The importance of a well-balanced drink can’t be overstated. Too sweet? Yuck. Too sour? Down the sink it goes.

The foundation of any adult drink is acidity. Acid is what gives a drink bite and flavor complexity. Acid activates the taste buds. It’s also what makes alcoholic beverages taste the way they do. And it’s not something that’s easy to recreate in a non-alcoholic beverage — unless you know what you’re doing. (Good news: we do, and now you do too!)

A standout non-alcoholic drink needs just the right type of acid. The bite of citric acid (lemons) is too ordinary. The sour from acetic acid (vinegar) is too off-putting. But the pucker of tartaric acid found in young, green grapes? Perfect.

We use those same tart grapes to make verjus, the miracle ingredient in non-alcoholic beverages. Verjus is a beautiful golden juice that brings a ton of bite with just a hint of sugar. And it’s what's at the heart of every Kally recipe.

The acidity of the verjus signals to the brain to sip. Plus, it adds “finish” by letting flavors linger in the mouth after a sip is finished. It teases the mind, giving a drink all the best aspects of an alcoholic beverage, but without, you know, the alcohol.