It’s January—cold, often bleak, and by the middle of the month you’re looking at your 2017 resolutions list with a wistful eye and a not so wistful desire for a stiff drink to help get them back on track. Except one of those resolutions was to make January, after weeks of holiday merrymaking, dry. So, how to do that? With scrumptious mocktails. We canvassed top restaurants and mixologists around town for suggestions for new alcohol-free libations and here’s what they recommend.
The Palm Court at The Plaza created the Virgin Mint Julep and Lemon Grass Verbena Rooibos below:
Virgin Mint Julep
Ingredients:
¾ oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. simple syrup
3 oz .Gus Dry Cola
Handful of mint
How to make it:
Muddle mint. Add crushed ice to a copper Julep cup. Add lime juice, simple syrup, and dry cola. Finish with a mint sprig for garnish.
Lemon Grass Verbena Rooibos
Ingredients:
Fresh lemongrass stalk
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz simple syrup
3 oz. Palais des Thes lemon verbena tea
Gus Dry Meyer lemon soda
How to make it:
Brew the Palais des Thes lemon verbena tea. In a highball glass, muddle the fresh lemongrass stalk. Add lemon juice, simple syrup, and tea. Top with soda
Porter House Bar and Grill – Beverage Director Brad Nugent crafted this recipe for Vanilla Soda, part of PHBG’s Prohibition cocktail program.
Ingredients:
2 oz. chamomile vanilla syrup
3 drops vanilla extract
Club Soda
How to make it:
In a pipe glass filled with ice, add the syrup and top with club soda. Top with the drops of vanilla extract and garnish with an orange wedge to serve.
Seabird— Director of Operations Alon Moskovitch makes this hot Spiced Cider with cinnamon and orange flavorings.
Ingredients:
5 oz. Downeast Cider
1 oz. Cardamaro wine
Orange twist
Star Anise
Cinnamon
How to make it:
Steam the cider and wine with the spices until infused and fragrant. Garnish with an orange twist, star anise, and cinnamon stick to serve.
The Vine Beverage Director Percy Rodriguez makes the Nopoloma with a blend of citrus juices.
Ingredients:
2 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
¾ oz. flat lined agave nectar
Fennel-citrus salt
Tonic club soda
How to make it:
Combine the grapefruit juice, lime juice and agave nectar together in a strainer and shake. Rim collins glass with fennel-citrus salt and add ice