What’s shakin, cocktail fans? Welcome to Episode 221 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!
This time around, we’re joined by Maria Denton, the Southeast Regional Manager for Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirits. They’re one of the heavy hitters in the no-ABV product space, boasting a lineup of over a dozen zero-proof spirits and mixers, as well as non-alcoholic sparkling wines and ready-to-drink cocktails.
In this refreshing and perfectly balanced conversation with Maria Denton, Southeast Regional Manager for Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirits, some of the topics we discuss include:
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How Maria used her career working for one of the world’s most prestigious spirits brands and managing one of Washington, DC’s busiest bar programs as a timely springboard into her current position with Lyre’s.
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What creating non-alcoholic spirits has in common with building the aroma profile of a perfume, and how that allows Lyre’s to create products with the world’s most popular cocktails squarely in the crosshairs.
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We also taste what (I assume) is the world’s first non-alcoholic Absinthe, and we pair it with All The Bitter’s New Orleans Style Bitters and Lyre’s American Malt no-ABV whiskey to create a fantastic Sazerac.
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We also get the chance to address some pointed listener questions about how to handle technical factors like temperature and dilution in no-ABV cocktails.
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Along the way, we find out which new spirits and mixers we can expect from Lyre’s in the near future, where the Champagne Queen stands on non-alcoholic Prosecco, where to grab a drink with your favorite impressionist painter, and much, much more.
As the conclusion of our series on low- and no-ABV drinks, we’re thrilled to put out this conversation because it shines light on a whole other set of production methods and use cases that we haven’t covered yet, and Maria is an excellent guide when it comes to explaining how to utilize non-alcoholic spirits of all kinds in your favorite cocktail formats.
We’d also like to give a big shout-out to Brian and the team from Hatoba, located in the Navy Yard here in DC, where we recorded this interview. It’s a great venue with awesome food and drinks. Check out this video of him making a signature NA cocktail called the “Apple Pi” using Lyre’s American Malt no-ABV whiskey.