Almave Ámbar and Blanco

Calories per 100ml: 33 and 13

ABV: less than 0.5%

Here at Alcohol Change UK, we love a drink with a good backstory, and these two have a great story to tell.

Almave Ámbar and Almave Blanco are the result of a collaboration between seven-times Formula One World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, and Master Distiller Iván Saldaña from the Altos de Jalisco region of Mexico – the home of tequila.

As someone who made his living from driving very fast, Sir Lewis is well known as someone who likes to keep his alcohol consumption moderate. So, he set out to produce a blue agave spirit that delivered all the flavour of tequila with none of the alcohol.

Agave piñas are harvested, cooked, and crushed, and then distilled to concentrate and capture the flavour. The result is two genuinely interesting drinks – marvellously presented in unique conical bottles – that you should certainly consider adding to your list of cocktail ingredients.

Almave Blanco has a clear, slightly golden colour, a nice tequila aroma and a spicy aftertaste. Almave Ámbar is, naturally, amber in colour. It has less aroma than the Blanco but a richer flavour. Like many alcohol-free spirits, they come into their own once you start mixing them. We tried them with fresh lime juice and an orange syrup, in a salted glass, with very satisfactory results.