The best Scottish restaurants for non-alcoholic drinks - including new Michelin recommendations

A recent International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR) report showed the growth of no-alcohol spirits was expected to be up by 7 per cent last year from 2023. According to Alcohol Change UK, the reasons for the increase in people not drinking alcohol or drinking more mindfully include a growing awareness of alcohol's health risks, changing social norms, and the rise of "sober-curious" lifestyles, alongside economic factors and changes in youth culture.

With non-alcoholic beers tasting the same as their alcoholic counterparts, and non-alcoholic cocktails appearing in more and more bar menus, it seemed like the final frontier for the low and no category is that of the drinks pairings options for tasting menus.

These multiple-course menus have been increasingly popular, and are no longer only available at very high-end restaurants. Everywhere from a themed chain of restaurants and local gastropub to the best, Michelin Star restaurants, are offering their version of a tasting menu.

It is an experience, and certainly not anything that could be recreated at home, which is why the tasting menu seems to be staying put. Along with multiple courses of seasonal fayre, there is always usually a paired wine selection - glasses upon glasses of wines picked to complement each dish.

But what’s on the menu for those that either don’t drink or are driving? Growing in popularity along with the non-alcoholic category is that of the non-alcoholic pairing, and a number of award-winning Scottish restaurants are leading the way.

Often home-made and created with fermented, seasonal ingredients, these drinks showcase how far Scotland has come from water or a fizzy juice being the only non-alcoholic options. They also prove how skilled, and chef-like, a good bartender can be. Like adding seasoning to a final dish, these drinks are there to complement and balance, much like wine, but need to be made from scratch.

At a recent visit to Elements, the latest Scottish recipient of three AA Rosettes, I was blown away by the quality of their non-alcoholic drinks pairings, and the passion and knowledge of their bar manager, Connor Wren.

Mr Wren said the soft drinks pairing on their menu was the result of “about seven weeks worth of work”. He said: “It is about visualising the flavours. What would we pair with this if it was a wine? Why do we pair it that way? Is it because of acidity? Is it because of dryness? Is it because of tannin? Is it because of it being fruit forward, fresh or sweet?

“The processes that go into drinks themselves take a lot of work, but the result is worth it. For example, the beetroot soda that we use, it literally has to macerate it for 48 hours before you can even turn it into what it is. That’s not taking into account it being seasoned afterwards, before it’s bottled and then taken to the table. There’s a lot of moving parts, but it’s incredibly creative.”

It is a knowledge of wine, and wine pairings, that forms the foundations of the non-alcoholic drinks offering. Grant Coffield, head bartender of the recently Michelin recommended Fallachan Dining & Kitchen in Glasgow, said: “At Fallachan we certainly draw from our knowledge of pairing wine to direct how we think about pairing softs, but also an understanding of flavour combinations generally.

“We sit down and discuss first what wines we think might go with what dishes and from that reasoning we'll think of ingredients that can complement the dish similarly. Recently we paired a white Rioja with our langoustine dish, it has creamy, toasty notes from the oak and malo-lactic fermentation, and this inspired us to use whey as the base of the softs pairing for that dish.”

While creating these non-alcoholic drinks can be complicated and time consuming, sometimes they can be more straightforward than wine. Matilda Tsappis, co-owner of Killiecrankie House, said: “If you know you want a specific flavour profile or if you’re pairing something that can be difficult with alcohol - things like curry or heavy spicing - then it can be easier to create something with the balance you need rather than opening dozens of bottles trying to find something that can match up.

“Plus there is a lot of historic knowledge around pairing wines, whereas non-alcoholic pairing feels like relatively uncharted territory.”

Garlic, beetroot, apple, quince, mushrooms and last summer’s strawberries can all end up in these seasonal drinks, with Mrs Tsappis explaining these are not non-alcoholic cocktails.

“It is important to appreciate that these are paired drinks and are there to complement the food and not just be soft drinks,” she said. “Therefore, there is a whole range of savoury, unusual and interesting flavours that we can explore in combination with the dishes that we might not be looking at if we were just making non-alcoholic cocktails.”

Much like cheffing, bartending has advanced over the years and now employs techniques that used to be seen in kitchens only, such as using a sous vide machine or fermentation.

Mr Wren said: “Using a sous vida or ultra sonic bath [normally used to clean jewellery] can impart flavours as well as by-products of things that we already use. For example, things like acids, like citric and malicacids, come from wasted lemons and limes.”

Mr Coffield added: “Using lacto-fermentation is a great example of a technique for transforming different ingredients into something akin to the results achieved through alcoholic fermentation. The process breaks down compounds, producing new exciting and complex flavours that echo alcoholic drinks. You can even use the CO2 produced by the fermentation to carbonate beverages similar to champagne.”

The surprise may not lie in the figures on the growth of the UK’s relationship with non-alcoholic drinks, but ultimately in these Scottish restaurants, whose talented and creative staff continue to push the boundaries of flavour, whether that is on a plate or in a glass.