NO ALCOHOL? NO PROBLEM! Best mocktail ingredients
Enjoy Dry January all year with mocktail tips from home entertaining guru Elliott Clark
Everyone knows about Dry January, the annual phenomenon that offers consumers the encouragement to take a break from booze and embrace mocktails as a way to enjoy the pleasures of drinking minus the buzz. Denver’s Elliott Clark — you’ll find him on Instagram as the Apartment Bartender — likes being more aware of his drinking habits at this time of year, but contends that nonalcoholic beverages shouldn’t be limited to a single month of healthy habits. Think of it as Dry Any-uary.
“There are times when people aren’t drinking and that doesn’t necessarily mean just January. When someone is pregnant or choosing to be sober, nonalcoholic cocktails are about inclusivity,” Clark said.
Increasingly, restaurants and bars have begun shaking up mocktails and zeroalcohol sips not only in January but year-round. In the Bay Area, for example, Walnut Creek’s Rooftop typically keeps three special zero-alcohol drinks on its bar menu, including a Happy Huckleberry made with berries, lemon, agave and soda water.
Palo Alto’s Rooh serves two “zero buzz” options: a Watermelon Cooler made with cucumber water and a Pink Guava with Rooh masala and mint. Alameda’s Alley & Vine offers three, including a popular Zen Garden with green tea, pineapple, grapefruit and lime.
And for the price of a few nonalcoholic beverages, locals can stock their home bars with ingredients that make for a great alcoholfree drink experience in the comfort of their own kitchens.
“The mindset behind nonalcoholic cocktails is really just, ‘Are you putting the same thought and intention into a drink as you would, say, an Old Fashioned or a Negroni? Are you garnishing it? Are you using nice ice? Are you taking the time to shake it in a cocktail shaker?’ ” Clark said. “That makes it feel like part of the ritual, but without the booze.”
We recently connected with Clark to get his list of essentials as well as a mocktail recipe so tasty, you’ll forget there’s no alcohol in it.
When crafting a mocktail, Clark aims to mimic the complexity of a spirit with other components, and one of his go-tos is tea. It’s a versatile ingredient that comes in many different flavors, allowing for a variety of mocktail flavor profiles.
“A green tea, a chai tea, really any kind of tea like jasmine or honey-ginger,” Clark said. “For example, if you’re making a gimlet or daiquiri — where you have your gin, lime juice and simple syrup, or rum, lime juice and simple syrup — you can just sub out the spirit for the tea, and it’s a refreshing, citrusy cocktail with tea instead of a spirit.”
Green tea, black tea and chai spice tea lend themselves particularly well to cocktails typically paired with cold weather, while honey, ginger and lavender teas work well with warmweather drinks, Clark said. But it’s really up to the drinker’s preference and what they’re craving.
Other essential ingredients include coconut water, which offers more flavor than distilled water, and soda or any other carbonated beverage that can add a sensory “pop,” Clark said. There are also numerous alcohol-free spirits that drinkers can buy that are flavored to resemble liquor profiles. Some of Clark’s favorite brands include Seedlip and Ritual Zero-proof.
And just because that drink is a mocktail doesn’t mean it should go ungarnished. Herbs such as rosemary, sage, mint and thyme will add both aromatic and aesthetic qualities that elevate any beverage.
“I always say a drink is never done until it’s garnished,” Clark said. “Take that extra time to throw razzle-dazzle on it.”
Sparkling honey grapefruit mocktail
Start your nonalcoholic cocktail journey with one of the Apartment Bartender’s original recipes, featuring many of the essential ingredients that will stock your bar for
the mocktails to come.
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces green tea 1ounce fresh grapefruit juice 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice 3/4 ounce homemade honey syrup, store-bought agave nectar or simple syrup 2ounces sparkling water Rosemary sprig, grapefruit wedge for garnish
DIRECTIONS
In a Collins glass, combine all ingredients over ice and lightly stir to combine. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge and a sprig of rosemary.