Do you sometimes worry about buying a full sized bottle of spirit and not liking it? Did you know Atopia’s spirit is award-winning? Yes, that’s right everybody. Leslie Gracie created, the award- winning Master Distiller at Henrick’s Gin. Not only is the Spiced Citrus award-winning but Atopia’s Rhubarb & Ginger is BRAND NEW.

Atopia now have three flavours available and JOMO Club members to try two of them today. We speak with the Atopia team to find out more about their range and how we should best enjoy them.

Q: Thank you so much for being a part of JOMO’s February Box and for sharing two of your spirits with us all. Can we start by talking us through what was in that box? Thanks for having us! We have our original Spiced Citrus 70cl and our new Rhubarb & Ginger 5cl miniatures. Our Rhubarb & Ginger launched just under a year ago, exclusively in Waitrose and is doing really well. We’re super proud of this one, as it earned top honours in the ‘No & Lo Masters’ competition before it even launched. Spiced Citrus is our original flavour, having launched back in 2019 and won multiple Gold Awards itself too – showing the quality of our liquid in the range. The Spiced Citrus taste profile reflects the taste of the seasons, perfect for all year round!

Q: Atopia has been created by your award winning master spirits distillers with generations of experience. How are your spirits created when comparing to that of an alcoholic counterpart? Having been frustrated by the quality of the non-alcoholic offerings on the market at the time, Lesley Gracie, the creator of Hendrick’s Gin, set herself a personal challenge of crafting a spirit that had all the depth of flavour of a gin, with none of the alcohol.  Not an easy task, but then she is a distilling genius, and so after a fair amount of experimentation with different botanicals and techniques, she came up with Atopia Spiced Citrus – using a blend of natural flavours and copper pot distilled natural botanicals to craft a spirit with real sophistication of flavour. The distillates have been selected and combined with care and precision, meaning you can pick out each flavour separately whilst no one flavour dominates over the other. We’ve used our distilling heritage and expertise to ensure no compromise on flavour is experienced when drinking the alcohol free spirit. The flavour is full, from first taste to finish

Q: What would you say the perfect setting and serve is for Spiced Citrus? All of us have occasions where we want a non-alcoholic drink. We created the range so you don’t have to miss out on those social moments, or compromise on flavour. Atopia offers a rewarding drinks experience, whether that be at home unwinding mid week, or out with friends after work. Personally, my perfect serve for Spiced Citrus is a Spiced Citrus Lemonade. 50ml Spiced Citrus, topped with San Pellegrino Lemon, served over ice and garnished with a slice of lemon. Uber refreshing!

Q: What about for Rhubarb & Ginger? Again, the range was created for those looking to moderate, to enjoy Atopia all year round. A simple 50ml Atopia R&G, mixed with Premium Tonic Water and garnished with pink grapefruit is one of our favourites!

Q: If someone is looking to drink more mindfully this year, what one piece of advice would you give them? Get creative! The beauty of Atopia is the versatility of the liquid. From cocktails, to spritz’s, to your everyday re-creation of a G&T, we love to see what our consumers create. Secondly, we know that weekends are typically the hardest time to stick to Dry Jan (30% of us don’t complete it!) so planning the weekend with your bottle of Atopia, tonic, ice and garnish may just help to win your Dry Jan goal! Ps if you’re struggle for inspo – head to Atopia.com for more delicious inspiration!

Q: You are listed in Waitrose, Ocado and Amazon along with many bars. Did you see any particular trends at the end of last year and into 2023? We have seen a huge shift in how people are enjoying non-alcoholic spirits over the past few years, not just 2022. It used to be something that people tried once a year – for example Dry Jan or Sober October. Today, nearly 26% of consumers are actively trying to reduce their alcohol consumption all year round*. In addition to this, we know that flavoured spirits its big business. The category is one of the fastest growing segment, hence why we expanded the range last year to include R&G and HB to meet this demand. *Attest Nat Rep UK population – Survey run 17th Feb 2022

Q: For those who haven’t tried the third flavour, Hedgerow Berry, what can get expect and who might like this spirit? Hedgerow Berry for me, encompasses everything about a British Summer. Made with a compote of berries, notes of rosehip and just a hint of spice, this one is for those that love a mid week reward moment and available now in M&S!