What Makes a Great Non-Alc Bottle Shop? (pt. 2)
I’m super excited to bring you the 2nd issue in this travel-based series of What Makes a Great NA Bottle Shop. Our virtual worldwide trip takes us from Brooklyn to Victoria, BC and everywhere in between. This is the second of many installments.
Minus Moonshine | 📍 Brooklyn, New York 🇺🇸
Q+A with Aqxyl Storms, owner of Minus Moonshine.
Minus Moonshine | 📍 Brooklyn, New York 🇺🇸
What makes a great NA / functional bev bottle shop?
A great non-alc bottle shop has the following: a variety of harder to find products that is curated thoughtfully around small business brands, knowledgeable staff that possess the ability to educate customers on the nuances of our amazing selection, [and] a welcoming environment where everyone feels like they belong.
What’s one of your favorite brands of the moment?
What tip do you have for potential / new shoppers?
Come in with an open mind and ask questions. If you don't know what you'd like, let us help! No, not all nonalcoholic wine is as terrible as your friend says it is.
All the Bitter | 📍 Chico, CA 🇺🇸
Q+A with Ian Blessing, co-owner of All the Bitter.
All the Bitter Shop + Zero Proof Tasting Room | 📍 Chico, CA
What makes a great NA / functional beverage bottle shop?
The best non-alcoholic bottle shops do what Big Box corporate stores can’t. Specifically, I think that falls into three buckets:
1) Curation. The selection needs to resonate with the owner and staff—if you don’t believe in a product, don’t sell it! Just because a brand seems ubiquitous or spends a ton of money on advertising, if the staff doesn’t love it, they won’t sell it.
2) Education and tasting. This can look like mocktail classes, or it can be as simple as the staff having conversations with customers to make sure they know how to use NA spirits. In the ATB Zero Proof Lounge, we have cocktail kits available complete with great recipes and everything you need to make a great drink. You can taste it here first and get advice on making the best drink possible before you spend a dime.
3) Community events. The non-alc space is about more than just drinks, it’s a community of like minded people looking for the same thing. The most successful non-alcoholic bottle shops lean heavily into events, classes, and other ways to bring people together.
What’s one of your favorite brands of the moment?
There are so many great NA drinks, but my brand crush is definitely The Pathfinder. Their spirit is akin to an amaro—dark, bittersweet, herbal, and spiced—but it has its own unique flavor from the fermented hemp base and Douglas fir tips, which give it a gin-like piney quality. Everyone who tastes it in our shop is blown away, and it works incredibly well in drinks like a Manhattan or a Negroni. It's the key to our Black Manhattan recipe—along with our ZPN collab Coffee & Cherry bitters! More than being delicious, though, the bottle is something you want on your bar. It looks like something worth drinking, and genuinely elevates the entire NA category.
What’s one tip you have for potential / new shoppers?
Ask questions! Ask for tastes! The biggest benefit to shopping at an NA bottle shop (aside from supporting local businesses) is the expertise of the staff. Employees at big grocery and liquor stores just don't have the same level of knowledge as a non-alc shop, and you probably can't taste anything. If you're going to spend $30-50 on a bottle of non-alcoholic spirit, you should probably make sure you like the product first, and make sure you know how to use it. NA shops can help with that.
IG: @allthebitter | website: www.allthebitter.com
GEM | 📍 Pitman, NJ 🇺🇸
Q+A with Drew Davis, co-owner of GEM.
The bright shelves at GEM | 📍 Pitman, NJ
What makes a great NA / functional beverage bottle shop?
A great NA and functional beverage bottle shop is more than just a place to grab a drink. It’s about creating an experience and a sense of community. The best shops curate products with intention, educate customers in an approachable way, and create an environment where people feel welcome whether they’re sober, sober-curious, wellness-focused, or simply looking for better-for-you options. Thoughtful design, knowledgeable staff, unique events, and a mix of functional, premium, and exciting beverages all help create a space that feels elevated, inclusive, and inspiring.
What’s one of your favorite brands of the moment?
Of course I have to plug my own adaptogen beverage brand, Gem Blends. We created Gem Blends to be nourishing, functional, and elevated, crafted with adaptogens, functional mushrooms, clean ingredients, and Appalachian spring water. The blends are designed to support things like calm, focus, and energy while still tasting refreshing and social. It’s been really exciting to watch the functional beverage space evolve and to be part of building something intentionally rooted in wellness and conscious connection.
What’s one tip you have for potential / new shoppers?
Don’t be afraid to explore and try something new. Functional and non-alcoholic beverages are not one-size-fits-all. Everyone’s taste preferences and wellness goals are different. Ask questions, sample different categories, and think about what experience you’re looking for whether it’s relaxation, focus, social connection, better sleep, or simply a delicious alcohol-free option. Also, pay attention to ingredients and functionality. There are so many innovative beverages now that can support your lifestyle while still feeling fun and elevated.
IG: @gemlifeandbar | website: www.gemlifecollective.com
Fizz | 📍 Victoria, BC, Canada 🇨🇦
Q+A with Jamie Gerus, founder of Fizz.
Moody shelf vibes at Fizz | 📍 Victoria, BC, CA 🇨🇦
What makes a great NA / functional beverage bottle shop?
For us, it’s about creating a space that feels welcoming, inspiring, and easy to navigate. The non-alcoholic space can sometimes lean gimmicky or overly clinical, with products positioned as substitutes for the “real thing.” But the brands we curate are anything but.
Many of the producers we work with are chefs and sommeliers, creating deeply thoughtful drinks designed for the table, for pairing, and for social occasions. There is so much experimentation and innovation happening in the category right now, and the best bottle shops are offering shelf space to emerging producers, niche segments and products that aren’t trying to imitate alcohol, they’re creating entirely new drinking experiences.
At Fizz, we want people to discover drinks that feel intentional, exciting, and worthy of being the main character at the table, not an afterthought.
What’s one of your favorite brands of the moment?
I actually have two favourite categories right now: wine alternatives and functional spirits and then favourite brands within those categories.
For wine alternatives, one of my favourite brands is Glow Glow. They have a product called Freija No.1, it’s an incredibly delicate, nuanced sip from Germany that feels very thoughtful and refined. Funny enough, it’s actually difficult to get even there because it’s so often sold out. We had two German tourists come into the shop one day and buy out all of our Freija inventory because they couldn’t find it back home. That felt like a pretty strong endorsement.
The viral Freija No.1 by Glow Glow
On the functional spirits side, I’ve been loving both Dromme and Bonbuz. They’re creating social spirits designed to elevate mood, energy, focus, and sociability in ways that feel intentional and genuinely enjoyable. What I appreciate is that they still feel rooted in ritual and occasion rather than positioned purely as wellness products.
Dromme’s Calm Nightcap is always in rotation at my house. It has become one of those bottles I instinctively reach for at the end of the evening when I want the ritual of a drink without alcohol.
What’s one tip you have for potential / new shoppers?
Approach the category with curiosity rather than looking for a substitute. The non-alcoholic landscape has evolved dramatically over the past five years, and the products available today are nothing like what most people associate with NA drinks from a few years ago. There’s so much innovation happening right now across wine alternatives, functional spirits, aperitifs, and social beverages.
One thing we always encourage at Fizz is simply trying something new. We usually have an open bottle in the shop for guests to taste, because experiencing the products firsthand completely changes people’s perception of the category.
And context matters too. What you’re pairing it with, who you’re sharing it with, and the environment you’re in all shape the experience just as much as the drink itself.
IG: @fizzbottleshop | website: www.fizzbottleshop.com
Soberish | 📍 Atlanta, GA
Q+A with Mehrnush Saadat, owner of Soberish.
Soberish | 📍 Atlanta, GA
What makes a great NA / functional beverage bottle shop?
A great shop earns trust before it earns a sale. People walk in skeptical all the time - they've had a chalky de-alc red, a cloying mocktail, a CBD seltzer that tasted like pond water. Our job is to flip that narrative for them. That means intentional curation (we don't carry everything, we carry what's actually good), staff who can talk you through the difference between a NA wine, a wine alternative, an aperitif, and a functional drink without making you feel like you're in a lecture hall, and a space that feels like a real shop you'd want to spend time in - not a wellness clinic.
What’s one of your favorite brands of the moment?
Psilly Goose. I’m a longtime kanna and mushroom fan, and kanna is the ingredient I’ve been waiting for someone to do well in a drink. Quick context: kanna is a South African succulent that works on serotonin pathways, so it gives you this light, social, slightly empathogenic lift. Not stimulant-like, not sedating, just happier. More empathetic, more human. Pair that with lion’s mane for clarity and its... chef’s kiss.
What I love from a retailer perspective is that they made two versions: Euphoria (with THC) and Silly (kanna + lion’s mane only). This way, I can hand the right can to two different customers. The THC-curious person who isn’t sure yet, and the customer who’s THC-free but still wants something that does something. Both walk out happy and both have a better understanding of kanna.
What’s one tip you have for potential / new shoppers?
You don't need to know the difference between adaptogens and nootropics before you walk in - that's literally our job. The best thing you can do is tell us what you're shopping for : a Tuesday wind-down, a dinner party, a date, a friend's wedding weekend. Once we know the occasion, we can put a few bottles in your hand that'll work for you. And taste before you commit when you can! Most shops like ours do tastings every weekend so take advantage of that! This category has range, and your first sip of a great de-alc sparkling wine usually does more convincing than I ever could.
IG: @besoberish | website: www.besoberish.com
