Kin is an alcohol-free drink that wants to put a smile on your face
We have written about non-alcoholic spirits before. An example being Lyre’s, a vegan brand of craft ‘spirits’ that provides great alternatives to favourites such as rum, absinthe, gin and whisky. Its take on absinthe, for example, can allow one to enjoy the delicious, heady notes of anise, wormwood and fennel without seeing stars. Cool, but where’s the buzz?
On a higher note, we have found a way in which you can enjoy the buzz without the alcohol – and legally, too. Kin is a category of euphoria-inducing beverages that contain a calorie-free blend of adaptogens, botanicals and nootropics. This blend alleviates stress and taps into our ‘bliss network’ by replenishing our dopamine, serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels.
For context, drinking Kin should feel like “the equivalent of a glass of red and a hit of a joint”, enhancing clarity, calmness and creativity, among other benefits. This is, at least, according to Jennifer Batchelor, who co-founded Kin with Matthew Cauble – one of the founders of the meal-replacement drinks company, Soylent. She wants Kin to be the new ritual and social lubricant of people’s lives.
There are currently two kinds of drinks on offer. High Rhode, the brand’s first formulation, is a de-stressing caffeinated beverage with notes of hibiscus and liquorice (it goes really well with grapefruit soda). Dream Light, on the other hand, is a smoky and spicy nightcap that not only aids digestion but also improves sleep, thanks to microdoses of melatonin and reishi mushroom. A third drink that “plays into creativity and arousal” may soon be launched.
If you’re keen to bring Kin to Singapore, it’s worth mentioning that no cannabidiol (CBD) has been used, even though Kin’s direct competition are CBD-infused drinks.
Kin could not resonate better than it does in 2020, especially with ‘health’ quickly becoming the new ‘wealth’ among 20- and 30-somethings. That said, however, it’s going to take a while before a wider adoption of a product like Kin will take place. In fact, some of its ingredients – GABA and Rhodiola rosea, for example – have been said to offer nothing more than a placebo effect. Batchelor insists otherwise, saying that pharmacologists and endocrinologists were roped in to determine the dosage and ingredients that go into Kin.
Whatever they may be, and whatever effects they may have, there’s only one way to find out. If it helps to put a smile on your face for an evening, and there are no hangovers to dread the following morning, then placebo or not, we’re all in.
This story first appeared in the September 2020 issue, which you may purchase as a hard or digital copy
