Review: Giffard Alcohol Free Liqueurs – Elderflower, Pineapple, Ginger, and Grapefruit

What is the difference between a non-alcoholic liqueur and a syrup? Giffard‘s new line of Alcohol Free liqueurs are distinguished by their use of the shrub technique to craft them: fruits and herbs are not laced with alcohol but rather macerated in wine vinegar as a replacement for booze — a production process that reportedly took three years to perfect. As well, with a reduced amount of sugar in the recipe, the liqueurs allow their underlying botanical ingredients to shine more clearly.

That’s the idea, anyway. One of the top liqueur producers in the world, Giffard, recently branched out into the NA world with four zero abv liqueurs, and we got samples of the full quartet to try out. Can you recreate your favorite libations with these… but less (or even no) alcohol? Let’s find out.

Giffard Elderflower Alcohol Free – Boldly sweet and floral on the nose — with the unmistakable note of Meyer lemon-meets-blossoms that any St. Germain fan knows well by now. It is indeed restrained in sweetness, and the vinegar is noticeable only with a hearty slug of the drink. It doesn’t really detract, though cocktails with a heavy liqueur component may become a bit acidic and, well, vinegary on the finish. A-

Giffard Pineapple Alcohol Free – Pineapple liqueurs can be tricky, and this liqueur has the same challenges that alcoholic versions experience: Namely, it has a bit of a suntan lotion quality to it, particularly amplified due to a strong coconut note that has worked its way into the liqueur. This offsets the vinegar note to a degree, but on the whole the experience feels less balanced than some of the other products in this collection. B

Giffard Ginger Alcohol Free – You can just barely smell the vinegar on the nose with this liqueur, which, when combined with its sharp, authentic ginger notes, gives it something of an exotic Asian flavor. I could literally see cooking with this, though it’s fine as a mixer, as well. The sharp ginger root masks the vinegar note on the palate quite effectively. A-

Giffard Grapefruit Alcohol Free – At first this comes across as one of the more scattered flavors in the lineup, this noses with a mix of vinegar, sugar, and grapefruit peel — but the palate is all grapefruit from start to finish. The notes of ever-so-slightly sweetened fresh grapefruit segments quickly vanish, leaving behind a very bitter (but quite authentic) note of grapefruit peel and pith. Ultimately quite pungent, with just a trace of a vinegary kick to close things out. B+

each $25 / giffard.com

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