Try a ‘healthy’ cocktail for a sugar fix

SUPERFOOD staples including organic kombucha, goji berries and unprocessed agave are now being stocked behind the bar next to the booze as sugar-laden cocktails are given the elbow.

SUPERFOOD staples including organic kombucha, goji berries and unprocessed agave are now being stocked behind the bar next to the booze as sugar-laden cocktails are given the elbow.

But the move has been derided by experts, who say trendy bars may now have reached “peak hipster”.

Bondi’s popular Hotel Ravesis is just one of the establishments trying to tap into the wellbeing market. Its drinks list now includes healthy sounding ingredients such as organic hibiscus and lime kombucha, alongside liqueurs made from fair trade acai and goji berries.

Agave is used in place of sugar while elderflower — spruiked for its anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties — is also on the menu.

Pauline Lefur, 24, tries The New Guard cocktail — packed with healthy ingredients — at Hotel Ravesis at Bondi Beach. Picture: Jonathan Ng

And Ravesis manager Tayla Hamill said the cocktails’ popularity had “exploded” recently. “The focus is on healthy and organic ingredients, which is the direction that everyone is going in these days.”

READ MORE: Sydney’s 10 best cocktail bars

Instead of artificially sweetened soft drinks the bar uses sparkling kombucha — a fermented tea drink — and real fruit replaces processed fruit juice.

Alcohol consumption is down while demand for quality drinks increases

Bar staff say the cocktails’ popularity had “exploded recently. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Pauline Lefur, 24, (right) with a Flower Power cocktail and Jazmin Webb, 23, with a Sunburn. Picture: Jonathan Ng

But Dietitians Association of Australian spokeswoman Julie Gilbert said sugar is still sugar — no matter what its source. “I think we have reached peak hipster,” Ms Gilbert said.

“All we are doing is shifting the name of the type of sugar we are consuming.”

She likened the trend to eating a Big Mac but ordering it with a diet coke.

Originally published as Try a ‘healthy’ cocktail for a sugar fix