Céleste Fryns

The setting for the conversation is the Fryns distillery laboratory. "With a background in pharmacy, I feel at home here," Céleste laughs. Her technical background proves invaluable in distilling and developing layered non-alcoholic drinks. "In the lab, I mainly mix and taste. Chefs often send me their menus. I use our non-alcoholic spirits to create pairings tailored to the flavors on the plate. That's a part of my job that I really enjoy."

The biggest challenge was giving a non-alcoholic drink the same complexity and body as a classic glass of wine or cocktail. "Alcohol is a carrier; it provides a solid base and finish. In the early days of non-alcoholic beverages, sugar was often used to create that sense of body. We explicitly don't want that. Fortunately, we have an authentic distillation machine at our disposal. For our jenever, we distill herbs in alcohol; for our non-alcoholic beverages, we distill herbs in water. This method doesn't work with every spice. Juniper berries, for example, don't release their flavor during water distillation. However, we discovered that celery seeds give off a phenomenal aroma. Distillates alone are not enough, so we also use steam infusion. This technique briefly exposes the ingredients to a high heat, which is effective for capturing the spiciness of ginger. We also use glyceration, which is the non-alcoholic counterpart to maceration. This cold method captures more delicate aromas. Combining these three techniques allows us to create complex drinks." 

In addition to the non-alcoholic spirits, two “ready-to-serve” drinks have recently been added to the range. "We developed Alfrie together with sommelier Tom Ieven. He was working at Maison Colette when our collaboration began. He felt there was a need for a tasty, local wine alternative. For the Red Love version of Alfrie, we use the juice of local Red Love apples, which give it a beautiful color thanks to their red flesh. The juice is acidified with fresh raspberries and given a fresh spiciness from cardamom. We also add our own Fryns Spice 0% for a long finish. We also have a white version based on Elstar apples. With these elegant drinks, we strike a balance between simplicity, accessibility, and flavor intensity."