Curious Elixirs Review - Must Read This Before Buying

Non-alcoholic drinks have a credibility problem that's mostly self-inflicted. For years the options were sugary sodas dressed up in fancy bottles, or club soda with a dash of bitters that nobody was fooled by.

Curious Elixirs went a different direction entirely. Founder John Wiseman had moved away from alcohol and got tired of the compromise, so he built numbered booze-free cocktails using organic ingredients, real herbs, botanicals and adaptogens, and priced them like a craft product rather than a soft drink.

Here's the honest part upfront. These drinks are genuinely divisive. Some reviewers rank them among the best non-alcoholic products they've tried. Others describe them as bitter, medicinal and badly overpriced. Both reactions come from real customers, and understanding why is the useful part.

Curious Elixirs Pros and Cons

Pros:

1. Complex, layered flavours that reviewers describe as genuinely grown-up rather than sweet
2. Organic ingredients with no added sugar in most flavours
3. Adaptogens like ashwagandha and rhodiola, which several reviewers say produce a mild relaxing effect
4. Recyclable glass and cardboard packaging, no plastic
5. Rotating monthly variety pack lets you find your flavour before committing

Cons:

1. Around $10 per can or bottle plus shipping, which is steep
2. Taste reviews are strongly polarised, some find the flavours harsh or medicinal
3. Ginger and adaptogen notes overwhelm the drink for some people
4. Flavours go out of stock and variety packs are limited
5. Ordering process confuses some customers

What the Flavours Actually Taste Like

The range is numbered rather than named, which sounds gimmicky but makes sense once you realise each one is a different cocktail archetype.

No. 1 is the Negroni alternative and the original. Reviewers describe it as juicier than a real Negroni, with intense Mediterranean orange, pomegranate and a crisp fennel note that gives it an absinthe-adjacent edge. It contains rhodiola, an adaptogen linked in studies to reduced stress and fatigue.

No. 2 is the margarita stand-in and one of the most divisive. Pineapple, lime, orange, jalapeño, ginger and star anise. One reviewer at Thingtesting described the first sip as jarring, tangy and spicy with a real burn of ginger, before deciding it was one of the most complex ready-to-drink products they'd tried. Another reviewer named it their outright favourite. If you like bold, this is the one.

No. 4 leans citrus, blending bitter green mandarin and grapefruit peel against sweet-tart blood orange.

No. 5 is a smoked cherry chocolate old fashioned with oak, chicory, cacao and elderberry. It uses a touch of coconut sugar, making it slightly sweeter than the others.

No. 7 is the champagne cocktail, built on Chardonnay grapes with green tea as a lift and lavender for mood. A reviewer at Illuminate Labs named this his favourite of the range, calling it refreshing and subtle with real herb and spice character, and was impressed it managed that with just one gram of added sugar.

No. 8 is the outlier, a limited edition non-alcoholic amaro with blackberry, blueberry, fig and adaptogenic mushrooms, designed for after dinner. Drinkhacker rated it A minus and called it one of the better non-alcoholic amari they'd tried, though they wanted a better closure than a twist-off crown cap.

Why Reviews Split So Sharply

Reading across Thingtesting, Tasting Table, The Good Trade and Drinkhacker, the pattern is clear enough to predict where you'll land.

People who enjoy bitter, herbaceous, floral flavours and drinks that aren't sweet tend to love these. People expecting something closer to a fruit juice or a sweet mocktail tend to be disappointed, and some describe the herbal and adaptogen notes as medicinal.

One Thingtesting reviewer put it bluntly, saying she ended up with four bottles of what tasted to her like pomegranate juice mixed with herbs, and that it didn't taste like a Negroni at all. That's a fair reaction from someone expecting a cocktail replica rather than an adaptogen-forward botanical drink.

A reviewer at Florah who tested the range summarised it well. Most people won't love or hate all of them. Most will find one or two clear favourites, and those favourites differ wildly person to person. That's exactly why the variety pack is the sensible entry point rather than committing to a case of one flavour.

The Price Question

At roughly $10 per can or bottle plus shipping, this is expensive relative to almost anything else you'd drink at home. Illuminate Labs flagged the price as the main downside despite recommending the brand overall.

Some context helps. A single cocktail at a decent bar costs considerably more, and these use organic ingredients with genuine botanical complexity rather than concentrate. But if you're comparing against a can of sparkling water or a supermarket mocktail, the gap will feel large.

Bundle pricing softens it. Buying three flavours together saves $10, and the referral programme gives both parties $10.

Shipping and Return Policy

Curious Elixirs sells both one-off orders and a monthly subscription with rotating flavours, and the subscription can be cancelled at any time rather than locking you into a term.

The variety pack is the recommended starting point given how personal the flavour reactions are, letting you try several numbers before deciding what to reorder. Bundling three flavours together saves $10 off the total.

Shipping costs are charged on top of product pricing and multiple reviewers flagged these as high, so it's worth checking the total at checkout rather than judging by the per-bottle price alone. Packaging is glass and cardboard with no plastic, which one reviewer specifically praised as feeling premium and fully recyclable.

For returns, refunds or issues with a specific order, contact the company directly through their website, and check the current policy on curiouselixirs.com before ordering since terms on consumable goods can change.

Contact Details

1. Website: curiouselixirs.com
2. Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York
3. Subscription: Managed through your account, cancel any time
4. Referral Programme: Curious Rewards, $10 for you and $10 for a friend

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Curious Elixirs actually taste good?

That depends heavily on your palate. If you enjoy bitter, herbal, botanical flavours that aren't sweet, most reviewers say yes. If you're expecting something closer to fruit juice or a sweet mocktail, several reviewers found them harsh or medicinal.

Which Curious Elixir flavour should I try first?

The variety pack, honestly. Reactions differ so much person to person that picking blind is a gamble. If you must choose one, No. 7 and No. 2 come up most often as favourites, for very different reasons.

Are Curious Elixirs worth the price?

At around $10 a bottle plus shipping they're expensive for a non-alcoholic drink. Reviewers who value the complexity and adaptogen content generally think so. Those comparing against supermarket alternatives usually don't.

Do the adaptogens actually do anything?

Several reviewers report a mild relaxing or uplifting effect, though this is subjective. Adaptogens like rhodiola and ashwagandha have some research behind them for stress, but these are drinks rather than supplements.

Can I cancel the Curious Elixirs subscription?

Yes, the monthly subscription can be cancelled at any time through your account.

Final Verdict

Curious Elixirs is doing something genuinely different in a category full of sugary compromises, and when it lands for someone, it really lands. The complexity is real, the ingredients are good, the packaging is thoughtful, and the adaptogen angle gives it a point of difference beyond just being alcohol-free.

But this isn't a product that suits everyone, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. The flavours are bold, bitter and herbal by design. If that's not your palate, the price makes disappointment expensive.

Start with the variety pack rather than committing to a case. Find the one or two numbers that work for you, then decide whether the ongoing cost is worth it. That approach turns a risky purchase into a reasonable experiment.