Tag: non alcoholic

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Cocktail Recipes

Kombucha Colada

4 oz Coconut Lime Kombucha 

.75 oz Coconut Cream 

1 oz Lime

.5 oz Pineapple 

.25 oz Passionfruit Syrup

Lime Peel

Allspice Dusting 

1. Add 3 oz kombucha, coconut, lime, pineapple, and passionfruit to a shaker tin without ice. 

2. Dry shake for about 20 seconds. (The kombucha can cause added pressure in the shaker, so be careful when shaking.)

3. Add ice to the shaker. Shake for 30 seconds until well chilled. 

4. Double strain into a rocks glass with ice. Top with 1 oz kombucha. Dust the top of the drink with ground allspice and express one lime peel over the top of the cocktail and enjoy!

Categories
Cocktail Recipes

The Art of Eye Contact

Creamy orange notes run wild in this cocktail with rich sugar, fresh blueberries and lime. It’s given a subtle zing from a whisper of rich Modena balsamic vinegar, making it the perfect companion for a pre-dinner get together with the other members of your quarantine pod. 

2 oz Tazo Wild Sweet Orange Tea, brewed per box instructions

1 oz Lime

1 oz Simple Syrup

Bar spoon Modena Balsamic Vinegar

Handful Blueberries, muddled

Orange Peel x2

  1. Muddle blueberries well into syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker tin.
  2. Add tea, lime, balsamic vinegar, and one orange peel to the shaker tin without ice. Dry shake (without ice) for about 30 seconds.
  3. Add ice. Shake well for another 30 seconds.
  4. Double strain into a coupe glass, careful to remove all blueberry solids from the mixture.
  5. Garnish with an orange peel expressed over the surface of the cocktail and enjoy!
Categories
Cocktail Recipes

Blueberry (Mock) Mojito

Mint. Sugar. Seltzer. Fruit.

It’s hard to get more refreshing than a fruity mojito. Modeled after one of the most popular cocktails for summer drinking, this non-alcoholic mojito uses rich Demerara sugar to mimic the flavor of rum with a tangy blueberry-lemon puree to create a mojito even more refreshing than the original.

2 oz black tea, brewed per instructions

3/4 oz lime

1/2 oz blueberry-lemon puree

1/2 oz rich Demerara sugar syrup (2:1)

Mint

Seltzer

  1. Gently smack mint and roll between the palms of your hands to release mint oils. Do not muddle! muddling often mangles the mint beyond repair, bringing the bitter and swampy qualities of the herb out instead of the aromatics. Add to the bottom of a Collins glass.
  2. Pour sugar syrup over mint. Gently use a muddler to lightly press herb oil into the sugar. Again, do not muddle and tear the leaves.
  3. Add tea, blueberry-lemon puree, and lime to a cocktail shaker tin with ice. Shake well.
  4. Pack Collins glass with crushed ice on top of mint and sugar. Pour cocktail over ice. using a bar spoon, swizzle to combine.
  5. Top with a generous pour of seltzer and another sprig of mint and enjoy!

Blueberry-Lemon Puree

1 cup blueberries

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 lemon, zested

  1. Combine all ingredients into a blender. Process until completely liquified.
  2. Press through fine sieve to remove and berry solids. Discard.
  3. Store puree chilled for up to 10 days.
Categories
Cocktail Recipes

BBQ Penicillin

The Penicillin is my favorite fall cocktail. Smokey layers of two different types of scotch blended with some spicy honey, ginger, and lemon makes this beautiful drink for both scotch lovers and beginners.

When making zero-proof cocktails, I often like to reimagine my favorite cocktails in a nonalcoholic space. Some of the best flavor combinations I’ve found have come from experimenting with spirit-free drinks whose challenges force me to approach cocktails in new ways.

This zero proof penicillin approaches the smoke from scotch in an unexpected way. Liquid smoke creates a smokey element in this drink that is more BBQ forward than peat, giving this cocktail a brown sugar sweet and savory feel while Lapsang Souchong creates a more “scotch-y” feeling in this fall cocktail.

BBQ Penicillin

2 oz Lapsang Souchong Tea

3/4 oz ginger-chili-honey

3/4 oz lemon

1/4 oz rich simple syrup

4 drops salt solution (10:1, filtered water to salt)

2 dash angostura (optional)

1/2 bar spoon liquid smoke

  1. Fill rocks glass with ice. Pour 1/2 bar spoon liquid smoke over ice and allow to sit while shaking cocktail.
  2. Combine all ingredients, except liquid smoke, into a cocktail shaker tin with ice. Shake well.
  3. Double strain over liquid smoke and rocks. Garnish with a lemon peel twisted over cocktail surface. Enjoy!

Categories
Cocktail Recipes

Using Tea as a Base Spirit

When creating non-alcoholic cocktails, a “base spirit” is still an important component to the construction of the drink. Just as a Manhattan is usually defined with the use of whiskey, zero proof cocktails also have an ingredient that acts as the backbone to the drink. Juices, fruit purees, shrubs, and sparkling waters are all products I reach for when creating my spirit free lists, but none are quite as popular as tea.

Tea is ideal as the base for cocktails because it tends to share similar properties to alcohol in terms of body and mouthfeel—astringency, bitterness, umami, botanics, and sugars are all present in some form in teas. Because of this, I have an easier time manipulating tea to replicate spirits. For example, by adjusting the brewing time of an astringent black tea, I can create a long, slow dehydration in the back of the throat similar to the feeling you get after drinking a high proofed whiskey.

Hibiscus and black teas are two of my favorite varieties to use in zero proof cocktails, but just as there are thousands of tequilas and gins out there, so are there thousands of teas!

Just Can’t Say No to You

This cocktail is based in hibiscus tea but features some beautiful savory notes with the addition of celery and strawberry with bitter tonic water.

1 celery stalk, muddled

4-5 strawberries

1 1/2 oz hibiscus tea

3/4 oz rich simple syrup (2:1)

1/2 oz lemon

3 dash celery bitters (optional)

Tonic Water

  1. In a cocktail shaker tin, muddle together celery, strawberries, and syrup.
  2. Add tea, bitters, and lemon juice with ice. Shake well, about 40 seconds.
  3. Strain over ice into a rocks glass. Top with a splash of tonic water and swizzle together with a bar spoon. Garnish with a lemon twist and celery stalk.

Broken Heart’s Gentleman’s Club

Aloe vera is a plant with some pretty damn impressive health benefits. It also has an acidic flavor that balances the strawberry without adding too much lemon juice.

1 1/2 oz Hibiscus Tea

1 1/4 oz Strawberry Puree (1:1 strawberries to sugar, blended)

3/4 oz Aloe Vera Juice

3/4 oz Lemon

1/2 oz Vanilla tea Syrup

3/4 oz Egg White

  1. Combine all ingredients into a shaker tin with ice. Shake well until egg white foams, about 60 seconds.
  2. Strain cocktail out of tin and discard ice. Return to shaker and dry shake without ice for 2-30 seconds.
  3. Strain into a large coupe glass. Drop angostura over foam if desired and enjoy!

Vanilla Tea Syrup

1/2 cup vanilla tea, brewed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

  1. Brew vanilla tea per instructions.
  2. Heat finished tea over medium-high until it simmers. Stir in sugar until it has completely dissolved.
  3. Allow to simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Store chilled for up to 14 days.