NOT MOCKTAILS
NA drinks don’t have any booze but no taste, sophistication is LOST.
The tagline "What to drink when you’re not drinking" shot to the forefront of the drinks industry with the 2015 launch of Seedlip, a nonalcoholic botanical spirit made in the U.K. that works well in cocktails or simply served with tonic or seltzer. Since then, the market has exploded with brewed, fortified and distilled drinks that focus on the complexity and mouthfeel of alcohol while standing capably on their own.
Interest in healthier cocktail alternatives, drinking less — dubbed "sober curious" — and natural wines increased consumer demand for lower-alcohol drinks, amari-based aperitifs diluted with seltzer or lower-abv spirits like vermouth and sherry. And bartenders rose to the challenge, designing sophisticated low- and NO-ABV cocktails and ensuring a place for drinkers and nondrinkers at the bar.
What was once a rarity on drinks menus upstate is increasingly visible, with complex expressions built around vinegar- and fruit-based shrubs and the growing global range of nonalcoholic spirits. Just don’t call them mocktails: They’re every bit as grown up as their boozy counterparts. For whatever reason you’re not drinking, here are a few local, handcrafted options, zero hangover guaranteed.
Plumb Oyster Bar
15 Second St., Troy; 518-5100747 and plumb.bar
Leading the pack upstate with its cocktail program, Plumb survived the pandemic with a pay-to-play private cocktail club that included a weekly selection of intelligently crafted cocktails and home delivery via Falcon Club car. Now, the restaurant is moving into summer with Troy restaurateur Quang Tran and chef Alexander Goldman bringing their Clermont restaurant concept to Plumb as the featured guest through mid-september. Plumb owner Heidi Knoblauch and her wife, Kelly Mcnamee, will provide Clermont patrons with zero-percent-proof and low-abv options alongside full-proof cocktails in their mixology program, saying, “These are not alcohol replacements. They stand on their own.”
What to drink:
Bad Hunter ($10): Fluère smoked agave, carrot juice, orange marmalade, cardamom, lime, lemon thyme. Velvety, earthy, slightly smoky. Served over cracked ice. 0% proof.
Herbal Hour ($10): Amass Riverine, white tea and sage shrub, herbs de Provence, verjus rouge, lemon twist. Botanical
and soothing. Served on the rocks. 0% proof.
Industry Santa ($12): Fernetbranca, Boomsba Clooserbitter, orgeat, lime, ginger beer, candied ginger. Intensely bittersweet. Served long. Low ABV.
Rosanna’s on Dove
23 Dove St., Albany; 518-4629176 and rosannasondove.com
While Seedlip cocktails are increasingly on upscale drinks menus from June Farms to The Adelphi Hotel, Seedlip now has three variations, and Rosanna’s on Dove in Albany
has handcrafted a cocktail for each.
What to drink:
Garden ($5) pairs Seedlip herbal with grapefruit, simple syrup, cranberry and club soda. 0% proof.
Spice ($5) pairs Seedlip spice with lime and ginger ale. 0% proof.
Grove ($5) blends Seedlip citrus with pineapple, lemon, simple syrup and club soda. 0% proof.
The Merc
430 Broadway, Saratoga Springs; 518-886-8479 and themercsaratoga.com
Finally open for the first time in a year with a new dinner menu by the new executive
chef, Connor Demarco, The Merc continues its strong bar program with new nonalcoholic cocktails on the menu.
What to drink:
Mango Mule: In line with the honey syrup trend, the Mango Mule blends cucumber, mango puree, fresh lime, honey syrup and Fever Tree ginger beer for a cooling riff on a Moscow Mule. 0% proof.
Rumble in the Jungle: A juicy take with pineapple, strawberry, demerara sugar and fresh-squeezed lemon. 0% proof.
The Tavern
217 Broadway, Troy; 518-3263450 and clarkhousehospitality.com/tavern-bar
Above Donna’s Italian and
Little Pecks, The Tavern bar is the last of the Clark House Hospitality entities to reopen after a full-scale pandemic revamp in which owner Vic Christopher tore out walls and an upper stairwell to double the size of the diminutive upstairs bar. In the hands of
Clark House bar manager Tiffany Myers, The Tavern offers a selection of Italian amari, low-abv aperitif cocktails and is the first in the area to carry award-winning Australian nonalcoholic spirit Lyre’s. What to drink:
Lyre’s Negroni ($12): A nonalcoholic Negroni made with Lyre’s London Dry, Lyre’s Vermouth Rosso and Lyre’s Italian Bitter Orange, which admirably captures the bitterness of Campari in its zero-proof spirit. 0% proof.
Delicate Creature: A dainty cocktail made with a housemade rhubarb-ginger shrub, rosewater, lemon and agave. 0% proof.
The Shaker & Vine
221 Harborside Drive (Mohawk Harbor), Schenectady; 518-630-6318 and theshakerandvine.com
Known for its wine and boasting one of the best waterfront patios in the region, The Shaker & Vine added nonalcoholic cocktails to its bar program this year.
What to drink:
Pineapple Express ($5): A blend of cold-pressed ginger, pineapple juice, fresh lime, simple syrup and club soda. 0% proof.
East Side ($5): A cool twist on a mojito, you won’t miss the rum in this muddled cucumber and mint cocktail with fresh lime, simple syrup and club soda. 0% proof.
Watermelon Basil Smash ($5): Arguably the taste of summer, with salted watermelon-basil syrup muddled with basil and blended with fresh lemon juice and club soda. 0% proof.