New Fashioned

The 1806 definition of a cocktail was spirits of any kind plus bitters, and that is the entire brief here. Sylva pours its aged Orchard spirit, made from British cherry, plum and apple wood with malted barley, and cuts it with SEASN Dark, a 0.0% cocktail bitters. What arrives is ripe cherry, stewed plum and apple peel from the Orchard side, soft smoke and oaked vanilla behind it, then aromatic spice and real bitter grip from the Dark. That bitterness is what stops the whole thing reading as sweet, which is where most bottled non-alcoholic cocktails fall over. Pour 50ml over cubed ice in a rocks glass, express an orange twist across the surface and drop it in. A 20cl bottle gives you four drinks. Under 0.5% ABV, released as a limited edition, and worth treating like a proper nightcap rather than a soft drink.