The Spirit of Milano

I've tasted a ton of NA products, trying to find something for my elderly mom to drink as she can't tolerate alcohol these days and also for myself for cocktail hour on work nights, and the Spirit of Milano has been my favorite. I've found NA Campari or Aperol-like liqueurs to be more similar in flavor to the real thing than other liquor substitutes, and I've tried both the Lyre's Italian Orange and the Martini & Rossi Vibrante which are pretty good. The Spirit of Milano is way better, though. It's less sweet, has more complex flavor, and provides more heat at the end. I still prefer Aperol but I actually don't miss it too much if I'm drinking Spirit of Milano instead. Spirit of Milano has no artificial color or artificial sweeteners (it just contains sugar, and not much of it), unlike Lyre's which contains red dye. I wish it were a little less expensive but, unlike other NA products that I've purchased and then poured down the drain ("Tastes like pickle juice!" or "Tastes like poison!" or "Tastes like dirty water!"), it is delicious. I wish it had a different name as I feel silly asking my husband to pour me some "Spriti of Milano" so we just call it NAperol at our house.

I did not like this NA aperitivo compared to other brands. This one is overall too sweet for me.

The flavor is great.

This is the third 'non-alcoholic' spirit I've tried. It's the best of the three, and the flavor is very complex. It's too bitter for me to drink on the rocks...but with some club soda & lime slices it's just perfect. It really feels like you're drinking an alcoholic drink! This stuff is my favorite part of 'dry january' so far. Cheers!

Well since this is the first non alcoholic spirit I have tasted, I don’t really care for it that much. To me I taste cinnamon and a resemblance of cough syrup, but like I say its the first one I have tasted so know not what to expect. It was expensive to me and I was expecting this pretty bottle from the review I read, it looked like any bottle, nothing special. To be honest I wouldn’t buy this again. I would like a little more bang for my buck, (a better taste)

I am beyond disappointed with this. It is so bitter and tastes like cough syrup. I would welcome a way to make use of it as it was quite expensive.

For those who want to reduce their alcohol consumption, but miss the taste of adult beverages....this is one of the best alternatives I have found. It actually tastes like a decent imitation of Apersol and is good enough to drink straight on the rocks. I found adding club soda and a hint of orange juice makes a very nice mocktail.

I'm getting a head start on my new years resolution of cutting down alcohol intake and I'm confident this Free Spirits option will make it super easy. It’s not overly sweet, which I really appreciate, and it pairs beautifully with tonic water or as a base for more elaborate mocktails before dinner. The bottle design is sleek and looks great on my bar cart, too!