“It’s starting to catch on,” said Pic. “Everyone is trying it.”
Paris-based mixologist Yann Daniel admits he was “fairly dubious” about the idea at first, but quickly realised how many people were thirsty for low- and non-alcoholic concoctions.
“It’s a trend that is growing in France, following the Anglo-Saxons who are always a bit ahead of us in these things,” he says.
He was commissioned to put together a menu of light cocktails based around spices, herbs, roots and teas for a hotel chain this autumn, while his colleague Matthias Giroud published a book of cocktail recipes called No Low about no-alcohol and low-alcohol drinks.
Not everyone is convinced.
“In the number-one country for great wine – I’m not judging, but it doesn’t fit,” he says.
But the data seems clear: French alcohol consumption has fallen steeply, with the average intake per adult down from 17.7 litres (37.4 pints) a year in 1960 to 9.2 litres in 2014, according to scientific publication Our World in Data.
And many restaurateurs are also excited about the opportunities for new inventions.
At his eponymous two-Michelin-star restaurant near the Eiffel Tower, chef David Toutain pairs his lobster with an infusion of fir-tree buds, the eel with an apple juice mixed with fennel vinegar, and the pigeon with a beet-carrot nectar.
These options now sit alongside wine selections on the menu.
“It’s taken me years to put all this in place,” Toutain says.
He prefers it to pairing with wines, which are never made specifically with the dish in mind.
“It takes you deeper into the experience,” he said.
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