London alcohol free bar criticises major drinks brands as ‘ignorant’
The Torstig alcohol free bar, the official Dry January bar for London, has opened in Hoxton and pops up until 20 January
Like pizza, Sunday walks on the Heath and the endorphin rush when you swipe someone on a dating app, a pint is one of life’s truest pleasures. Not being able to drink one during Dry January makes the pursuit of sobriety singularly miserable. You’ll be pleased to hear, then, that new opening Torstig has alcohol free Guinness on tap.
It’s the only place in London with casks of the inky stuff, which has won plaudits at the World Beer Awards and has tripled production after proving that zero percent needn’t be joyless. At Torstig, all of the drinks are alcohol free, not just Guinness. But trust that they know how to throw a party. “We’ve searched the world for the best alcohol free drinks,” says Emmi Edwards, founder of the bar, who I’m interviewing on her lunch break. She still works day-to-day in an office, but after trying nearly 6,000 alcohol free products, she and husband Luke opened their first alcohol free bar in Brighton in November 2022. “London was always the end game,” she says.
There’s an ignorance in that big brands think people who don’t drink alcohol are satisfied with [average drinks.] What we’re learning from our customers is that people are not satisfied without the best alcohol free drinks
Emmi Edwards, founder of Torstig
Now Torstig has become the Dry January official sponsor and has set up shop in a matter of weeks. It’s testament to their passion to promote the best low-and-no drinks on the planet. Out of the thousands they tried, 30 or 40 made it to the menu. The Hoxton venue, now open, looks like any other bar. It has communal tables, mood lighting, avocado green walls and lots of natural wood. And it’ll be open late, just like any other bar. Their message to prospective drinkers? Forget any low-and-no products you’ve tried by the big drinks companies.
What about Seedlip? “They’ve done a really good job of creating a huge market share, but actually it’s not a very good product,” says Edwards. “People have the misconception before they come to us that they’ve tried the best, but actually the drinks we sell are so much better.”
The major drinks companies have strong wholesaler relationships and so have easy access to get their products into bars across London, which leads Edwards to believe “they haven’t really had to try hard” to make a success of their products. “There’s an ignorance there in that [big brands think] people who don’t drink alcohol are satisfied with that. And what we’re learning and what we’re seeing from our customers is that people are not satisfied without the best alcohol free drinks. There are amazing products out there, but they’re the smaller batch ones. It’s just really hard to get that message across because companies like Diageo occupy the space.”
Torstig mixologists often combine three or four small batch alcohol free products into one cocktail to create what they believe are greatly enhanced products. The menu is straightforward, with twelve drinks in total, including two wines, four ‘mood altering’ cocktails, two ‘house faves’ and four classics. They include a noalcohol version of an espresso martini, for which the description reads: “She’s giving rich, creamy coffee notes.”
Read more: 9 great alcohol free drinks to have at home this Dry January
Stats suggest Gen-Z will be necking these cocktails in the pursuit of staying completely and utterly sober, whether Edwards uses en vogue language on her menu or not. Under 25-year-olds are drinking around 20 percent less alcohol than millennials did at the same age. It’s not just young people swerving after-work pints followed by a latenight kebab, however. One third of Brits have reduced or limited their alcohol intake over the past 12 months.
“Money is pouring into the alcohol free market,” surmises Edwards. “People are unsatisfied with Diet Coke and lemonade. The demand is growing and investment is pouring in. People are realising, actually, this is pretty bloody good.” Torstig is open until 20 January and the owners hope a permanent London space will follow.
Find the Torstig bar online
Read more: Five alcohol free events in London for Dry January