinks from Schlat well-chilled over ice, just as they come from the bottle. Serve the San Orangello with grilled dishes, artichokes, and marinated olives, poured long and with plenty of ice.
Then one glass on the table smells of clove and the other of cucumber, and the glasses pass from hand to hand so everyone can compare. None of these bottles were made for a quick shot in one go; they all want space in the glass and a little time.
Clove and allspice for winter, cucumber and ice for summer
When it gets dark early, clove and allspice belong in the glass—the distillate from the Volcanic Eifel with tonic, while the first frost lies on the windows outside. In summer, the long drinks from Schlat sit cold on the garden table, between the salad bowl and the bread basket, and the cucumber in them comes in handy.
In between lie all the evenings when someone at the table toasts without alcohol, and for each one of them, this shelf holds a unique spice.
