These Mocktails Are No Shirley Temples

As hipsters rediscover classic cocktails like the Sidecar, their teetotaling friends are stuck with cola, water, or such treacly confections as the Shirley Temple. After one too many mocktails at pubs, Ben Branson decided to create a nonalcoholic alternative to booze that didn’t taste like it was made for children. Turning to The Art of Distillation, a spirits-making guide first published in 1651, the former branding consultant began experimenting in his kitchen in a cottage near London. The result: Seedlip, a ginlike drink that aims to deliver the depth of flavor and mouthfeel of a high-end spirit—but with no alcohol.

Introduced two years ago, Seedlip is riding the wave of interest in more healthful artisanal food and drink that’s boosting sales of everything from quinoa to craft beer to premium tonic. Branson’s brand, which comes with the pretensions of the trendiest small-batch spirits—and the premium price, $55 in the U.S.—is stocked in more than 100 Michelin-starred restaurants. It sells online for more than four times the price of Ginsin, which markets itself as a nonalcoholic gin made with botanicals including hibiscus and lavender. Last year, Spirits giant Diageo Plc took a minority stake in Seedlip. “We know we should be exercising, we know we should probably be drinking less midweek,” says Branson, who gave up alcohol about seven years ago. “I wanted to do something about it and solve this dilemma of ‘What do you drink when you’re not drinking?’ ”