After the indulgence of the holiday season, many consumers aim to start the year a little healthier, even when it comes to cocktails. That’s why bartenders across the country have been using natural and health-food-inspired ingredients to create unique winter cocktails. Here’s a brief roundup of some of the healthy drinks we’ve seen.
All the fare at The Drawing Board in Petaluma, CA, is inspired by health and wellness aspects and the prolific abundance of local ingredients that are easily foraged. Bar manager Jenn Grossbard has created a number of healthy cocktails such as Prescription, with Scotch, ginger-turmeric honey, lemon, amaro bilaro, fresno chili, bee pollen. Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory compound, while bee pollen is rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, lipids, fatty acids, enzymes, carotenoids and bioflavonoids.
Channing Centeno of Seamstress in New York frequently infuses spirits with herbs and vegetables. For instance, his This Feels Good cocktail incorporates dill-infused St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Bombay Sapphire gin, Green Chartreuse, honey syrup, lime juice, cucumber slices and arugula leaves.
Le DeSales in Washington, D.C., showcased the Le Toddy on its cocktail menu through the month of January. Priced at $7, the drink is made from a combination of turmeric-ginger tea, cloves, nutmeg, lemon juice, maple syrup, Cointreau, James E. Pepper “1776” rye whiskey and amaro.
Ever Bar in Los Angles offers Drink Your Vegetables, made with Espolon Responsado tequila, Cointreau, gai-lan broccoli shrub, lime and agave. Honey Salt in Las Vegas has a Green Tox cocktail containing Tito’s vodka, Green Goodness juice (kale, green apple, cucumber, fennel and celery), agave and lemon.
Ponyboy in Oklahoma City, OK, offers the ‘Sup Doc cocktail with vodka, brown-sugar syrup, local carrot juice, lemon and soda, while Pitchfork Pretty in Austin, TX, boasts Sasquash (show atop), with fresh cold-pressed butternut squash juice, sage, nutmeg, black pepper, burnt sugar and gin.
And at Cannon Green in Charleston, SC, head bartender Hilary Curry lightens up the classic Bloody Mary by replacing the typically sodium-filled tomato juice with smashed cherry tomatoes muddled with lemon juice, basil syrup and tonic and mixed with gin.
