Tasty low-alcohol drinks for now and the rest of the year
Maybe you’re close to wrapping up a Dry January experience, having nixed alcohol entirely from your beverage routine this month, or maybe you decided to try out “Damp” January instead, drinking some alcohol, but not a lot.
Whatever your alcoholrelated objectives for the start of the year, there are plenty of reasons to look for tasty and lower-proof alternatives moving forward through 2024.
So here are some loweralcohol cocktail options sure to make your tastebuds happy during your Damp January — and perhaps February — experiment.
The no-alcohol Dry January might have been a response to the American beer, liquor and wine industry’s overwhelming trend towards higher proofs.
Renewed your driver’s license lately? On the back is a chart regarding alcohol consumption and body mass; note the comparison that “one drink” is 1.5 ounces of 80-proof alcohol (40% ABV), 12 ounces of 5% ABV beer or 5 ounces of 12% ABV wine — none of which accurately represent real-world values.
The typical gin martini or whiskey Manhattan, for instance, is 2 ½ ounces of 90-proof product.
When was the last time you ordered a 12-ounce beer? Most craft beers are served in “pint” glasses and are in the 4% to 8% range (let’s not even talk about crowlers!) and good luck finding a 12% chardonnay in California. Typically, they run 14.5% and higher. And remember that wine labels are given an additional 1% to 1.5% leeway in alcohol content, meaning that a labeled 15.5% wine could actually be closer to 16%.
But it might explain why many Americans want to take a break after the holidays.
In Europe, drinking habits are quite a bit different, and Dry January has not really caught on there. Perhaps that is because they already consume many lower-alcohol products, from vermouths to aperitifs, in the first place. Is there something we can learn there? Maybe.
The obvious solution? Damp January — and maybe a damp year altogether. There are many ways to replicate higherproof cocktails using lower-proof or no-proof alternatives.
Espresso Martini INGREDIENTS
1 ounce Hanson of Sonoma espresso vodka (40% ABV) 1ounce fresh espresso (or strong coffee)
3/4 ounce vanilla-flavored creamer (dairy or non-dairy) 1 large dash hot chocolate powder
3 coffee beans to garnish
DIRECTIONS
In a shaker with ice, combine the first four ingredients. Shake until foamy and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans.
Hugo-not INGREDIENTS
1/2 ounce Williams Sonoma Elderflower syrup
2 ounces Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut (12.5% ABV) 1 ounce soda water 1tablespoon fresh stemmed mint leaves
1 Meyer lemon wedge
DIRECTIONS
Into a large Bordeaux-style wine glass filled with ice, add the first three ingredients in order. Lightly crush mint leaves in your hand and add to mixture. Squeeze juice from Meyer lemon, drop the squeezed lemon in, stir lightly and serve.
Note: Elderflower liqueur (20% ABV) is the usual ingredient in a Hugo spritz, but elderflower syrup tastes great in a smaller amount.
Half and Half INGREDIENTS
8 ounces Guinness 0.0 nitrogen-pressed stout (0.5% ABV)
8 ounces Fieldwork Brewing Co. Solace and Virtue German lager (4.6% ABV)
DIRECTIONS
Half fill a chilled pint glass with lager. Carefully hold a large tablespoon right side up, as level with the top of the beer as possible, making sure the tip of the spoon is touching the beer. Open the can of Guinness and gently pour stout onto the spoon, creating a layer and continue pouring and raising the spoon as the beer level rises. The mixing point will turn brown, but don’t panic, it will eventually even out. Note: Black and tan is a derogatory term for this drink and one not typically used in Ireland. (It refers to the uniforms of a paramilitary police force used by the British during the Irish War of Independence.)
Amaro Spritz INGREDIENTS
1½ ounces Free Spirits the Spirit of Milano
1 ounce soda water
1 ounce Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut (12.5% ABV) 1 blood orange wheel
DIRECTIONS
Into a large Bordeaux-style wine glass filled with ice, add ingredients in order. Give a light stir and serve.
Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty
Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on itunes and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and reach him at jeffbarflyij@ outlook.com.