Seedlip

The brand draws on Branson's farming heritage. The name itself comes from the wicker baskets his family used for hand-sowing seeds across generations of Lincolnshire agriculture. That agrarian thread runs through everything Seedlip does, from botanical sourcing to the earthy, garden-forward flavours in their range.

Four expressions make up the current lineup. Spice 94 leads with allspice and cardamom, finishing with citrus warmth. Garden 108 leans into English countryside flavours: peas, rosemary, thyme, spearmint. Grove 42 brings bright citrus with orange, lemon, ginger and lemongrass. Notas de Agave arrived later, built around prickly pear, lime and agave with vanilla undertones.

The production method matters here. Seedlip distils each botanical individually in copper pot stills, then blends the distillates. This approach captures aromatic complexity without relying on sugar or artificial flavourings to fill the gap left by absent alcohol. The result works in cocktails the way a proper spirit should, providing backbone and botanical depth rather than just flavoured water.

Seedlip's timing proved impeccable. Launching into an emerging category with no real competition, the brand built relationships with premium bars, hotels and restaurants before most people knew alcohol-free spirits existed. That first-mover advantage, combined with genuine quality, caught the attention of drinks giant Diageo. Their accelerator programme Distill Ventures invested in 2016, and by 2019 Diageo had acquired a majority stake.

That corporate backing accelerated global expansion. Seedlip now ships to dozens of markets and sits behind bars that take their non-alcoholic offerings seriously. The brand essentially created the premium alcohol-free spirits category, proving that grown-up, sophisticated drinking experiences could exist without ethanol.

Branson has since stepped back to pursue new ventures, though he remains involved as a shareholder. His legacy with Seedlip extends beyond the products themselves. Before 2015, asking for a non-alcoholic cocktail at a decent bar meant getting handed orange juice or a sugary mocktail. Seedlip changed that conversation entirely.

You can find Seedlip at quality supermarkets, specialist drinks retailers, and directly from their website. They ship to the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Premium in price and genuinely so in product, it's the category benchmark against which everything else is measured.