NA NeQuila Is Made by Stripping the Real Agave Spirit of Alcohol
In what by many indications appears to be a softening spirits market, there is one sector that seems to be doing well: non-alcoholic spirits, which aren’t really technically spirits at all. The latest addition to this burgeoning market is a new NA tequila called NeQuila, and this one differs from others in that it appears to be made like the real thing, only with all of the alcohol removed.
This might be an unpopular opinion, especially among the younger generation that has been drinking a lot less, but most NA spirits are just not every good. One category manages to do it right—NA amaro—but much of the non-alcoholic versions of whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, and tequila out there are overly sweet and have a weird mouthfeel due to the additives that are used to try to replicate the original. Tequila brand León Y Sol (NOM 1499) is attempting to do something a bit different with the launch of NeQuila (which is technically a “100 percent agave juice beverage” and not tequila due to legal requirements). According to the brand, this NA spirit is made using what it calls “traditional tequila distillation methods,” although the details of what that means exactly are not revealed. The final step is to strip the alcohol from the spirit using what the brand calls a proprietary process.
If this sounds pretty similar to Almave, an NA “tequila” founded by F1 driver Lewis Hamilton and Ivan Saldana of Casa Lumbre, there’s a reason for that. Almave is also supposed to be produced using methods that are similar to real tequila, minus the fermentation step that yields the alcohol. Additives are used to try to replicate the flavor and mouthfeel of real tequila in Almave, things like agave extract and syrup, apple cider vinegar, glycerol, and oak tannins. According to the brand, NeQuila has “no additives, no artificial anything, no flavor engineering,” and there is 0 percent alcohol, as opposed to Almave having less than .5 percent. All that is not to say NeQuila is the better of the two, especially considering we have not been able to sample it, but it does sound like a meaningful difference.
If you are looking to cut back on drinking, or go full teetotaler, but still want to enjoy a margarita or paloma every now and then, you can pre-order NeQuila now from the brand’s website (SRP $49) to try it for yourself.
