There’s no denying there are plenty of reasons someone might choose to abstain from alcohol. Thankfully, the market is increasingly moving toward options for those that want to enjoy the complex flavors of spirits without the effects of alcohol. Every year, the number of products on the market increases, and to be honest, not all of them are good. Among the many makers on the market, few seem to have the breath of products that Australia’s Lyre’s has. Given how hard it is to replicate base spirits, I wanted to give Lyre’s fair chance with something that isn’t trying to emulate an existing product. Hence, starting with Lyre’s Italian Spritz.
Lyre’s Italian Spritz
- Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Phosphoric Acid, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate, FD&C Red 40, FD&C Yellow 6.
- Proof: 0 (A.B.V. 0%)
Sight: An orangy- reddish hue with a slightly pinker tinge. Clear throughout. It is color adjusted with FD&C Red 40 and Yellow 6.
Smell: The nose has a candied orange smell with touches of floral orange blossom, clove and bitters. There’s an herbal note to it. There’s a candied red hot spice to it, and some blood orange juice note.
Sip: The flavor has a candied sweetness mixed with a bracing herbal bitterness. The sweetness is layered with notes of orange, herbal notes, touches of spice, and more candied citrus elements. The flavor is very reminiscent of Aperol.
Savor: The finish is bittersweet but balanced with plenty of citrus and spicy herbed notes. The finish lingers with a quinine like note, and the sugary character layers for a good duration.
Lyre’s Italian Spritz does a convincing impersonation of an Italian aperitif like Aperol. The bittersweet character nails the meal leading liqueur flavor, and feels balanced. It’s candied like character is slightly sweet at moments, but it feels well constructed. It does like a little weight at moments, but could be convincing as though it were a real aperitif.
In Cocktails
In a simple Highball, Lyre’s Italian Spritz has a light body, but feels lower on sweetness. The result is very clean with orange flavors (blood orange, naval, and clementine) coming forward with lots of herbal notes and hints of bitterness. Good complexity, and very easy to sip. The only slight downside is not a lot of weight.
In Review – Lyre’s Italian Spirtz
Lyre’s Italian Spritz is a convincing substitute for an aperitif. Of the non-alcoholic spirits, this segment seems the easiest to replicate, containing flavors that are not specifically liquor driven. The flavors aren’t quite as complex though, suffering some losing some of the wine based notes of some aperitifs. All that aside, Lyre’s is really good overall, and if you’re looking not to drink, or just want to tune down your ABV this is a very good option that happens to last up to 3 months.
While at the time of writing, Lyre’s Italian Spritz was out of stock at Amazon*, we recommend continuing to check back (as this is where we got it for about $35)