This is the skeleton of a guide I’m working on for making good non-alcoholic drinks. I intend to flesh it out over time, but feel free to ask me any questions about what’s here in the meantime.
- Problems and Considerations
- Familiarity
- Many N/A beverages are enjoyable but familiar, even when mixed with N/A “spirits”, etc.
- Common/classic sodas, tonic
- Juices
- Shrubs
- Remain less familiar, but more so recently (a common option in bars)
- Good but often one-dimensional, particularly in acid characteristics (primarily acetic)
- Expectations
- Knowing people’s general expectations can help you meet or defy them, as appropriate
- Around cocktails
- Around N/A drinks
- Context
- The reason your “customer” wants N/A may influence what they want
- Not a drinker, or just want an N/A option at the moment?
- Non-drinkers likely to be more tolerant of less complex/unique options, but worth surprising them
- Drinkers of normal cocktails will have certain expectations set by alcohol
- The reason your “customer” wants N/A may influence what they want
- Familiarity
- Meeting expectations
- Difficult to some degree because no really good direct stand-ins exist yet (see below)
- Defying Expectations
- Possibly the better way to go
- Multiple ways to achieve
- More complexity
- Changing familiar balance/flavor profiles
- More acidic/bitter/spicy (less familiar in common N/A drink options)
- Layering
- Juices
- Alternate citrus juices
- Unusual Juices
- Turmeric, ginger
- Vegetables, Tomato, cucumber, fennel
- Commercial availability vs. DIY
- Acid adjusting
- Shrubs
- Although familiar, still useful, especially as a base flavor
- More complex/interesting/flavorful shrubs
- Combining shrubs
- Home-made
- Try fresh rather than cooked ingredients, especially where one might be more often expected (rhubarb)
- Alternative vinegars to vary flavors (balsamic, coconut)
- Herb shrubs (lemongrass)
- Alternative acids
- Verjus
- Supasawa
- Syrups and other sweeteners
- Use sweeteners familiar in cocktail making
- Orgeat
- Grenadine
- Commercial (interesting options, brands)
- Liquid Alchemist
- Alternate sugar syrups
- Maple syrup
- Birch syrup
- Date syrup
- Sorghum syrup
- Home-made possibilities
- Use sweeteners familiar in cocktail making
- More unique, useful commercial sodas
- Casamara club
- Hops sodas
- Lacks malty flavors of beer
- Makes a great mixer
- Lemon coco
- Chinotto
- Sanbitter
- Kombucha and kefir water
- Primarily as an ingredient, not alone
- Can be easily made at home and flavored, if desired
- Kefir water has no caffeine
- Can add carbonation (some products)
- Other unique drinks
- Calpico
- Maple and Birch water
- Herbs and Spices
- Heat in place of alcohol for extraction
- Muddling
- Teas
- Similar to herbs/spices
- More unusual teas/tisanes and blends available
- Familiar teas also very useful for e.g. bitter flavors, but keep caffeine content in mind
- N/A “Spirits”
- Most not great, at least on their own
- Missing alcohol “burn”, but more importantly, volatile contribution to aromatics, viscosity
- Layering/mixing solves some problems
- Specific products, good and bad, and recommended uses
- Lyre’s
- Seedlip
- Aplós
- Older N/A options and uses
- N/A Wine
- As an ingredient, not on its own
- Make your own N/A vermouth (Uncle Pete’s video))
- N/A Beer
- Shandy?
- N/A Wine
- Bitters
- N/A bitters
- Essential Oils and Hydrosols
- In a drink (appropriate solvents)
- On a drink (spritz aromatics)
- Egg white
- Seedlip foaming characteristics
- Carbonation
- Aerosolizing of aromatics
- Carbonic acid
- Texture/experience of bubbles
- Carbonate something that usually isn’t (but not everything, e.g. orange juice)
- Garnish
- Aesthetics
- Aromatics
- Edible
- Takeaways
- Multiple ingredients to get something that stands out
- Presentation matters at least as much as in alcoholic drinks
- Rules are similar as in cocktails (balance sugar/acid, etc.), but the finer points differ, find alternate basic ratios and experiment
- Have fun, explore your market, etc. and find inspiration/ingredients in many aisles (spices, baking items, “international” ingredients, etc.)
- What’s still missing
- Real and full replacement for alcohol characteristics
- Full representation/emulation of certain more intense flavors, e.g. juniper
- Good representation of “barrel notes”