Review: Philters Zero Proof Spirits, Complete Lineup

Philters is a new brand of NA spirits — full, 750ml bottles — launched by Maya Tea, known for its functional beverages.

The four faux spirits of Philters include a non-alc version of gin, rum, whiskey, and mezcal — all created with additional adaptogens and nootropics such as L-Theanine and Cognizin Citicoline. Additional ingredients include glycerin, cane sugar, gum arabic, and citric acid — with additional flavoring agents unique to each (details below).

Philters bottles instruct you to enjoy them within 6 months of opening. No refrigeration required.

Philters Jynn – A gin analogue. The nose is curious and gin-adjacent, though very savory and woodsy — coming across like a version of the Pacific Northwest outdoors, as opposed to coming across as especially herbal. Elements of petrol interplay with notes of dried sage and potpourri to create a brooding, almost wintry experience, with aromatics that lean a lot closer to wet pine needles than juniper. A slightly gummy consistency is interrupted by a surprising amount of bite on the finish, akin to black pepper. There’s a slightly sweet and saccharine note on the tip of the tongue that feels a bit at odds with the rest of the experience, but this fades away when combined with a mixer — which is probably the only way Jynn will ever be consumed. Approachable, if not exactly nuanced. B

Philters Ruhm – A rum substitute flavored with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and more. Very cinnamon-clove heavy on the nose, almost Christmas-like, with a vein of chocolate running through it. While it smells like a spiced rum (and a well-spiced one at that), this lacks much in the way of bite, instead coming across on the palate like a watered-down version of a Christmas spice syrup. I could see this brightening up another N/A cocktail but there’s just not enough body here for it to stand on its own. C

Philters Wiski – This whiskey analogue includes chicory, lapsang souchong tea, malt extract and — critically — oak chips, which create a significant amount of settling. The nose is closer to an amaro than any whiskey I’ve enjoyed, intense with cinnamon and cloves — though the addition of tea and oak take things in enough of a different direction than the Ruhm expression to distinguish it. There’s a clear tannic quality present that gives the palate a significant grittiness, particularly when combined with that peppery, chicory-driven punch on the back end. Non-alcoholic whiskey is a notoriously difficult category to nail, and while Philters doesn’t quite get there, this doesn’t wholly disappoint, though as always it excels the most as part of a tall drink, preferably your cola of choice. B

Philters Mezkahl – You guessed it: Mezcal-adjacent. The only noted addition to the ingredient list is coriander. The nose is difficult to describe at first, featuring a heavy aroma of burnt wood and smudged sage before blowing off to reveal that coriander underneath. At this point the smokiness largely disappears, leaving behind an eastern spice scent that evokes notes of burning incense and Turkish rug shop. There’s more of the same on the palate — woodsy with brooding spices, almost musky, with a Christmassy finish. This smells more like a men’s cologne than a mezcal, but that’s not a slight. Use the same way you would the Wiski product. B

each $40 / philters.com

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