More people, particularly young people, are opting to drink less or are cutting it out all together. This change in habits has inspired a healthy industry of non-alcoholic distillates offering reasonable substitutes for gin, rum and whisky, to be stirred up in “mocktails”.
But despite the recent emergence of non-alcoholic spirits and beers as a burgeoning latest category, this concept has actually been around for nearly two centuries.
Early “temperance” drinks – equivalent to the Milk and Seltzer, Orgeat Lemonade, and a soda cocktail laced with Angostura bitters – worked well on menus created by famed Nineteenth-century barmen Jerry “The Professor” Thomas and Harry “The Dean” Johnson. Prohibition within the US ushered in a brand new sort of non-alcoholic sippables and imbued creative flair on this category, which remained popular well into the cocktail party heydays of the Sixties.
Chump Change
Even when you’ve never gone on the wagon or taken an oath of sobriety, you could find non-alcoholic drinks surprisingly enjoyable. Here are five historical alcohol-free cocktails to try at home:
1. Parson’s Special
Harry Craddockthe British barman who promoted American cocktail culture in London throughout the Twenties and ’30s, presided over the American Bar at The Savoy Hotel. Craddock was known for serving the wealthy and famous tons of of cocktail concoctions.
In his seminal compilation The Savoy Cocktail Bookpublished in 1930, he offered a creamy fruit treat called the Parson’s Special. The drink looks deceptively like a Brandy Alexander when served in a small old-fashioned glass.
Ingredients
240 ml freshly-squeezed orange juice
1 egg yolk
1-2 dashes fresh grenadine
Method
Shake the juice, yolk and grenadine vigorously over ice. Strain right into a small old-fashioned or rocks glass.
2. Keep Sober
Craddock also devised an extended drink for patrons abstaining from the favored Collinses, Rickeys and Highballs of the day. The Keep Sober appears in The Savoy Cocktail Book too. A rose-tinted, citrusy refreshment, it’s a superb alternative for gin-and-tonic lovers.
Ingredients
10 ml fresh grenadine
10 ml lemon syrup
150 ml tonic water
Method
Combine grenadine, syrup and water in an ice-filled highball glass. Stir with a spoon and serve.
Picture Kitchen/Alamy
3. Orgeat Fizz
Victor J Bergeron Jr was a Californian restaurateur who packed up his bags and headed to Havana, Cuba throughout the early Thirties in quest of inspiration for his foods and drinks menus. When he returned in 1934 to open the primary Trader Vic’s, he pioneered a brand new era in Caribbean- and Polynesian-style cuisine.
As one in every of the kings of Tiki, Vic crafted dozens of straightforward, tropical-style beverages. His Orgeat Fizz, featured in his 1947 book Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, serves up two key components of classic Tiki drinks in a single glass: orgeat syrup and fresh lime juice.
Ingredients
45 ml orgeat syrup
Juice of half of a lime
Club soda
Method
Pour orgeat syrup and lime juice right into a highball glass crammed with ice. Fill the glass with club soda. Stir with a spoon and serve.
4. Tea Punch
For something loaded with flavour and color, Trader Vic got here up along with his own non-alcoholic answer to a Long Island Iced Tea, which also appeared in his 1947 bartender’s guide. His Tea Punch transforms an everyday iced tea right into a fruity delight that serves a celebration of eight.
Ingredients
750 ml strong black tea
1 litre fresh orange juice
250 ml fresh lemon or lime juice
500 ml raspberry syrup
250 ml crushed pineapple
2 litres sparkling water
Caster sugar to taste
Method
Pour tea, juices, syrup and pineapple over a block of ice in a punch bowl. Let chill. Just before serving, pour in 2 litres of sparkling water.
5. Mandarin Punch
Probably probably the most elaborate drink a teetotaller or temporary abstainer could ever serve to guests is Trader Vic’s Mandarin Punch, which also appeared in his 1947 bartending classic. A posh mix of fruits and spices, this punch recipe amuses with surprise bursts of flavour and aroma that can make any occasion a celebration. This recipe serves eight.
Ingredients
500 ml caster sugar
24 whole cloves
2 stocks of cinnamon
125 ml water
500 ml fresh orange juice
125 ml fresh lime juice
3 drops spearmint oil
1 tsp chopped, candied ginger root
1 bunch fresh spearmint, finely chopped
Sparkling water to taste
Method
Simmer the sugar, cloves, cinnamon and water in a small saucepan for ten minutes. Let cool. Pour right into a punch bowl with a block of ice. Add the juices, oil, ginger root and spearmint. Stir. Add sparkling water to taste and serve.
