But it’s more than just a moment. We caught up with Jen Batchelor, Chief Euphorics Officer (that’s right) at Kin Euphorics, one of our very favorite non-alcoholic spirit brands. The Standard partnered with Kin on the Madame Ruby mocktail at The Standard, East Village—a rich and fizzy palate pleaser you’ve got to try.
It seems like Dry January gets more popular every year. What’s your theory about that?
Real friends don’t let real friends sit idly by while they are busy changing their lives for the better. Every year that goes by, more and more people are sharing the results of having skipped alcohol for an extended period of time, 30 days being the standard. That it happens in January is really just a factor of our collective belief in new beginnings—the energy and optimism of a clean slate helping push us just far enough into our desire that it has the power to propel us into a new realm of feeling, being, thinking.
So, word of mouth has a lot to do with it, but so does the rapid proliferation of new options for all walks of drinking persuasions and palates. It makes me really proud to see how many guests are able to be served today behind our humble beginnings. We’ve seen the groundswell from ground zero and the (dry) sky is truly the limit.
Since forever, the bar experience for non-drinkers has been limited to Diet Coke or club soda. Have we reached the NA tipping point where that’s over?
Definitely. Any F&B establishment worth their salt-ed margarita is rolling out alcohol free menu options today. It signals to their guest that they are inclusive and have a unique perspective on this massive trend and that it’s worth just as much attention as their signature cocktails or food offering. They’re not phoning it in or checking a box, and that speaks volumes for folks choosing to abstain from drinking (for a day or a decade) not only in helping them feel seen but also well-served, which should be the main goal of any great bar.
Tell us about the Madame Ruby mocktail at The Standard, East Village.
It’s an absolute gem of a drink. I’m partial to Kintail creations that tap the world of culinary herbs to heighten the existing flavors of our base of euphorics. The Madame Ruby features tarragon and lemon, fresh strawberry all of which make a perfect complement to our Kin Bloom—an herbaceous take on a sparkling, oaky, earthy, strawberry wine activated by adaptogenic mainstays like ashwagandha and damiana, schisandra, plus rosemary, GABA, l-theanine.
It’s heart-opening, it’s juicy and complex. I love it.
Some non-alcoholic (NA) bevs just mimic the flavor of alcoholic drinks. Kin’s products feature really unique flavor profiles so they stand alone and apart from spirited cocktails. Was that always your intention?
Yes! We find that analog alcohol-free offerings don’t suit all non-drinkers, namely those on a recovery journey. Someone in AA just does not want to enjoy a zero proof whiskey at the end of a long day and frankly neither do many folks looking for a sustainable alternative (something they can drink every day). Because our drinks have functional, mildly psychotropic effects we wanted our flavors to be iconic, distinct, craveable, memorable—so we broke the mold on flavor and designed them from scratch letting the key botanicals guide the way.
Sober sex! No regrets! And a bright beautiful morning ahead hangover-free, of course.
One of the things we love about Kin is that it brings all these amazing aspects—nootropics, Ayurvedic medicine—to the drinking experience. How did you develop your expertise about these ingredients, and are they hard to procure?
Thank you! One of our favorite things to do is throw the rulebook out on what all ingredients “should” play together, or whether or not herbs, vitamins or consciousness for that matter, belonged at the bar. While I do have training as an Ayurvedic practitioner, it’s been a long 10-year journey discovering what there is to know about the psychotropic powers of nootropics both through the leading experts in the space, biochemists and neuropharmacologists but also just through tried and true self-experimentation. What stood out to those that wanted to share their expertise was that we were more interested in knowing about their recreational value beyond their usual transactional, prescriptive application.
We’re proud to have been the first in class to take a nod from the world of herbology in creating a new entourage effect, and in that a breakthrough kinship, between plant-based psychotropic ingredients and the new kids on the block, nootropics. We keep push boundaries to this day by using every day (FDA approved) nutritive ingredients and applying the latest in emulsion technologies to make them more effective so you can have a new experience with them as a drinker. The ingredients themselves are only hard to procure insofar as a lot of them are seasonal so we need to watch for (or better yet, embrace) differences in flavor as we are forced to source all over the world.
Are there mistakes you see brands making in the NA space?
Every brand that’s out there aiming to serve drinkers of all walks has a place on the shelf, in my opinion—especially if it’s low alc or zero proof and genuinely mission-driven. They’re doing their thing and that is incredibly difficult and important.
If I can offer some advice to any brands out there, it would just be to stay focused on their best guest. Curate the experience so they feel seen and trust in them to tell you what they love about you and do more of that. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. The beverage category is incredibly fun so keep it weird, make it sexy...or not! Find your people and listen to them. We may use serious ingredients but we never lose sight of how lucky we are to be in a business of service where winning means you’re having a good time.
What’s your favorite thing about a non-alcoholic night out?
Sober sex! No regrets! And a bright beautiful morning ahead hangover-free, of course.
If anyone missed the boat on Dry January, what other month of 2024 would you recommend taking a break from alcohol?
Every damn month. Start on the 5th start on the 17th, whatever—whenever you start is sheer perfection so long as you are called. There’s boldness in beginnings and the first of the month is just an arbitrary number anyway. You’ll never miss the boat on you taking care of you. A break from alcohol is a meaningful, powerful gift to your beautiful, creative, sexy brain—a boon to your skin, to your libido, to your friends, your kids, all the people around you! Do it, I’ve never met anyone who regretted it, just that they didn’t choose it sooner.
