Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1331779
44 Lyre's Negroni ✘ 1 oz. Lyre's Dry London Spirit ✘ 1 oz. Lyre's Vermouth Rosso ✘ 1 oz. Lyre's Italian Orange Stir all ingredients briefly in an Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange slice. Lyre's spirit alternatives may not contain alcohol, but they're no less authentic for that. Sydney, Australia-based company founder and CEO Mark Livings guaranteed as much by spending a rigorous three years on their research and development. With the assistance of Australian sommelier David Murphy, he experimented with more than 1,200 ingredients in the course of building the Lyre's Spirit Co. portfolio, scouring the globe for all-natural, botanical essences, extracts, and distillates derived from fruits, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, and more to create 11 dead ringers for the real thing: American Malt, Amaretti, Aperitif Dry, Aperitif Rosso, Coffee Originale, Dark Cane Spirit, Dry London Spirit, Italian Orange, Orange Sec, Spiced Cane Spirit, and White Cane Spirit. As if nailing the aroma and flavor profiles of classic spirits and liqueurs weren't challenging enough, the Lyre's team has also managed to mimic the sensation that alcohol imparts via tongue-numbing botanicals like grains of paradise, an aromatic species of pepper that's related to cardamom and ginger. Persistence clearly paid off, as the expressions are compelling, with pure, natural aromas and lively, balanced, complex palates; the lack of synthetic flavors is one of the brand's most appealing features. Layering Lyre's products is another way to simulate the presence of alcohol, according to Livings. "Even a large spirits portfolio from a traditional beverage company doesn't have the range that we do," he points out. "We're not restricted in any genre—instead we are opening avenues for unique cocktail recipes as much as we are supporting the classics. The combinations that can accommodate hundreds of recipes go from medium proof…to low proof to no proof." Indeed, it's possible to build many a drink using only Lyre's expressions, such as a proof-less Negroni with Dry London Spirit, Aperitif Dry, and Italian Orange. The team at Lyre's hasn't overlooked the importance of compelling branding, rallying a particularly whimsical critter to their cause. The company is named after the lyrebird, a native of southern Australia that's one of Mother Nature's most talented impressionists, with the ability to mimic everything from a camera shutter to a chainsaw—just as its products precisely mirror their alcoholic counterparts. With patents pending on the self-styled "flavor architecture" of its botanical recipes, Lyre's aims to maintain its early advantage in a segment that, based largely on consumer demand, is quickly evolving. Beyond finding a home on backbars or in wells, it also has plans in the works for ready-to-drink non- alcoholic cocktails in 200-milliliter packaging. It's the Real Thing: LYRE'S SPIRIT CO.