5 Minutes With Drinks Kitchen

What did life look like before Drinks Kitchen?

It was pretty busy and fast paced.  I have worked in the drinks industry for most of my career.  My last job was for a big drinks company – I headed up the marketing and new product development teams so I had a big team of 34.   We developed drinks for brands and retailers plus had about 25 brands we managed or owned.  I was living away from home in the week and then coming home on a Thursday night.  Although I had a lovely house rental in Melbourne, so I didn’t live out of a suitcase,  I found it hard being away from home so much so I decided to leave in 2019.

What motivated you to found Drinks Kitchen?

By the time I left my last job it was June 2020.  I had booked to take a month travelling through France and Spain but that was of course cancelled due to the pandemic.  So I decided to give up alcohol and start getting fit.  It was so great to have time for once!  I had been trying to cut down on alcohol over the previous few years but yo-yoed when I was stressed.  I really wanted to make a change in my drinking habits and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. 

I ordered some non-alcoholic options online but nothing really grabbed me, lots of them were just not that tasty and you had to almost drink them 1 to 2/3 with a mixer to get any flavour.  One afternoon in September 2020, I saw a post that a food development centre had opened in my town.  I went to look, just to see what it was about.  They had a couple of spare kitchens that they hadn’t yet decided what to do with so I suggested they put in drinks equipment as I knew that this could be a great opportunity for them.

Sometime in the next few weeks, I formed the idea that I could launch my own range of non-alcoholic drinks.  It felt like all the stars had aligned to make it so.

What is special about the ritual of an aperitif for you?

I worked in the wine and spirit industry for 10 years from 19 and naturally alcoholic drinks were connected to relaxing, eating and socialising and I adopted it fully!  At the time, so many of the drinks we sold were from France and Italy where Aperitivo is an inherent part of their culture so it’s not surprising really. I suppose that it signifies the end of the working day and a transition to your free time.  In France and Italy, it’s also a time to meet up with friends and family and socialise over a drink, so it also creates a time to talk in a relaxed atmosphere.

Once I started wanting to change my relationship with alcohol, I realised that you can still enjoy ‘Aperitivo’ and it need not be alcoholic.  But it must be something special, it’s a treat so not something you would drink throughout the day like tea – that’s more of a comforting drink.

Drinks Kitchen taste lovely as they are, but can you give them a twist?

Well I made them so that you can just mix super easily into a spritz with sparkling water.  This was important to me so that you can do it easily without needing special ingredients.  I use an Aarke at home which is a home carbonator.  Super convenient and you can just use tap/filtered water so also a great environmental option.  But if I am having an evening with friends, I also buy some mixers like tonic or ginger ale as these are lovely as well.  I tend to use the small cans as aluminium is highly recycled.

You can also add them to prosecco – I use non-alcoholic but you could use either – this is lovely to have at Christmas as a special treat. Finally, you can use them in cocktails, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.  I make a margarita using Grapefruit Piquante, some Orange cinchona, lime and water.  

Great flavours are at the heart of Drinks Kitchen, what do you look for in your ingredients?

It all starts with amazing Botanicals.  I think about ingredients not only for their flavour, but also how they work with other ingredients. 

For example in Herb Verde.  Mint is a light soft and fresh herb.  It’s flavour is up-front on the palate. But to make it into a more complex Aperitif it needs some partners which have longer lasting flavour. Rosemary is pine-like and menthol giving a deeper flavour throughout and Thyme has quite an earthy note which you taste it on the finish of the drink.  Gentian root has pea pod bitter notes which add a really interesting layer to the Aperitif.  Together I think they make something really special. I try to think about using botanicals together that create layers of flavour.

The botanicals are made using distilling, steeping and extracting – different methods depending on the base ingredient.   The sourcing is extremely important to me and I am working on some exciting projects which help enable me to have much more access to where the botanicals are grown.

What are your favourite foodie / Drinks Kitchen pairings?

• Spiced Rhubarb is amazing with Thai food, which is one of my favourites.  Thai tends to have a blend of sweetness, heat and freshness which I think Spiced Rhubarb also has.
• Herb Verde is fresh and vibrant.  I love it with sour fresh cheeses like Feta or Salmon with some lemon and chilli.
• Orange Cinchona.  My favourite, it’s quite bitter and complex – excellent for cheese platters, My favourite cheese is either a delicious British creamy stilton or Epoisses which is from the village of that name in the Burgundy region.  Orange Cinchona is a perfect partner for these powerful cheeses – its also delicious with steaks or meaty pasta dishes.
• Grapefruit Piquante – Mexican dishes or some chicken with Harissa and flatbreads.

Is there a particular Emma Britton glass you love to enjoy your drinks from?

I love the exotic white wine glass which I call my spritz glass now that I don’t drink wine.  I love the design as its elegant but modern.  But I am also a sucker for the coupe shape so I love this in the Exotic Floral design.  I am a huge fan of Sex and the City and drinking Cosmo’s in a Coupe glass used to be my thing.  Look out for a recipe that is perfect for the coupe glass, coming soon to Emma’s Journal.

Pair your glassware with Drinks Kitchen Aperitifs, available in the Emma Britton Christmas Shop.

Check out Drinks Kitchen online!