Mushrooms On The Rocks: Leanne Kisil and Solbru's Story

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A photo of Leeanne Kisil. She is sitting in a forested setting on a fallen log. She is wearing a black t-shirt with her company's name, Solbru, on it. She also has on black jeans and Converse sneakers.

Solbru's Leanne Kisil and the quest to bring mushrooms into the alcohol-free mainstream

The day is coming when the term “elixirs, infused with adaptogens” will be just as much a part of our alcohol-free vocabulary as faux gin, vodka and other spirits. Meet Canadian made brand Solbrü, a non-alcoholic botanical beverage and aperitif that lives in that exact category

Solbru is a non alcoholic option that has benefits – no alcohol and good for your wellness with its combination of functional mushrooms, herbs, and other botanicals. Elixirs are considered medicinal potions that cure, which is part of Solbrü founder, Leanne Kisil’s mission.

Like many of us, Leanne has her own sobriety journey story and, like other entrepreneurs who saw a niche, she decided to invent a different future. She had been working in the oil and gas industry in Alberta and found herself drinking and burning out, in tandem.

Deciding to look at alternative careers, Leanne came to the AF sector via training in holistic nutrition. She learned about brain-gut connection, about the benefits of various herbs, apple cider vinegar and functional mushrooms.

“Before that, all I knew of mushrooms were the white button mushrooms that came sliced on my pizza.”

She wanted to make something distinctly different and refers to her product as the “falafel of the beverage world”. It’s not like meat or meat substitute, it’s just its own thing.

The original formulation she worked on in Winnipeg came out a little too herbaceous and earthy and didn’t appeal to many people, so she turned to the Prairie Culinary Research Kitchen where chefs and food scientists helped her tweak the original concoction. Since then, she’s developed a line of four elixirs, all of them based on botanicals and using herbs just like other AF spirit producers do.

The image shows four bottles of Solbru drinks. They are black bottles and each one has a different coloured label.

“Gin uses juniper berries, which is in the pine family and we use rosemary, which is also in the pine family.” It was important for Leeanne to do something different while still maintaining a connection that would give people a familiar bridge to walk across.

Solbrü wants to extend our healthy daytime habits, like ginger shots and kale smoothies, into the evening rather than undoing a day’s worth of healthiness for an evening of alcohol and its impacts. Think Solbrü elixirs for mixing as a nocktail, pouring over ice, or milk, or taken as a shot. You’re enjoying the ritual of a soothing adult drink, while nurturing your body. Win win.

Leanne is still at the door knocking stage and, thanks to partnerships, is now knocking on some pretty big doors like retailers who have 70+ retail outlets. You can find Solbrü online at Solbrü.com, in Sobeys stores in Manitoba, at various retailers in Vancouver, in the Netherlands and in California. You can find a complete list on the Solbru website under Stores. Kisil says California, in particular, is an easy sell as “they” already get it and understand that a social drink can also be a healthy one.

About The Author

Joanna is a writer, trainer, coach and consultant with decades of experience as a journalist in radio and television. She teaches public speaking, communication skills and media relations. You can find Joanna at www.joannapiros.com.