We look at Disney World menu updates every week, and recently, we’ve noticed a very interesting trend: more non-alcoholic drinks and zero-proof cocktails are making it to menus. We’re talking about drinks not targeted at kids, but instead, at adults who don’t wish to drink alcohol.

Well, this is a trend that’s taking over right now, perhaps in part thanks to Gen Z, who are drinking significantly less alcohol than the generations that came before them. Well, in timely fashion, Disney World just held its first non-alcoholic beverage-focused pairing event, and we were there to check it out — and it honestly surprised us.

We were invited by Enzo’s Hideaway in Disney Springs to check out a media preview of the Mindful Midday Pairing, which was held in partnership with the non-alcoholic spirits brand Aplós. We got a chance to sample three courses from the restaurant matched with non-alcoholic beverages that “include functional ingredients that still produce a calming sensation, but avoid alcohol’s harmful effects.”

For the first course, we were served Porchetta Con Insalata, made with crispy porchetta, arugula, fennel, citrus, white balsamic, and tangerine extra virgin olive oil. This was a wonderful, fresh, and light start to the experience.

With that, we drank the Americano, made with Aplos Arise, housemade hibiscus bitter, and zero-proof sweet vermouth. This tasted a lot like grapefruit with the combination of flavors. It was fruity with a hint of sweetness. Paired with the salad, it really helped even out the bitter flavor of the arugula. This was probably our favorite pairing of the event.

The second course was Lumache Alla Vodka Con Gamberi, made with housemade pasta, grilled shrimp, tomato cream, ‘nduja, parmigiano-reggiano, and salsa verde. As our reporter is allergic to shellfish, the chefs made us a version without the shrimp. The pasta was amazing, even without the shrimp. It was creamy and full of tomato flavor with just a hint of spice. There was also something like breadcrumbs mixed into the sauce that added a lovely texture.

The pairing was a drink called Coriander Sky, made with Aplos Arise, lemongrass ginger tea, coriander agave syrup, orange blossom water, acid-adjusted lime juice, and ginger soda. This was our favorite drink of the experience! It’s kinda like a lemony ginger ale, but the flavors are more complex. The coriander agave syrup almost gives it a cinnamon or nutmeg-like flavor. The drink was very well-balanced, sweet, but not TOO sweet. It was the perfect accompaniment to the pasta.

The third course was dessert. We were served Melon Shaved Ice and Mint. Okay, so we were mixed about this. We enjoyed it, but there was a really strong bitter flavor that came through occasionally that we didn’t like. The shaved ice had a jelly consistency in parts. We will say the flavors were better when paired with the drink, but this wasn’t a fave.

Paired with that was the Desert Bloom, made with Aplos Ease, salted watermelon juice, hibiscus mint syrup, lime juice, ginger shrub, and cardamom bitters. This one has a bit of a vinegary bite to it, which sounds weird, but trust us…it worked beautifully. The sweetness balances it all out, and you get a nice watermelon and mint flavor with just a hint of ginger. It’s certainly a great dessert drink that was very well-balanced and not overwhelmingly sweet.

Overall, we were super impressed with the drinks. They really tasted like well-balanced cocktails, and it was hard to remember that they didn’t contain alcohol. You also get some of the effects that were promised. The drinks with the Arise made us feel energized, while the drink with the Ease made us feel a little more relaxed. The effects are small, but it’s actually nice because sometimes alcohol can hit you so hard and fast.

Enzo’s Hideaway held its  first official Mindful Midday Pairing on October 11th, but the restaurant is hoping to have another similar event in January, so if you’re interested, you’ll want to keep an eye out for that.

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

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Would you be interested in an event like this? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Enzo’s Hideaway to attend their media preview of Mindful Midday Pairing. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

The post REVIEW: We Just Attended a First-of-Its-Kind Event in Disney World…and Our Minds Are Blown first appeared on the disney food blog.