FAQ

How to drink Bôtan? 

Bôtan is a spirit. We recommend starting with a Bôtan Highball by combining 25ml of Bôtan, 100ml of tonic water (or a mixer as tonic water), lime juice and ice cubes. You can also check out our recipes for easy nolow cocktails. As Bôtan is gastronomic-grade and intense, our botanical distillates create all flavour. As a result you don’t need fancy ingredients to create gastronomic cocktails. 

With every order, you’ll receive a booklet The Gastronomic Serve Guide with 14 nolow recipes. You can find these recipes on our website as well. 

 

How to store Bôtan? 

Store our N/A spirits in a cool and dark place. No refrigeration required. 

 

Why is Bôtan superior? 

Bôtan Distillery is the only N/A distillery from field-to-table. We achieve this as we grow and distill herbs and flowers ourselves supported by the lawless elements of time, terroir and craftsmanship. We use no artificial flavours, no preservatives and nu sugars. That's why our botanical distillates are superior. This translates into complex, refined and gastronomic-grade N/A spirits. 

 

What is Bôtan made of? 

Bôtan is a non-alcoholic spirit made from plant-based distillates. The blends contain up to 14 distillates from single distilled herbs, flowers and spices. 

 

Which distillation process is used? 

We use many different distillation techniques. On top we developed a unique and exclusive liquid technology. Before we launched Bôtan Distillery, we spent 3 years of research on the distillation method of each herb, flower or spice individually. With each research the goal is to extract the most delicate flavours of each ingredient. 

 

Why do we start from (and end with) nature? 

Our goal is not to make a cheap spirit, but a powerful one. Nature offers more intense flavours and preserving characteristics than the industry provides. Herbs, flowers and spices have a versatile flavour palette which we can’t replace by industrial flavours. And we are willing to make a conscious spirit. It’s our DNA.

 

Does Bôtan contain sugar? 

No. Bôtan does not contain sugar. 

 

Does Bôtan contain flavour additives? 

No. Bôtan only distills real ingredients. We start and end with nature. That's our DNA. 

 

Does Bôtan contain preservatives? 

No. Thanks to our unique liquid technology, we found a method on not to use preservatives. 

 

Why do we encourage - you - to read the list of ingredients of your favourite non-alcoholic spirit? 

Many spirits claim to be natural. Unfortunately, many of these spirits contain fake ingredients as artificial aroma's, so-called 'natural' aroma's and preservatives. 

 

Is Bôtan healthy? 

By intensively distilling fresh plant-material, all vitamins and antioxidants are transferred. A shot of our botanical distillates gives a powerful botanical dosage. 

 

Is Bôtan vegan? 

Yes. All our blends are plant-based. 

 

Do we really grow herbs ourselves? 

Yes. In our 300 years pesticide free fields in Belgium, we grow herbs and species from all over the world. By growing ourselves, we know when to harvest and capture a full-grown flavour palette. Of course, some ingredients grow better in their native climate. For these ingredients, we source passionate suppliers worldwide who deliver the most exquisite quality. 

 

Do we really distill ourselves? 

Yes. Bôtan Distillery is a flavour institute and the world's only non-alcoholic distillery from field-to-tabel. Our distillery is located in Schoten, Antwerp. 

 

Do we really blend ourselves? 

Yes. We master the art of blending. As with blending wine, we combine single botanical distillates from which the flavour palette is influenced by time, terroir and craftsmanship. That’s why there’s no one standard recipe for the blends. Every year and every season, we blend, taste and adapt our recipes to get the distinct flavours of our editions. It’s only a few given to taste subtle nuances in flavour notes. 

 

What’s the code on the neck label? 

This number is the batch number. As with wine, there are subtle nuances in flavour notes depending on the year and season of production. The first letters give the year of production. The following two letters give the season: summer, autumn, winter and spring. 

 

Why are your blends so expensive? 

While using natural ingredients, our spirits are ridiculously strong. To create insane intense cocktails, you only need 25ml per serving, while other spirits recommend 50ml per serving.

And... We want to bring value to the market and not just 'take' value. Bôtan Distillery is the world's first botanical distillery from field-to-table. We only use high-quality organic ingredients, and we skip cheap chemical ingredients. Did you know that one bottle contains 350 grams of distilled herbs, flowers and spices?