Restaurant Botanic Releases a Line of Fancy Sodas Called BTNC

The team at Restaurant Botanic is incredibly well-versed in native botanicals and ingredients. Along with the neighbouring The Botanic Lodge, the degustation diner has exclusive foraging rights to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

Now, beverage director Alma Pasalic is bringing her mastery of Australian flavours straight to your fridge with a line of small-batch, fancy sodas called BTNC. Pasalic joined Restaurant Botanic in 2021 and took over the restaurant’s temperance (non-alcoholic) program the following year. Her non-alcoholic serves have received widespread acclaim.

“It starts as dipping my toe in, then it really escalated into this obsession with making everything in-house, utilising natives and making super flavourful drinks,” she tells Broadsheet. “I wanted something that could feed my creative side outside of the restaurant as well. You know, us hospitality people, we never stop. So for me, it was like, ‘Oh, let’s start making sodas. Let’s start, you know, pushing the boundaries of what’s expected in the non-alcoholic space.’”

Pasalic took inspiration from SA-based Mischief Brew, and other interstate companies making complex non-alcoholic drinks.

“Everything in [the sodas] has been hand-foraged by me,” she says. “The peaches, we grill over the fire and dehydrate them ourselves. Same goes with all the botanicals.”

The launch line-up includes three cans. There’s a bunya pine cola which includes notes of native thyme. Pasalic says it works well when spiked with a bit of rum or drunk straight with a splash of lime. The very floral Garden of Health tonic, which has long been served at the restaurant, was a “no-brainer” to include. The final flavour is a peach, native basil and rose drop, which Pasalic says was inspired by iced tea. “I’m picturing people drinking [it] on the beach or at a barbeque.”

The cans are wrapped in vibrant, painterly designs which are inspired by Pasalic’s memories of summer: the sunburnt outback, a white sand beach, and watching birds dart through tall trees in the Hills.

Down the line, there are plans to release more soft drinks, non-alcoholic liqueurs, aperitifs and digestifs.

BTNC hopes to become a go-to for “moments where alcohol is not a priority, but you still want to celebrate with love and something super special,” says Pasalic.

BTNC is available to order online.

btnc.com.au/
@btnc_bevs