Devant was founded by two highly successful entrepreneurs, Tom and Nish. Nish has a history of setting up and selling extremely successful businesses, and Tom has worked in the drinks industry for a long time. These two were an entrepreneurial match made in heaven.
In 2017 the duo set out to create a sophisticated adult drink to rival alcohol’s social potency. They had come to the realisation that people were using alcohol as a social prop and that non-drinkers were being excluded. They still wanted the bond of social drinking but without the physical or mental side effects of alcohol. This lead Tom and Nish on their path to create a non-alcoholic spirit is more open, creative and inclusive.
Devant was borne of many years experimenting, testing, and refining. The team have created two unique yet complimentary flavours that will make you rethink how you drink by switching up or switching out what’s in your glass.
The name Devant means ‘in front of’ in French and that’s the mantra of the company. “We strive to lead the rest of the category by continually innovating and improving our brand and alcohol-free spirits” says Tom, “we want to make it easy for people to make Devant a part of the way they drink so we developed highly complex flavours, whilst drawing on familiar flavour profiles.
Devant have two flavour profiles at the moment, their light spirt, New Dawn is designed for light spirit drinkers and has an aromatic citrus flavour.
Their dark spirit, New Dusk is this month’s Undrunk Featured Spirit, and the key botanicals include nutmeg, vanilla, cassia and cubeb berries which are some of the flavours you would expect to find in a traditional dark spirit. “Its aroma has notes of caramelised banana, rounded with mellow black tea and cacao. On the palate, it has a smooth nutty vanilla flavour leading to perfectly balanced notes of spiced cubeb and oak. The real standout is the finish, it’s long, warming and builds after each sip.”
The Devant team is made up of 4 people. There’s Tom and Nish, the founders, and there’s Issy, Operations manager, who keeps the team on track with daily activities and makes sure there are always plans for the future, and finally there’s Molly, marketing manager, who spreads the word far and wide about how wonderful Devant drinks are.
Every time the team meet up, the more they see the way they drink change. They are always swapping mixers and changing how they drink Devant.
Everyone has their own preferred way to drink Devant, but Tom likes to keep it simple. He chills New Dusk in the fridge, adds a dash of sugar syrup and two dashes of bitters for a lovely evening sipping drink.
Devant is listed in some of the top London cocktail bars and Toms new favourite is the ‘Lesson of the Hour’ cocktail at Mr Fogg’s in Mayfair. New Dusk is mixed with date and orange syrup, fresh lime and ginger, topped with a smoked orange wheel.
The Devant team tread lightly on the Earth and strive for sustainability in all they do. The botanicals in their drinks are responsibly sourced, 100% recycled glass is used for the bottles, which is a first for alcohol free spirits, and their label are printed on a by-product from sugar cane processing which means no trees were harmed in the making of these drinks. As the brand grows, they plan to get even more virtuous in their usage cycle and commitment to sustainability.
Having full control over their ingredients, knowing where they are sourced and how they are processed means that they guarantee there’s no added sugar or any artificial sweetener in the drinks, making their drinks naturally low in calories. They have also made sure they’re both suitable for vegans because alcohol free is all about inclusion.
As with many business owners, Tom finds it difficult to switch off and has to be doing something otherwise it feels like wasted time. So, at the moment Toms relaxing after work schedule consists of doing lots of drinks experiments in the kitchen. He notes “my cupboards are packed with different botanicals and my fridge is full of random homemade libations, some delicious, but some rather questionable.”. Taking a bit of time away from the daily grind, no matter what the task, is great for your mental health.
We couldn’t agree more, and this is even more important at this crazy time of year where there’s pressure coming from all sides to go out, be social, and drink to have fun.
So, take a step back, relax, and have a glass of Devant New Dusk, you can thank us later.