Product Evaluated:
Three Spirit Social Elixir
Three Spirit Nightcap
Three Spirit Livener
About Three Spirit
Founded by a bar nerd, a wellness brand developer, and a finance and operations maven, Three Spirit is a non-alcoholic beverage company unique for its usage of mildly psychoactive botanicals (don’t freak out–”psychoactive” just means that it makes you feel something; think caffeine or yerba mate).
What We Love
We’ve got heart eyes for this brand. The branding and packaging are beautiful. Two of the bottles are made of frosted glass, one of glossy green-tinted glass. The logo communicates that this brand is all about botanicals. They blend a modern sans-serif font for their brand name with a psychedelic, retro serif font for the product names. The bottles themselves are conversation starters. They give off witchy vibes, in the best way.
On the other side of the bottles you’ll find ingredient lists that read almost like herbal tea descriptions: ashwagandha, valerian root, schizandra berry, ginseng, and yerba mate all make an appearance. In case you’re wondering what all these words mean, they have a super helpful ingredient guide on their website.
But what’s inside those impeccable bottles? Turns out, pure magic. These drinks are complex, lightly sweet, and a little bitter. Where most non-alcoholic spirits are intended to be mixed with other ingredients to create mocktails, these delightful potions stand on their own, needing no accompaniment. Each product gives a serving recommendation, but we highly recommend trying them neat first to really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the flavor blending.
Tasting Notes
Livener – An earthy, nose-tingling aroma with notes of red fruit. The Livener starts out with a direct hibiscus tartness that yields to subtle sweetness and finally to a musky, woodsy flavor of dried roots and clean dirt. There’s also a little jolt of spice on the back of the tongue and top of the mouth that feels…well…enlivening! We could see topping this off with some seltzer for an even bubblier experience and to open up some of the complex botanical flavors lurking inside.
Social Elixir – A funky, fermented aroma leaning towards vinegar (but not nearly so sharp). The flavor profile is not quite as sweet as the Livener, and you get a nice, gentle vinegar burn on the back of the tongue the first few sips. After that, the smoothness is remarkable. There’s just the slightest bit of bitterness.
Nightcap – Deep and earthy aroma; like standing next to a woodpile. It’s smooth, soft, and warming with just enough acidity to keep things interesting. This was almost unanimously the favorite for our team. The serving recommendation says to serve it on ice, but we’re itching to try it warmed, in a non-alcoholic hot toddy with a little orange peel and ginger root.
