The Lyre’s American Malt scores a 4.6/10 as the flavour profile is indicative of a sweet brown sugar & caramel led, yet watered-down whiskey. Each mouthful provides notes of caramel, cherry, raisin, brown sugar, & hints of woodiness with a light peppery finish. This is a spirit to mix into a cocktail rather than enjoy neat.
Key Takeaways
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ABV: |
0.0% |
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Style |
Whiskey |
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Calories: |
64 calories per can |
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Colour: |
Deep Amber |
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Main Notes: |
Caramel. Raisins. |
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Cost: |
£24 – $47 / bottle |
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Rating: |
4.2 / 10 |
| Drink Again? |
No |
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Where to Buy |
READ THE FULL REVIEW DOWN BELOW
- What does Lyre’s American Malt Taste Like?
- American Malt Stockists
- Calories in Lyre’s American Malt
- American Malt Rating
What does Lyre’s American Malt Taste Like?
If you’re like me the thought of a non-alcoholic dark spirit always sparks your interest. This has particularly been the case in light of the context of how well other Lyre’s options like the Italian Orange and Italian Spritz play in the glass.
Reviewing the Lyre’s American Malt in the context of the broader Lyre’s range and against traditional whisky, means you’re like to be a little underwhelmed by this one. Once poured in your glass, you’re going to find it presents with a profile that is made up of:
- Sweet brown sugar and caramel notes.
- Dried fruits such as currants, raisins and dates.
- Some warm maltiness you expect from a whiskey.
- Earthy notes that are similar to coffee.
- Peppery yet sweet finish.
As you can see the alcohol free whiskey from Lyre’s, while incorporating the fundamentals of what whiskey should include, the flavour profile doesn’t quite land for me.
Yet we’ll talk more about how it stacks up in cocktails a little further below.
What are the Body and Mouthfeel Like?
The mouthfeel of the American Malt picks up where the flavour profile left off in the sense that it falls a little flat and doesn’t quite give you the sensory experience of enjoying a whiskey or cocktail.
Whether neat or in a cocktail the American Malt won’t add the weight or mouth-filling sheen that alcoholic options provide. While it will be acceptable for use in cocktails it is worth noting you are going to need to search out an alternative spirit (alcoholic or otherwise) to give you the weight and punch in a cocktail here.
With flavour and body out of the way, let’s recap the key items I like and what to consider so far.
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What I Like |
Things to Consider |
| The low-calorie profile. No sugar and only 3 calories per serve. | Flavour profile is more “sweet and curated” than “deep, rich and developed” |
| The way the bitterness builds and develops as you progress through the glass is a nice touch. | Like all non-alcoholic spirits, you do not get the carry through that a whiskey needs to provide. |
Lyre’s American Malt Cocktails
Right, so you know that Lyre’s non-alcoholic whiskey is not the one to drink straight (they legitimately tell you this when you go to their website). So how should you drink it?
The Lyre’s team suggest:
- trying with your favourite cola, for that classic scotch and coke® profile;
- jumping into a classic and ageless cocktail that is the Old Fashioned; and
- giving a Boulevardier ago as well by combining the Lyre’s Italian orange and Aperitif Rosso.
I tried this in both an Old Fashioned and non-alcoholic scotch and coke and it gives you exactly what you would expect, a ‘light’ weighted and bodied alcohol free whiskey styled cocktail and as you can see below I’ve had both this and the ready to drink version.
If you’re looking for takes on other cocktails check out these Broadsheet or BBC Good Food cocktails you can substitute the American Malt in for in place of your standard whiskey!
Lyre’s American Malt Stockists.
The Lyre’s range is so widely available globally via Lyre’s directly as well as through retail outlets, this makes picking up a bottle extremely simple.
The American Malt is available across major retailers whether grocery, liquor or non-alcoholic across the USA (Sipple, Zero Proof), the UK (Dry Drinker) and Australia through a wide array of options including Craft Zero, Dan Murphy’s and Woolworths to name a few.
All the links you need to look into the price in your region are below.
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Country |
Retailer |
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Australia |
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Grocery channels i.e. Woolworths etc. |
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United Kingdom |
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| United States | |
Calories in Lyre’s American Malt
The Lyre’s American Malt comes in extremely low in both sugar and calories and per 30ml serve you are going to find 3 Calories and 0.2 grams of sugar. Comparing this out to per 100ml, to compare it to other alternatives you will find only 11 calories and 0.5 grams of sugar per 100ml.
Looking for the full rundown of the nutritional profile of the American Malt? Find it all down below in the table.
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Avg Quantity |
Avg Quantity |
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| Energy |
14 kJ |
48 kJ |
| Protein |
0 g |
0 g |
| Fat, total |
0 g |
0 g |
|
— saturated |
0 g |
0 g |
| Carbohydrate |
0.7 g |
2.3 g |
|
— sugars |
0.2 g |
0.5 g |
| Sodium |
1 mg |
2 mg |
Lyre’s American Malt vs Gnista Barrelled Oak
Comparing the oak styled non-alcoholic Lyre’s against a similar spirit like the Gnista is a good way to pull together the pros and cons of the Lyre’s against another market option.
As you can see the Gnista provides you with a full-bodied, complex flavour and mouthfeel profile that you could comfortably drink over ice or as part of a complex and decadent cocktail. You can read all about the Gnista Barrelled Oak in the full review here.
The American Malt on the other hand is lighter and thinner in its body and taste profile and more suited to the traditionally styled cocktails. For a list of similarities and differences check out the list below.
| Similarities | Differences |
Each contains:
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Normally I’d include one more alternative here however the Glen Dochus non-alcoholic whiskey is an alternative that I’ll save you the trouble of trying and say it tastes and smells like a cough medicine that you’d be better spent dropping $30 on something new!
Rating Criteria
As I’ve mentioned in the Tipple Zero reviews that have landed in 2022, the way in which drinks like the Lyre’s American Malt are going to be rated will be against key criteria of:
- flavour and taste;
- body and mouthfeel;
- nutritional impact; and
- drinkability
As we’ve touched on the Lyre’s does fall down on the flavour and body front given the underwhelming nature of the flavour profile, its depth and ability to replicate the traditional whiskey notes (which I think we’re all in agreeance is no easy task at the best of times).
Based on this the body and flavour scores are relatively low, however, nutrition is extremely high given the low sugar and calorie values and drinkability is reasonable given the ability to include this into key cocktails like an Old Fashioned and Manhattan as touched on above.
Flavour/Taste (40%) | | | | |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAW | 4 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 21/40 |
| ADJUSTED | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1 | .4 | 4.2/10 |
The Round-Up: Final Thoughts
Reiterating the point made a little earlier, I feel like the best way to wrap up the Lyre’s American Malt review is the flavour profile is more “sweet and curated” than “deep, rich and developed”, which translated out to regular English means, it feels developed in a kitchen as opposed to crafted in a barrel.
For now I’d say grab yourself a small bottle from your local grocery outlet and see what the flavour profile is like and whether you can make it work for you, however keep in mind the feedback in the review above!
If you’re looking for a bottle I’ve got the links again down below for you
| Country | Retailer |
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Australia |
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Grocery channels i.e. Woolworths etc. |
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United Kingdom |
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United States |
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