Seedlip founder launches new era with lab and segue into ‘dark spirits’
Ben Branson, the man behind pioneering low & no brand Seedlip is celebrating ten years of boundary breaking with a new product launch, made at a pioneering new facility designed to take his creations to the next level.
Dubbed Padauk, the new release is the first from Sylva – a just-finished lab 2,000sq ft non-alcoholic distillery and maturation lab in Earls Colne, Essex.
Sylva is separate from Seedlip and is part of Pollen Projects, Branson's new non-alcoholic venture studio.
Built with the intention of ‘honouring the traditions of dark spirits’ the new lab has developed a process to extract complex characters from a diverse selection of wood and cereals, with the aim of creating small-batch, made-to-order luxury dark spirits without alcohol.
The research, experimentation and development, led by Branson and Jack Wareing, sees a first-of-its-kind approach to crafting luxury dark spirits under 0.5% abv. The first experimental release will be available to pre-order from 12 September, priced at £40 per 500ml bottle.
“I come from a family of grain growers, woodworkers, inventors and timber merchants, so Sylva is a very special project both personally and professionally,” Branson said.
“I am excited to celebrate wood’s unique and diverse flavours by championing innovative extraction and maturation techniques so we can break new ground on what dark non-alcoholic spirits can be.”
At the heart of the lab’s innovation is its commitment to exploring the flavour potential of traditional barrel wood and grain varieties, as well as trees never before used in drinks. Utilising cutting-edge methods such as sonic maturation, vacuum distillation and vacuum kiln roasting, the lab is able to experiment with flavour extraction, distillation and maturation in new ways. These processes allow Sylva to produce aged spirits for sipping with depth, complexity and character, which will be released in limited edition batches.
Harpers recently caught up with Branson and Club Soda founder Laura Willoughby ahead of tomorrow’s (10 September) 10 Years of No & Low summit.
The event, which is organised by Willoughby and will see Branson address the audience, will commemorate 10 years of the category (both Club Soda and Seedlip were founded in 2014).
According to the IWSR, low-alcohol volume sales almost doubled in 2023. This was partly driven by the UK’s excise duty changes, but also illustrates an undeniable consumer trend for moderation. Meanwhile, the no alcohol category now comfortably outperforms tequila in the UK, showing just how much the dial has turned on alternative drinking.
“We’ve moved on from ‘what’s the point’ of non-alcohol drinks to ‘what’s good’?” Branson told Harpers.
The first release from Sylva is named after West African wood known for its reddish-orange bark, aromatic pungency and rich history. Red Oak from the lab’s own forest has been selected for its unique porous qualities, as well as single malt American oak spent barrel staves from Nc’nean in Scotland.
For the full feature on 10 years of low & no, see this month’s edition of Harpers, out now in print and online.
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