Finding Optimism Where You Least Expect It
“Right now we all need a chance to connect over a drink.”
So reads every back label of “Optimist Botanicals,” a range of distilled non-alcoholic (NA) spirits from Los Angeles, California.
A brand that claims to be “all spirit no liquor,” the range was developed in 2019 by a couple, Tom Johnstone and Lyn Farr Johnstone. There seems to have been some thoughtful (and generous) investment in the packaging, brand strategy, marketing, and positioning of the products. NA botanicals are not new but this brand has me intrigued for a few reasons.
1. It’s Called OPTIMIST!
After the last two years we have (and continue to) struggle through, just having these bottles on my bench helped me somehow feel a little more positive about the world.
2. Flavor Profiles on the Front Label
Juniper cilantro, lime peel, and oregano are a selection of the flavor descriptors listed on the front label. These clearly lead us down an influenced path of what to expect in the aromas, but it’s also a good way to know what to expect when tasting or sampling opportunities are not available.
3. I Purchased It “Out of Category”
Without the constraints of liquor licensing, I picked bottles up at a homewares store, CB2 in Northern California, along with cocktail and holiday accessories. Merchandising product outside of category at retail makes the marketer in me excited for the opportunities that can be possible for promoting the brand beyond traditional liquor retail stores.
4. Serving Suggestions
As someone who doesn’t taste a ton of spirits, the serving instructions were clear and simple, with measured ounces, suggested garnishes and suggestions of how the drink may taste. The reference to “drinks like” was the clincher, as the FRESH drinks like “an abundantly botanical gin.”
5. A Brand that Gives Back
On every back label is clearly listed the producer’s commitment to donating 2% of sales toward the mental health needs of underserved youth in the LA community, to support holistic community-driven solutions.
6. The Podcast - Optimist in Progress
Like all good modern brands, there is a podcast media channel, hosted by Dr Drea Letamendi, Interim Director of the UCLA Resilience Center. Having listened to a couple of episodes, I’m struck by the inspiring stories of the guests and the topics discussed around mental health, wellness, optimism and creativity.
So, most importantly, how do the drinks taste?
In a word, solid.
Much like other NA offerings I’ve been tasting, I am a lover of bright green refreshing flavor profiles, and preferred the gin-spiration, the “FRESH” in the lineup. I found the lemony/citrus profile of the “BRIGHT” quite sweet and bright (think lemon vodka) but the hardest one to comprehend was “SMOKEY.” I found it a little sweet spice, floral and less “smoke.”
Above all, Optimism is another leap forward in pushing the NA / botanical category.
Heathy Pour Founder, Laura Louise Green, is optimistic about the alcohol-free category overall. “If we are going to rethink drinking, replicating spirits can act as a bridge,” she said, “but we also have the freedom to start thinking about flavors and not booze replacement. The variation opens up so many creative possibilities.”
And optimistic opportunities at that.
Drink well this season.
Namaste,
Beck
What We're Reading:
Here's what has piqued our interest this week in the world of wine and mindfulness.
39 Percent of Wine Drinkers "Actively Moderating Their Consumption" - by Patrick Schmitt for The Drinks Business
Almost 40 percent of regular wine drinkers are actively moderating their consumption, particularly among younger age groups, according to the latest findings from Wine Intelligence.
The holiday season can come with grief, burnout and more. Here are ways to cope - by Soo Youn for The Lily
Expert tips for taking back joy in another pandemic holiday.
What New Research about Wine Headaches Means for Natural Wine - by Diana Hawkins for SevenFifty Daily
Recent research has identified a link between lower sulfur dioxide usage and higher levels of headache-inducing biogenic amines. Could it mean the end for no-SO2-added wines?
When meditation turns toxic: The woman exposing spiritual sexism - by Rachel Made for The Guardian
Since suffering a miscarriage at a women's retreat, Tara Brach has tried to reform the world of meditation by arming its practitioners with a single weapon: self-compassion.
I Meditated for 365 days in a row. Here's what I learned - by Jane Puchniak for Thrive Global
A deep dive on how meditation helped me overcome my depression and anxiety.
Meet the Community:
Here we meet some of the talented folks who make our profession so dynamic.
Dustin Toshiyuki, Sommelier/Assistant Wine Director, Ungrafted, San Francisco (USA)
Years in Industry:
My first industry position was around this time of year, 10 years ago. Back in the day, I was primarily working as a pre and post-production sound designer/engineer for a small, burgeoning film company in San Francisco that some close friends and I from high school and college had formed. One of our 'sets' was a local wine bar that we used for various shoots. I was extremely interested in wine but didn't know much about it and the owner, who was very kind and let us film in his businesses practically for free, hired me as a part-time bartender; a gig that helped me pay the bills as well as provide the first steps in the journey that I'm traveling today.
My Top Three Challenges to Wellness:
For me, when I take a moment and reflect upon how I can be better at what I do in a more sustainable way, and the main challenges that I personally face, three things come to mind: self-control, balance, and rest.
1. I am so fortunate to work in a busy restaurant with an incredible wine program. In certain situations, some of the biggest advantages that I have can quickly transform into disadvantages, if I let my self-control waiver. Access to wine is one of the best examples that comes to mind. Wine is everywhere, and I mean, everywhere! I'm opening bottles constantly throughout service and I taste each and every bottle to ensure its quality.
Most of the time, I spit, but admittedly, this isn't always the case. Wine has always been a comfort for me and enjoying a glass of wine has been something that I've always loved to do. On a busy and hectic night of service, there are many triggers for that need to feel good or to feel comfortable: a difficult guest, a demanding section, more requests than I have time to fill, etc. Each challenging situation chips away at my wall of self-control. Sometimes those tastes turn into sips and those sips can add up over time. By the end of a busy service I can be physically exhausted and that feeling is compounded by a long night of tasting wine. It's something that I'm constantly working on. I feel fortunate to have enough experience at this point in time, not to let things get out of hand. And the solution seems simple enough; however, certain circumstances can really put one's self-control to the test.
2. Secondly, the desire for balance is a recurring theme that I find in almost everything that I do. During the pandemic lockdown of 2020, I was studying for my Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced exam. During lockdown, one of the silver linings of such a depressing situation, I thought, was all the extra time that I had on my hands to study. Before I knew it, I was going down deep rabbit holes of information and trying to absorb and memorize everything that I could get my hands on. I felt so defeated six months later when I could only recall a fraction of what I had committed to memory in the past.
Close study partners and mentors kept telling me, "Know a little about a lot, and not the other way around." I have an 'all or nothing,' sort of personality, which didn't help, because I feel as if I'd always be missing something if I didn't go deep enough. Over time, one of the biggest things that I learned was how vitally important it is to find a balance, no matter how big or small the goals. I feel strongly that finding a balance in studying is what helped me to eventually pass the exam and learning that lesson was far more important than all of the wine factoids and knowledge that I was able to absorb.
3. Lastly, rest, so that I can do it all again. My optimal time of creativity seems to start in the later part of the evening; I've always been that way for whatever reason. It's so easy for me to start reading, researching something, or beginning on a new project at the worst possible time -- when I need to go to bed. Sometimes, after getting home late at night after a crazy service, I just need to wind-down for another hour and find myself getting caught up in something and staying up way too late. Getting rest is the best defense that I have; it helps me to make healthier decisions and getting enough of it is a constant goal. I know I'm not alone here!
How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:
Practicing acceptance, kindness, and forgiveness toward myself on my journey is important. Quiet moments help me to keep it together. That half-hour in the morning when I am enjoying a delicious cup of coffee and reading a book, not related to work, just for pleasure. Only ten minutes a day of meditation really does wonders for me. I find myself working on a daily basis just to squeeze these simple things into my daily routine because they have such profound benefits. I'd love to say that these simple things are a part of my daily routine, but I'm not quite there yet. Sometimes I'm able to keep it together, and sometimes I'm not; like life it ebbs and flows.
What Inspires Me:
Parents of the industry! At this point in my life, married for a little over a year, and definitely family-minded, I think about what's ahead for me and I also think about all of the hard working parents out there. People like my mentors Rebecca Fineman and Chris Gaither (who own Ungrafted and just had a second baby...); I see them and constantly wonder to myself, how the heck do you do it?! How can you own a business in an extremely competitive/ridiculously high-cost place like the Bay Area and raise a family and still be a functioning human being? I find it incredibly inspiring, how hard they and many parents like them have to work to succeed here. In my brain, it just doesn't compute, yet they do it!
A Quote I Love:
Okay, please don't laugh even though I know you will (and because I'm also laughing at myself right now), because this is from a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers called 'Scar Tissue.' I've loved this band for the longest time and for whatever reason this lyric has always stuck with me so here goes:
"Soft spoken with a broken jaw
Step outside but not to brawl and
Autumn's sweet, we call it fall
I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl and"
Not everything in life has to be profound, sometimes you just need to have fun with it. You can take that quote from me!
You can connect with Dustin on Instagram @dustin_toshiyuki
