Lord Sugar compares alcohol-free drink to urine on The Apprentice

This week’s episode of The Apprentice saw the contestants take on the world of alcohol-free drinks, much to the disappointment of Sir Alan Sugar, who compared one team’s offering to his own urine in the boardroom.

Team Diverse, project managed by Nick Showering, came up with Vodify, a fresh take on a vodka lime soda. But their hopes of winning looked  set to go down the toilet when Lord Sugar began tasting the alcohol-free offering.

‘If I was someone who liked vodka, I would say that you are taking the piss, really, because that’s what it looks like,’ he slammed.

“It looks like a sample that I gave my doctor the other day,” he added.

Sophie Wilding’s rival team Infinity came up with a peach and spiced non-alcoholic pale ale. Sadly, Infinity’s option was no better, with consumers disappointed by the lack of spiced flavour.

Jack Merrylees, head of communications and PR at Majestic Wine, featured on the show as resident “beer expert”. Tweeting after the episode aired last night, he called the beer “as disappointing as it sounds”.

Enjoyed being a “beer buyer” on this evening’s @bbcapprentice, representing @majesticwine .

And yes, the peppery-watery-peachy beer was, unfortunately, as bad as it sounds. pic.twitter.com/6IzQBh3kB4

— Jack Merrylees (@j_merrylees) January 20, 2022

Despite the unappetising comparison to urine, team Diverse won out this week, with an impressive 10,675 orders from retailers.

Team Infinity, however, only managed to secure 2,502 cases and ultimately, Lord Sugar decided to fire Navid Sole.

The Apprentice 2022 kicked off earlier this month and was watched by 4.6 million people, making it the show’s most popular launch since 2017.

Not alcohol-free drinks fall so flat. As consumers embrace dry January, new research reveals that no- and low-alcohol drinks continue to grow in popularity. But what is next for the category as we head further into 2022? Read more on that here.