Review: Amethyst Non-Alcoholic Botanical Spirit Watermelon Lime

Producers have a range of tricks to draw from to attempt to mimic the bite and body of alcohol. Still wine producers often lean on an acidic, vinegar-like quality to give NA wines a kick. Beer and sparkling wine can hide alcohollessness in heavy carbonation. Using cannabinoids is yet another way to add a booze-like quality (and effect) to a product.

South Carolina’s Amethyst, made by Burnt Church Distillery, is unique in that it seemingly leans on some kind of capsaicin product in its NA spirits. Instead of an alcohol burn, you get the burn of a hot chili pepper.

It’s an interesting trick and in some ways it succeeds. On the nose, this clear NA spirit — the fourth in the Amethyst lineup — doesn’t really smell like anything at all, especially not the watermelon or lime in its product description. But tuck into the palate and you’re met with a  moderated rush of sweetness (there’s no added sugar, or any sugar actually, in the product, though a shot does have 16.7 calories). The flavor is straightforward: melted watermelon Jolly Ranchers, maybe a little lime if you work at it.

Within a couple of seconds, the experience changes: hot pepper, somewhere between serrano and habanero, hits the tongue, creating a kick identical to some of your favorite hot sauces. The heat takes a bit of time to fade — 20 seconds or so, but the up-front sweetness tempers the peppery punch. It’s hot enough to actually sting a little, both on the throat and on the lips.

And that’s the gist. And it sort of works — better than most NA spirits, anyway. If you can’t (or don’t want to) drink, Amethyst is definitely worth a try at least once.

My biggest issue is that the specific flavor here — watermelon and lime — doesn’t really do anything for me at all, but some of the other Amethyst flavors — lemon cucumber serrano and grapefruit basil, perhaps — hold more promise, though I’ve not tried them. But never mind all that: What I’d really like to see is how this idea pans out with a recreation of a London dry gin recipe, or even a simulacrum of tequila.

B- / $30 / amethystnaspirits.com [BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON]

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