January is always a good time to look at spirit-free cocktails, but abstaining from alcohol is now a year-round thing for many consumers. If you don’t already have a few mocktails on your drinks list, you might consider adding some. Here are eight fresh ideas.
Napoleon’s Demise
(shown atop)
½ oz. Orgeat
¾ oz. Lemon juice
2 oz. Soda water
Add crushed ice
Top with Chinotto blood orange soda
Add ingredients together and stir to combine. Garnish with mint sprig and charred orange wheel in a rocks glass.
Brad Bonich of Coda di Volpe in Chicago created this recipe.
Tea Time
2 oz. Green tea
1 oz. Lavender simple syrup
1 oz. Ginger beer
½ oz. Lemon juice
2 dashes Grapefruit bitters
Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with grapefruit disk.
Bryan Dayton, owner/beverage director of Acorn in Denver, created this recipe.
Temperance Toddy
2 oz. Apple cider cordial*
½ oz. Lemon juice
2 oz. Ginger beer
Splash of Topo Chico
Serve over ice in a Collins glass. Garnish with a fresh or dried apple slice
* For Apple cider cordial
3 Cinnamon Sticks, 7 whole star Anise, 21 whole allspice, 13 whole cloves
4 cups Apple cider
1 ½ cups Brown sugar
Cores and seeds of 2 lemons, no rind
Dry toast spices in saucepot over medium heat until aromatics are released, around 5-7 minutes; swirl often and be careful not to let spices burn. Add cider and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Add lemon cores and seeds and simmer 20 minutes. Steep for 24 hours, then strain and refrigerate.
The mixologists at Delaney Oyster House in Charleston, SC, created this recipe.
Fresh to Death
2 oz. Seedlip Citrus nonalcoholic spirit
1 oz. Lime juice
1 oz. Tonic water
Muddled cucumber and shiso
Stir together the Seedlip Citrus, lime juice, muddled cucumber and shiso. Top with tonic water.
Zachary Gross, beverage birector of Sen Sakana in New York, created this recipe.
Lassidaisical
1 oz. Buttermilk
1 oz. Grapefruit
1 oz. Simple syrup
1 oz. Coconut milk (the canned kind, not the milk alternative)
1 ½ oz. Coconut water
1 drop Rosewater
¼ oz. Lime
Shake and strain into pint glass with ice. Add a little soda, and garnish with grapefruit wedge.
Alex Schmaling of Beacon Tavern in Chicago created this recipe.
Blackberry Cobbler
1 oz. Blackberry puree
1 oz. Pineapple
½ oz. Orgeat
¾ oz. Lemon
¼ oz. Demerara
Combine all ingredients together and shake with ice. Strain into a Collins glass and garnish with mint and orange wheel.
Wilmer Nolasco, head bartender of Ivy Lane in New York, created this recipe.
Inner Flight (No.1)
3 oz. Chamomile tea
1 oz. Lemon juice
¾ oz. Honey syrup
5 dashes Orange flower water
2-3 Mint leaves in shaker
Brew chamomile tea using two tea bags per cup to make a strong brew, and allow to cool. Prepare honey syrup using 2 parts honey to 1 part warm water, stirring until well mixed. Shake all over ice, double strain over ice in a rocks glass, garnish with a mint sprig.
Andrea Needell Matteliano, beverage director at Clay in New York, created this recipe.
Thai Basiltini
2 oz. Fresh sour mix
½ oz. Cilantro lime simple syrup
½ oz. Lemon
5 Fresh Thai basil leaves
Muddle Thai basil with lemon juice. Add cilantro lime simple syrup and fresh sour mix. Shake well, strain, and serve in a tall glass over ice.
Byron Coons, beverage manager of White Orchids Thai Cuisine in Center Valley, PA, created this recipe.
