June

Charlotte, the founder of NONA, was handed an overly sweet mocktail at an afterwork drink near Ghent and decided she could do better. She had a bioscience engineering degree and a living room she was willing to turn into a lab, and June was the result, the first Belgian premium non-alcoholic spirit built to remind you of gin. Nine botanicals go into it, anchored by juniper berries and fresh citrus with a herbal lift of basil, all pulled through a steam distillation process that never involves alcohol in the first place. Without alcohol or much sugar to carry flavor, balance is the hard part, which is why the botanical count runs high and why chefs and sommeliers were brought in to tune the recipe. The house serve is 5cl of June over ice with 10cl of Indian tonic and a basil leaf. It works out to 19 calories per 100ml.