“Is lemon, lime and bitters really an alcoholic drink? If that’s true, why is it always the drink that designated drivers are encouraged to have? Can you fail a breathalyser after drinking it?“
Believed to have been first made in Australia, lemon, lime and bitters (LLB) is a drink that’s often chosen by non-drinkers, as well as designated drivers, due to it being widely regarded as a ‘non-alcoholic option’. It usually contains three ingredients – lemonade, lime juice cordial and aromatic bitters. Typically, it’s Angostura bitters that’s used and this is a very old product that was first produced in the early 1800s in Venezuela.
It’s an extremely concentrated product and, in fact, has a very high alcohol content (44.7% alcohol by volume). The reason it’s usually regarded as a ‘non-alcoholic option’ is that it’s rare for it to be consumed undiluted. Instead, it’s used in very small amounts (usually described as ‘dashes’) as a flavouring, often in cocktails. That’s exactly how it’s used in a lemon, lime and bitters – to add a ‘bit of a kick’ to the lemonade and lime.
This popular drink now tends to be made quite differently than it once was, potentially affecting the alcohol content. Those who prepared a LLB in the past would put no more than a couple of dashes of bitters into a tall glass and then carefully swirl it around to make sure it was distributed evenly around the bottom. Once that was done the lemonade and lime was added. Today, it’s not unusual to see far more bitters used, with not only the one or two dashes at the beginning but another, often greater dose of the product being splashed over the top.
LLB doesn’t contain much alcohol (tests have found that a glass could be the equivalent of about one-tenth of a standard drink) but it is alcoholic and, due to the change in the way the drink is now prepared, it’s potentially more alcoholic than in the past. If this is the case, could it cause someone to fail an RBT?
Realistically, a LLB should never cause a full licence holder to fail a breathalyser. Young drivers, however, who must have a 0.00 BAC could potentially have a problem. If an L or P plater has this as their last drink of the night, skols it down and is breathalysed shortly afterwards, they could potentially fail a preliminary test due to ‘alcohol debris’ in their mouth. This could also be caused by eating food containing alcohol, particularly cakes and desserts that have been soaked in alcohol. This should only ever cause an issue, however, with the preliminary breath test (the first test that police administer as you’re sitting in the car). When it comes to the evidentiary test (the more accurate one conducted in the ‘booze bus’), this will not be a problem.
Is this likely to happen? No, but it is possible, particularly if the LLB has been made with more than a few dashes of bitters. A simple way for young drivers to reduce the risk of getting a positive breathalyser caused by any ‘alcohol debris’ is to remember to always have a bottle of water in your car and quickly rinse your mouth out before driving.
Please note that the advice provided is for information purposes only. As such, it cannot substitute for the advice of a legal professional.
First published: January 2025
