Pentire

Pentire is named for a headland. The brand works out of North Cornwall, where the Atlantic comes hard against the cliffs and the plants that survive there have to be tough — rock samphire in the crevices, sea rosemary on the exposed ground, sage and wild herbs further back. Those are the botanicals Pentire distills, and the reason their drinks taste savory and saline where most alcohol-free spirits reach for sweetness.

The method is distillation rather than removal. Nothing is fermented and nothing is stripped out — each plant is distilled on its own and blended afterwards, which is slower than macerating a basket of botanicals together and is why the individual plants stay legible in the glass.

Adrift was the first, built on rock samphire and sage with Cornish sea salt. Coastal Spritz came later, developed with bartenders who wanted a bitter aperitif that would hold up against tonic rather than disappear into it — blood orange and oakwood over the house plant blend. Margarita followed, with lime and agave.