Bitter little bottles

I feel a lot less like drinking lately. I’m not sure why.

It’s not the old saw of sleeping better without booze. Nor is it a health thing, except in the vaguest sense. It’s just that I don’t feel the need for it, nor the desire.

When I’ve felt like a treat, I’ve enjoyed a bittersweet aperitivo. One of those little Italian spritzy jobs in a dinky, almost-conical bottle: SanBitter, Crodino and the like.

I’ve found a couple of new ones, too. There’s IESSI, a Franco–Italian option, and Club Mera from over here — both of which hit the UK market in 2026.

What these drinks all have in common is a mix of sophistication and laid-back simplicity, plus an uncompromisingly bitter flavour profile that makes them decidedly grownup.

You can (and I do) enjoy them simply glugged out over ice and perhaps garnished with a bit of orange. But they also make great mixers — with or without booze. (IESSI’s creator says he likes it with mezcal.)

They are admittedly a bit more expensive than a multipack of Diet Coke or what-have-you, but… that’s the point, isn’t it? These are supposed to be a treat rather than an everyday thing.

Anyway. 2026 might just be a good time for drinks like this. As reported in Drinks Retailing on 28 April 2026, the market for “low and no” drinks in the UK has matured. Growth has turned into stability. Habits are settling in.

Over half of consumers now actively moderate alcohol consumption. You might think this is down to Gen Z shunning anything remotely fun, but actually the fastest growth (or is that swiftest decline?) is among older singles, older couples, and “post-family groups”. Not sure what the latter are exactly, but I know they’re not young! This older age profile maps neatly onto aperitivo culture and that pronounced bitterness.

Dry January still drives a lot of sales — but not as much as you might think. People are moderating their alcohol intake year-round. Aperitivi suit this, given they’re occasion-led (pre-dinner) rather than seasonal.

For the four weeks ending 31 January 2026, the low-no market grew by 3.1% YoY, adding £820,000 to the category. RTD aperitivi sit in the spirits segment of this, which is the fastest growing in value terms.

Club Mera and IESSI both position themselves as alcohol-free in a way that puts weight on that choice. They are consciously tapping into that market.

On the other hand, both Crodino and SanBitter predate the low and no movement by 60 years or more. They're not really "alcohol alternatives" — they're just soft drinks with a bitter profile that happen to suit the moment.

I’ve not gone into tasting notes here but take it from me: they are all delicious in their way. They’re mostly pretty similar though — with the major exception being Crodino is yellow rather than red, and sort of tastes more “yellow” too. Think gentian and dandelion rather than rhubarb and bitter orange.

Club Mera has a nice pink-pepper lift to it. IESSI has some almost cherry notes tucked away in there. SanBitter is perhaps the simplest, perhaps because it also has the most sugar.

Here is a comparison:

(In case the fancy embed isn't working you can view the data directly.)

To put those sugar values in context, a full-fat Coke comes in at 10.6g per 100ml. Crodino comes out surprisingly well in terms of sugar and price. But, like I said, these are treats rather than everyday drinks; perhaps a bit of sugar and cost are baked in?

Something to think about as this year’s run of (hopefully sunny) bank holidays kicks off.