In praise of the booze-free cocktail
As Agricole Hospitality readies to be a player in cocktail consumption in the flourishing EaDo area, it also is thinking about those who don’t drink alcohol or prefer a nonalcoholic craft beverage.
Coltivare, one of the group’s restaurants at 3320 White Oak, has created its first zero-proof cocktail menu. Some of the drinks are just as complex, perhaps more so, than traditional cocktails the Heights restaurant serves.
“It’s almost more challenging to make a delicious zero-proof cocktail because you can’t rely on the spirit for flavor,” Coltivare bar manager Sarah Keck said.
The nonboozy list includes six drinks, each priced at $7. Some examples: Doctor Pepo’s Tonic made with cucumber shrub, citrus, mint, tonic and salt; Mi Amiga, a merger of grapefruit, lime, serrano pepper, agave and Topo Chico; and Don’t Call Me Shirley created with cherry, saba (cooked grape must), sherry vinegar, lemon and orange.
Agricole’s Night Heron in Montrose has three hooch-free cocktails on the menu, too, and
there are plans to offer zeroproof cocktails at Miss Carousel, a bar set to open in early fall at 1201 St. Emanuel in EaDo. Miss Carousel is among three venues Agricole will debut about the same time there, including Indianola restaurant and Vinny’s pizzeria.
Group partner Morgan Weber, who also is launching his own spirits company, Indianola Distilling Co., is enthusiastic about Coltivare’s new sippers.
“We’ve always accommodated any request — we have a lot of nondrinkers visit our establishments — but we added the zero-proof cocktails to our menu to ensure all guests are aware of their options.”