Good Qs with Three Spirit Drinks

Three Spirit Drinks was founded as a truly enjoyable alternative to drinking. 

We sat down with founders Dash Lilley, Tatianna Mercer and Meena Gournay, to discuss adaptogens, botanical alchemy and the future of the alcohol-free drinks industry. 

Three Spirit Drinks is an exciting concept, could you tell us more about it?

As in life, the magic is in fluctuations – every night out (or in!) has different phases to it, and different drinks fit different moods. Our range of non-alcoholic spirits are designed to bring the power of plants to every occasion, from start to finish.

The Livener is there to act as the perfect party pick-me-up with euphoric-inducing ingredients like schisandra and guayusa. Social Elixir is great as a social companion, with ingredients like lion’s mane mushroom giving you a blissful feeling. Finally there’s Nightcap, which is pretty explanatory by the name, helping you unwind with ingredients like valerian root and lemon balm.

What was behind the decision to launch an alcohol-free elixir?

There have always been two options for social occasions, ‘drinking’ and ‘not drinking.’ We wanted to create a third way of drinking for people who still enjoy the social aspects and rituals that come with alcohol. Our mission is to show people that alcohol-free doesn’t mean pleasure-free, and we want to power those social occasions with plants.

We have seen a huge boom in the functional wellness industry with smoothies, supplements and energy drinks. Alcohol and socialising is a space that deserves this kind of innovation too.

Medicinal plant ingredients are fundamental to your products. What research goes into discovering the benefits of these ingredients?

It’s all thanks to the people we work with! Geyan Surendran is our Developmental Scientist, he currently looks after our scientific research, as well as ensuring that our drinks are made with society and the environment in mind. Geyan studied physiology at university and has spent the last decade between bars, distilleries and laboratories.

Thanks to him, our first collaborative project, featuring an in-depth study of one of the key compounds within Nightcap - β-myrcene, was peer reviewed and published in the scientific journal ‘Frontiers in Nutrition’.

We’ve also worked with lots of different scientists such as Prof. Michael Heinrich - Head of Ethnobotany and Pharmacognosy at UCL. During our research and development stage we also talked with Dr. Shelini Surendran, a Nutrigeneticist at Surrey University and Rebecca Lazarou, a medicinal plant researcher at Kew Gardens.

What excites you the most about your job?

D: Our mission, in short. My job is pure pleasure innovation; to achieve this we do what no one else has done and go places no other drinks brand would dare. Our process, Botanical Alchemy, is complex, delicate and takes time – maceration, fermentation, distillation, reverse osmosis, freeze-drying, ultrasonic extraction – you name it, we’re pioneering it. It’s incredibly rewarding.

What does Three Spirit Drinks offer that other alcohol-free products do not? Are the adaptogens your elixirs boast, the key difference?

We’re a pleasure-based company. Our products are designed by bartenders and plant scientists and we’re focused on what goes in a non-alcoholic drink, not about what’s missing. We’re absolutely not about taking pleasure out!

Brands like Three Spirit are taking it further with functional elements in their creations which have been said to promote positive benefits such as stimulation, relaxation and stress relief, adding value and purpose to the non alcoholic drinking occasion.

What do you think is the future of the alcohol-free beverage industry?

Things seem to be getting more interesting, and it’s less about imitation and more innovation. There are more adult and complex offerings which use strong flavours to achieve interesting drinking experiences. We are seeing massive improvements in innovation around low alcohol brewing techniques resulting in some amazing non alcoholic beers. These high quality products are actually changing drinking habits of many beer drinking males who are not looking to quit booze, but are looking for options for day time, mid week and more mindful drinking occasions.

Botanical alchemy and euphorics are growing in popularity. I think we’re going to focus on a better name to this industry other than alcohol-free! ‘No & low’, ‘alcohol free’ and ‘non-alcoholic’ are all a bit clunky, and dwell on the negative. Names set expectations, and in this case, I think the industry is focused much more on their functional ingredients as well as taste.

What are the challenges affecting sustainability in your industry?

Keeping costs down whilst remaining responsible. We expect each of our suppliers and farmers to hold themselves to the same high environmental and ethical working standards that we have -and have policies in place to ensure that our partners are audited to ensure this.

We’ve worked hard to make our practices fair and sustainable, which means our ingredients cost more to source and therefore our drinks are more expensive to make!

Do you recycle? Should we recycle? 

Yes! Our packaging uses only recycled or recyclable materials derived from sustainable sources. This includes bottles, protective packaging and decorative packaging.

How do you take care of yourself? What are your self-care tips?

T: I have two little boys and a start-up business; the chaos is hard to avoid! But I’m pretty healthy, I walk to work and I like going to gym classes. Dash makes us Cacao hot chocolate at work which he swears by, and I take a mix of supplements. Lots of Nightcaps in the bath! Cooking, seeing friends, and having fun are things I view as important to my happiness. But not putting too much pressure on yourself As a Mum you can feel guilty a lot and it’s important to give yourself a break and do what makes you feel good.

What is on your must-see, or must-read list right now?

M: I loved Premonition by Michael Lewis, The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

What Good News have you had / heard this week?

We have recently launched Blurred Vines, [the Three Spirit] take on a non-alcoholic wine!