Many of the larger multinational drink companies are moving into the no- and low-alcohol market as demand increases. While there are plenty of Irish artisanal alcohol-free drinks producers, only a few have ventured into the spirits market. One such company is Silk Tree, set up by Andrew Oates and Tracy Cassidy. The husband-and-wife team behind the alcohol-free gin have been in business for around two and a half years.
When the couple decided to give up alcohol, they found they had a lot more energy in the evenings and put it to good use by designing a substitute to gin. “Ours is a genuine kitchen recipe. It took a couple of months work using a micro-distiller, to come up with the right formula, with lots of testing on friends and neighbours.”
They macerate the botanicals in alcohol and then dilute with water; other than that, there is nothing added or taken. There is less than 0.5 per cent alcohol remaining. Cassidy says they have to use considerably more botanicals, as alcohol is a very good purveyor of small amounts of flavour. It is distilled in Co Monaghan.
“The reception has been fantastic. We are still very small, but we have seen a 300 per cent uptake on sales during lockdown. Silk Tree won a BBC Food and Farming award in 2019 for the best non-alcoholic drink which really helped us.”
As for cocktails, Cassidy says that while Silk Tree and tonic is the obvious combination, “many customers also try it with ginger ale or soda water with berries. Many of our customers come back to us with new cocktails they have created.” There is also a downloadable cocktail recipe book on their website. I tried various mixers with Silk Tree and enjoyed it both with tonic and with soda water. It is spicy, with plenty of cinnamon, but also clean notes of juniper and citrus. You are unlikely to mistake it for a real gin and tonic, but it certainly does provide a good alternative if you are avoiding alcohol.
Silk Tree costs €29.50 from independents including Celtic Whiskey, and SuperValu and Donnybrook Fair.
