San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
5 mocktails to make yourself Just break out the nice glassware, already. No plastic cups allowed. Believe me, this will help.
Our wine critic comes up with palatable recipes for those cutting back on booze
A lot of the time, mocktails aren’t worth the hassle.
My philosophy when drinking something nonalcoholic has always been to stick to drinks that aren’t trying to taste like alcohol. There are plenty of good options here. Tea. Coffee. Seltzer. Juice. Water!
This year, however, I decided to give boozeless booze another chance. It was partly inspired by you, my readers: Many of you told me you were planning to participate in dry January this month, or actively working to cut back on your alcohol consumption. I analyzed some of the reasons why — many of which have to do with the COVID19 pandemic — in a larger story that we published last week.
My skepticism toward mocktails comes from drinking faux “spirits.” In recent years there’s been a boom in these alcoholfree alcohol products, from the plantbased distillate Seedlip to Lagunitas’ new zeroabv beer.
Sometimes these imitators taste OK, but at their worst, they’re the liquid equivalent of the mock meat that used to haunt vegetarians in school cafeterias. There’s just something … off about them. When you take alcohol out of a cocktail, you’re not just removing an intoxicant — you’re also removing texture, viscosity and weight. That’s why many fake spirits taste flat and thin.
But in the spirit of second chances, I got my hands on some mocktail ingredients, from vermouth imitations to canned tonics to shrubs, and did some experimenting in my kitchen. In the end, I’m pleased to say that I was able to zero in on a few simple recipes that I can recommend in good faith. I promise they won’t make you feel like you got demoted to the kids’ table.
Before we get to the recipes, though, a few general rules of thumb for your home mocktail endeavors:
Rule #1: Don’t be afraid of sweetness. A little bit of sugar can go a long way in making up for the texture that’s lost when there’s no alcohol. Simple syrup — easy to make on your stove top by dissolving one part sugar in one part water — is enormously helpful for this, as is muddled fruit, any type of syrup (including maple!), honey, fruit juice or tonic water. Adding a little bit of sweetening agent won’t necessarily make the drink sweet; it will just make it taste complete.
Rule #2: Seltzer is your friend. Bubbles are another great tool to help boost the texture of an alcoholfree drink. Any carbonated beverage can work here, but seltzer has the advantage of being relatively neutral, which gives you more flexibility. Play around with flavored seltzers — pamplemousse La Croix is a fabulous mixer.
Rule #3: Basic bartending rules still apply. Any bartender will tell you that the key to creating a good drink is balance. Consider the exquisite math of the margarita: mouthpuckering lime juice is combined with piquant Tequila (or, if you like, smoky mezcal), mellowed by a little bit of sweetener (like agave syrup or Cointreau) and then the whole experience is heightened with a rim of salt. If you were making a mocktail, you would follow this same equation while omitting the Tequila — try muddling herbs in some sparkling water instead.
Rule #4: A nice glass goes a long way.