New Vancouver Non-Alcoholic Brand Edna's Cocktails Are Convenient Mixology With A Vintage Vibe
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Everything about Edna’s ready-to-drink mocktails evokes an era when women were dames, men wore hats, and smoking was about as fabulous as you could get. From the artwork and branding to the vintage drinks themselves showcase founder and mixologist Nick Devine’s old-world attention to nuance and detail.
Nick comes from 30 storied years in bars, restaurants and private clubs. He’s dazzled them with drinks in San Francisco, at the SoHo in London, at the Cannes Film Festival as well as old English pubs and dirty little dive bars. After all that time, he’s happy to be moving on to creating his own line of non alcoholic drinks.
The name Edna's comes from Cockney rhyming slang. Dame Edna Everage was a popular comedian back in the 80s in the UK and the rhyme to ‘beverage’ became a common reference to drinks.
“You kind of try and look around for the perfect name. And then I found that it's like, oh Edna for beverage. I like that. I like the sound of Edna. I like the fact that it had an old-fashioned feel to it. Apologies to anyone called Edna out there who is younger!”
The ready-to-drink non alcoholic world is exploding with new entrants in the sector every month, or so it seems. Nick wanted to aim for the premium market, and make his drinks as close to the real thing as possible.
“We've done that in a number of ways by using an authentic spirit extract so you get the aroma of the booze - although it’s not in there. We make fruit drinking vinegars to create the biting acidity you’re missing from the alcohol. And we try to create layers because once you take the booze out of a cocktail, it kind of loses that character and depth. And so I wanted to recreate that as best I could within the means that I had and make it all natural, premium, nothing artificial. I think what we've done is created a really full-flavoured drink which can stand up to the dilution of ice without losing body.”
Edna’s is gaining traction in breweries, high-volume pubs, and restaurants. Bartenders like it because the quality is there and they can pop a can for a mocktail or add the alcohol and have a cocktail. Nick also recommends the cans for camping trips or just convenience at home. After all, who has time to muddle mint while making dinner?
Edna’s is growing slowly because Nick wants to grow carefully and cautiously to maintain the quality he’s so proud of. Edna’s is making inroads all over BC and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I think [people] find it quite refreshing because our approach is unique, the fact that we create those layers, it's not just mixed fruit juice and soda,” Edna’s goes the extra mile using real cane sugar and Cuban mint to come very close to the taste of the real thing. So far there’s a Collins, a Paloma, a Mule and a Mojito.
“I'm proud of all of them. We've got some plans to do some other ones in the future. I've got a few up my sleeve. I think they'll follow this formulation a similar formulation anyway, but yeah, just exciting.”
Nick, and Edna, come to the alcohol-free drinks market without a sobriety story although he’s quick to point out that his wife and other close friends and relatives don’t drink so they’ve become his tasting panel.
You can find Edna’s across the country via either ClearSips.com (Ontario-based) or AFBev.ca and Sansorium (both Vancouver-based) or via their website.
About The Author
Joanna is a writer, trainer, coach and consultant with decades of experience as a journalist in radio and television. She teaches public speaking, communication skills and media relations. You can find Joanna at www.joannapiros.com.
