Alcohol free cocktails
Choose the cocktail you want.
Then choose the strength.
At The Archives, every cocktail on our menu is available classic strength, one unit or alcohol-free.
That means no separate mocktail menu and no handful of non-alcoholic options added as an afterthought. Pick the drink that sounds good, then decide how you want it.
Every cocktail. Three ways.
Same menu. Same glassware. Same experience.
Just your choice of strength.
Classic
The original, full-strength cocktail
One unit
All the flavour and experience of a cocktail, with no more than one unit of alcohol.
Alcohol free
Carefully reworked using alcohol-free alternatives, without compromising on the drink.
Possibly the only cocktail menu of its kind in the UK
Too often, not drinking means being given a different experience: a small mocktail list, a soft drink, or something that feels like the lesser option.
We wanted to change that.
A bar is about more than alcohol. It's about going out, ordering something that feels special and sharing the experience with the people you're with. Whether you drink, don't drink, or are drinking less, you should be able to take part in that in exactly the same way, without having to explain your choice.
So we start with the drink and the flavour, not the strength.
As far as we know, we're the only bar in the UK where every cocktail is offered this way. We've looked extensively and haven't found anyone else with an entire menu available at all three strengths.
Flavour comes first
Removing the alcohol can completely change the balance of a cocktail, so we don't simply take it out.
We use quality alcohol-free spirits and alternatives, but we also think about what each ingredient brings to the drink and find other ways to recreate those qualities. That might mean using Lapsang Souchong tea to bring the smoky notes you'd normally get from whisky or mezcal, or adjusting other ingredients to restore the balance, depth and texture of the original.
The aim is to get as close as possible to the flavour and experience of the classic serve, while making sure the alcohol-free version is a great cocktail in its own right.
So if you're looking for mocktails or non-alcoholic cocktails in Brighton, you don't have to compromise on the drink itself.
Drinking less? try it one unit
Sometimes you don't want a full-strength cocktail, but you don't necessarily want an alcohol-free one either.
Our one-unit cocktails give you another option.
Every cocktail can be made with no more than one unit of alcohol, so you can drink more mindfully, pace yourself or simply choose something lighter without giving up the drink you actually wanted.
No labels and no explanations required.
FAQs
Can every cocktail be made alcohol-free?
Yes. Every cocktail on our current menu is available classic strength, one unit or alcohol-free.
Do you have mocktails?
We don't have a separate mocktail menu. Instead, our whole cocktail menu is available alcohol-free, so you can choose the drink you actually want.
What is a one-unit cocktail?
It's a lower-alcohol version containing no more than one UK unit of alcohol, our middle ground between classic strength and alcohol-free.