Not Missing the Alcohol

Non-alcoholic cocktails are all the rage now as the younger generations seek out lighter, alcohol-free versions of traditional and new cocktails. As a baby boomer, I’m interested in getting in on this trend as well as an alternative when I’m the designated driver or just want to take a break from alcohol. Here’s the result of my latest tasting of some of the mixers now available for making non-alcoholic cocktails.

The Seedlip distilled spirits collection – photo by Laurie Geis

Cocktails without alcohol are often referred to as “mocktails”, but most bartenders avoid the use of that term because they pride themselves on making creative and tasty cocktails, both with and without alcohol. Over the past year I’ve enjoyed a number of alcohol-free cocktails that were as good or better than their alcohol-included counterparts!

There are two primary options for making non-alcoholic cocktails: one is using alcohol-free spirits that attempt to mimic the flavors and characteristics of specific spirits, such as tequila, gin, and whiskey. Another is using alcohol-free distilled spirit mixers to emulate some of the core flavors and components used in cocktails, such as citrus, and spices & herbs. Recently I ran across Seedlip non-alcoholic distilled spirits. These spirits are designed to provide a palette of flavors for the creation of non-alcoholic cocktails that either mimic some of the more popular cocktails such as gin & tonics and margaritas, or that can be used to create new and unique cocktails.

They make three different “mixers” with three distinct flavor profiles: Spice 94, Garden 108 and Grove 42. Each are sugar-free, calorie-free, and of course, alcohol-free as well. They use a maceration, copper pot distillation and filtration process to create each of their mixers.

Spice 94 is distilled with allspice, cardamom, white oak, grapefruit, and lemon. Flavors of clove, white pepper, and star anise are prominent in this spirit. I see this one pairing extremely well with ginger and more bitter fruits such as grapefruit and lime. I immediately thought of a Moscow Mule, which includes vodka, ginger beer, and lime in the mix.

Garden 108 is distilled with peas, hay, rosemary, thyme, spearmint, and hops. When I tasted this one, I noticed scents and flavors of cucumber, mint, cider vinegar, and citrus peel. I immediately thought of many of the botanical flavors you see in gin, and the vegetable/garden profile struck me as a perfect match for an alcohol-free Gin & Tonic, one of Laurie’s and my favorite cocktails that includes gin, tonic, and lime (we often have ours with Fever Tree Cucumber Tonic).

Finally, Grove 42 is distilled with bitter orange, blood orange, mandarin, ginger, lemongrass, and lemon. This citrus-inspired spirit has tropical notes with a tangy orange flavor, plus some lemon-lime influence as well. This is probably the most versatile spirit Seedlip makes, so I decided to create my own non-alcoholic cocktail with Grove 42 as the base, along with grapefruit juice, lime juice, and simple syrup.

Each of these spirits/mixers were rich with complex flavors true to their one-word descriptions (spice, garden, and grove), but were also light in mouthfeel (more like drinking water), bright, and fresh. I could envision myself experimenting with each of these to create a whole set of new non-alcoholic cocktails to serve to friends and family alongside the traditional cocktails we have come to enjoy – something for everyone!

Finally, like their non-alcoholic cousins that are intended to replicate the taste and mouthfeel of actual spirits like gin and tequila, these spirits aren’t cheap – they cost about $32 for a 750 ml bottle. In this case though, I think what you get is worth the cost here, and after tasting them all I plan to always have a bottle of each of these offerings in our bar so I can be ready with a fun, tasty non-alcoholic drink when I’m in the mood for something a bit lighter for cocktail hour.

Here are three non-alcoholic cocktail recipes to get you started should you decide to take the plunge and try one or all three of these distilled spirits. Give them a try and let me know what you think!!

Non-Alcoholic Spiced Moscow Mule (makes 1 cocktail)

Ingredients

3 oz. Seedlip Spice 94

1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

1 bottle Fever Tree Light Ginger Beer (or any other that you like)

Lime wedge for garnish

Directions

Combine the first three ingredients into a copper mug. Fill the mug with ice and garnish with the lime wedge.

Non-Alcoholic “Gin” & Tonic (makes 1 cocktail)

Ingredients

3 oz. Seedlip Garden 108

1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

1 bottle Betty Buzz Tonic or Fever Tree Tonic

Lime peel for garnish

Directions

Combine the first three ingredients into a Highball glass or a balloon stemmed wine glass. Fill with ice and garnish with lime peel.

Non-Alcoholic Citrus Refresher (makes 1 cocktail)

Ingredients

3 oz. Seedlip Grove 42

2 oz. fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice

½ oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

1 oz. simple syrup

Orange peel for garnish

Directions

Combine the first four ingredients into a shaker. Add ice and shake until frost forms on the shaker, about 20-30 seconds. Strain and pour into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with the orange peel.