Tørstigbar opened in George Street, Brighton, in November 2022 with a menu of exclusively no and low alcohol drinks. Nick Mosley talks to co-owners Luke and Emmi Cousins about the highs and lows of their first year.

There is growing demand for no and low alcohol drinks, termed no-lo. Some 20 per cent of the UK adult population claim to be teetotal although it’s younger people driving that number. A survey in late 2022 revealed 35 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women aged between 16 and 24 either did not drink at all or hadn’t had an alcoholic drink for at least three months.

Whilst those statistics are a boon for the nation’s health it is a challenge for the bottom line of spirit producers and hospitality businesses with the solution being the ever increasing number of no-lo beers, wines and spirits appearing in stores and bars.

Brighton is leading the no-lo revolution with last year’s opening of Tørstigbar.

“Our concept was developed to solve a problem I faced when going out,” said co-owner Emmi Cousins,.

“As a non-drinker I was an afterthought. The choices are extremely limited in most pubs and bars, the low alcohol options available are often low quality and a poor reflection of the amazing products in the no-lo space.

“I was on a vacation in Copenhagen and was lucky enough to be introduced to an amazing local low alcohol beer.

“I then began to wonder whether you could curate an entire selection of high quality products to stock an entirely low/no alcohol bar. The idea for Tørstigbar was formed and the word Tørstig is a homage to Denmark and their incredible ingenuity in the space. Tørstig means thirsty in Danish and that’s how we feel. We are here to raise the bar for low alcohol drinks.”

Emmi’s partner Luke said the location was carefully chosen to create a speakeasy setting: “It is close enough to the hustle and bustle of the city centre that it is easily accessible but far enough away from stag party streets that attract large groups of people looking only to get drunk.

“We don’t have a typical customer, because we are seeing that all demographics are beginning to moderate their alcohol consumption.

“Aside from being a low alcohol venue, we have positioned Tørstigbar as a premium cocktail lounge, somewhere to venture for the evening and enjoy the company of your friends and family or even meet other like minded people.”

The bar offers a surprisingly large selection of products that are available to enjoy in the venue or take home.

There is a preconception that no-lo drinks should be cheaper than their alcoholic namesakes but in creating quality products many of these drinks go through additional processes, primarily to de-alcoholise.

They are also usually small batch products meaning production unit costs are relatively higher too.

There are fridges stacked with of alcohol free beers and ciders in colourful cans. There’s also a range of ready-to-drink adult soft drinks and pre-mixed no-lo cocktails.

Emmi and Luke serve up a number of beers on tap. Most notable is the Guinness 0% that is such a close match to the original that it would be hard to tell the difference.

It’s the cocktail side of the bar that really excites Luke as it allows him to creatively demonstrate the versatility of the no-lo ‘spirits.

“We actually sell very few soft drinks,” he said.

“Cocktails make up over a third of our sales. Customers can get soft drinks in regular pubs and they are tired of them, as was I.

“They want low alcohol drinks to be exciting and different. At Tørstigbar we put low alcohol drinks front and centre. They are no longer an afterthought.”

With Brighton Pride just days away and the edginess of the annual St James’s Street party looming, the duo are planning for a busy weekend of partygoers who want to have fun but without the desire for alcohol.

Luke said: “We have our ticketed event during Pride. George Street is home to the Pride Village Party and we wanted to make Tørstigbar a safe space for partygoers wishing to retreat from the chaos.

“The tickets are free and so accessible to all via our website, we’ve issued them simply to understand numbers of participants and how many staff to employ and stock to buy”.

Torstigbar is open Tuesday to Friday from 5pm to 11pm and Saturday from 1pm to 10pm.