Jul 23, 2025 - News
What trees taste like
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Party guests sip on cocktails made with Sylva, a new non-alcoholic spirit crafted from trees. A new US-release, at right, is made with wood from maple trees and others. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios
As a sober-curious consumer, I love checking out what the non-alcoholic spirits industry is up to during Tales of the Cocktail.
Zoom in: That's why I was excited for an invite Monday night to a U.S. launch party for Sylva, a new product from Seedlip creator Ben Branson.
- The new non-alcoholic spirit is made through distillation and maturation of — wait for it — wood. Branson says his facility will be the country's first to focus on pulling flavors out of trees.
What he says: "You have 881 native U.S. tree species," Branson told me as I sipped on a rich, caramel-y old fashioned crafted from red oak, olive wood and padauk trees.
- "That is very exciting for flavor possibility."
