Booze-free cocktail gives ‘same buzz’ as glass of wine

The bubbling non-alcoholic drinks market is set to be left shaken and stirred by a new competitor that claims their drinks will leave revellers feeling “buzzed” similar to having a first glass of wine.

Kieron Barton and his former bartender brother teamed up with American ethnobotanist to introduce nootropics in their faux cocktails to stimulate the brain.

They say their range Noot successfully replicates a non-alcoholic Negroni and ginger mule but without the booze.

Barton, who previously worked on the successful launch of fruit flavoured cider Rekorderlig Cider, said his new venture was inspired by being stuck with three kids in lockdown “trying to not go insane”.

“I try not to drink too much but the other non-alcoholic options in supermarkets were full of sugar and just a bit beige,” he tells TODAY. “There’s no real purpose to them.”

He could taste an opportunity though off the back of data that revealed a 72 per cent annual retail growth market last year in the booze-free sector and a market worth $152 million. There are a growing number of non-alcoholic drink shops in the city.

The brothers teamed up with an American ethnobotanist, who studies the effects of plants (usually within a particular culture) and the way they can affect a person’s cognitive function. “She helped put the blend together of the nootropics so the effect was relaxing and uplifting,” he says.

“You feel buzzed — that first glass of wine, mellow feeling,” he said of their cocktails.

Nootropics, also known as “smart drugs”, are natural plant or synthetically made extracts that can stimulate the mind and cognitive functions.

Barton says Noot uses milligrams of plant extracts that include Avena sativa, Schisandra chinensis, Passiflora incarnata, Camellia sinensis and Melissa officinalis.

And he insists the contents “is peer reviewed for efficacy”.

“All of these things are approved by the Food Standards Agency FSANZ. They are all in common foods,” Barton says. “The individual ingredients are approved. Any sort of products have to go through testing and meet certain requirements.”

With fears teens looking for legal highs might latch on, the businessman says: “What we do is within the guidelines and we label accordingly.”

After celebrity energy drink Prime from YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI went viral only to be banned in schools, Barton doesn’t feel teens will be attracted to his drinks despite the mellowing side effects.

“Noot is not marketed to people under the age of 18. They are marketed to people well above drinking age,” he said. “I have teenage daughters, they are not going to drink a negroni or G&T. They are just not the flavours that appeal to you at that age. It doesn’t make you intoxicated.”

As well as being able to drive home, Barton says their booze-free offering is win-win because they have zero sugar and boast 10 calories per serve.

Confident they will take off, Barton says “A bartender in Sydney said we had the taste spot on!” More info at nootdrink.com