These drinks have a secret
For those who don’t drink, who aren’t drinking right now, or who maybe drank too much the night before, a non-alcoholic beverage made with well-balanced, interesting flavours and thirst-quenching properties can be hard to come by. Consuming trendy sparkling waters by the case may be enough for some, but it can be nice to have something more – a drink just this side of extra.
Enter the non-alcoholic cocktail, otherwise known as the mocktail.
The drink fills a void for those who yearn for the crisp, complex notes of wine or a cocktail, but don’t necessarily want the alcohol content – or the heaviness that makes some drinks a challenge on a hot day.
“Sometimes I’ll be drinking a glass of wine and just absolutely crush it because it’s so good, balanced and refreshing, then think, ‘I wish there wasn’t alcohol in this,’” said Ashley Santoro, the wine director of the Standard East Village, who enjoys the occasional non-alcoholic cocktail.
But no matter how innocuous it may be, the mocktail can’t seem to shake its reputation for being overly complicated, too sweet – and a little showy.
John debary, the bar director at Momofuku, thinks perhaps all it needs is a little rebrand.
“For starters, we need to come up with a better name,” he said. “The word mocktail makes me die a little inside every time I hear it.”
Debary isn’t alone in that perception. Atlanta magazine’s food editor, Julia Bainbridge, eats and drinks out almost every night, but, for her, taking periodic breaks from cocktail consumption is also part of the job.
“In my profession, my idea about what’s a healthy level of intake can get skewed,” she said. “So it’s important to step back every once in a while.”
The word mocktail, however, is still a hard sell.
To her, it sounds “something like the Flirtini from an old Sex and the City episode, but without the booze – juice, basically, with a cocktail price tag.”
But non-alcoholic beverages are undergoing a makeover at some restaurants, getting just as much attention as a cocktail or wine list.
When building a mocktail of your own, take a page from our experts. Start with assertive and complex flavours: Think whole, tart lemon muddled with a pinch of salt, or floral hibiscus tea perked up with funky, fermented apple cider vinegar. Then, top with something bubbly and refreshing, whether spicy ginger beer, botanical tonic water, fizzy soda water or lightly effervescent kombucha.
There is no alcohol to be found, but if it’s done right, you’ll be too pleased to notice. – New York Times