A Teetotaling Toast to the New Year

Local bars serve the latest buzz — nonalchoholic cocktails

By Cassie Bustamante • Photographs by Amy Freeman

After a month of (over)indulgence, we’re ready to wipe the palette clean — while still tickling the palate. Whether you’re a committed nondrinker, a little sober-curious or just taking a hiatus from the hard stuff, we’ve got six alcohol-free beverage recipes from local mixologists who deliver all the tastiness without the tipsiness.

Only Resolutions

With a last name like Emerson, is it any wonder that Daniel Emerson, bartender at newcomer Bitters Social House, took his inspiration for this drink from a book? Only Resolutions is the nonalcoholic counterpart to a Bitters cocktail with a name that echoes Only Revolutions, a road novel by Mark Z. Danielewski, one of (Daniel) Emerson’s favorite authors. His concoction is a “blend between opposing botanical flavors that . . . carries those champagne notes at the end so you have that celebratory taste in your mouth.” In a nutshell, he says, this mocktail, which features ingredients found at Bitters, tells the world, “I know how to party; I just don’t have to drink.” For an added festive touch, Emerson rims the glass with edible glitter. “Everybody loves sprinkles at a celebration, right?”

1/4 ounce lemon juice

1/4 ounce simple syrup

3/4 ounce blueberry basil shrub

1 dash alcohol-free cardamom bitters

4 dashes alcohol-free plum bitters

3 ounces nonalcoholic champagne

Lemon twist

Edible glitter

Shake first five ingredients together with ice. Strain into martini glass and top with champagne. Serve with a lemon twist and an edible glitter rim (if desired).

Old Fashioned Wisdom

“Will you be my guinea pig?” wondered Mark Weddle, beverage manager at 1618 West, to a friend who had been 15-years sober when he first began experimenting with nonalcoholic spirits. The result? “I suddenly have a lot of memories of sitting in a bar in New Orleans flooding back!” his friend told him. Weddle calls that association to the real thing high praise. The restaurant’s Old Fashioned Wisdom is a nonalcoholic take on the classic old fashioned, a bedrock cocktail. How close to the real thing does it taste? “The parts on their own are not exactly true to flavor, but when you combine them, it gets pretty close to an actual old fashioned.” He laughs and adds, “I don’t want to trigger anybody, but trigger warning!”

2 ounces Lyre’s American Malt, nonalcoholic

1 ounce Dr Zero Zero AmarNo (nonalcoholic amaro)

1/2 ounce Demerara syrup

2–3 dashes All the Bitter Alcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters

Ice cube

Orange twist

Combine first four ingredients with ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a double old fashioned glass over a large ice cube and garnish with an orange twist.

Blueberry Lemonade

Freeman’s Grub & Pub proprietress Emily Purcell has crafted a creative nonalcoholic menu featuring plays and the inevitable fun puns on some classics, such as the Nojito and the Nontucket. But Purcell, who has co-owned the restaurant with husband Kevin since March 2022, cites the establishment’s pun-free Blueberry Lemonade as the fan favorite, as well as her own, hands down. “We fresh squeeze our lemons and make our simple syrup in house. We add some frozen blueberries in there, so as you’re drinking the cocktail, you get more of that blue color.” Bonus, the frozen fruit makes this drink a year-round flavor-quencher.

2 ounces lemon juice

2 ounces simple syrup

2 ounces water

2 ounces frozen blueberries (about 10)

1 lemon slice

Mix lemon juice, water, frozen blueberries and simple syrup together well. (Simple syrup is made by combining equal parts of water and sugar. Sweet!) Pour over ice and garnish with lemon slice.

Mulled Wine

Don’t mention “mocktails” around Machete general manager Kevin Ash. He prickles at the word. Why? It implies “a fake in a certain sense,” he sniffs. “No and low proof” is the order of the day at Machete’s sleek and well-stocked bar. After all, he points out, these drinks are not lesser — but alternative versions. For instance, his mulled wine combines oranges, spices, water and Giesen zero percent merlot, made in the traditional manner then dealcoholized using something called a rotovap (rotary evaporator). “A lot of people like to enjoy a warm drink during the winter doldrums,” he says. “it’s fun to be able to offer something that is nonalcoholic wine-based with spices being the backbone of the drink itself.” Simply serve in a mug and curl up by the fire.

1 blood orange, peeled and juiced

1 navel orange, peeled and juiced

4 bottles of Giesen 0% alcohol merlot

1 cup of sugar

4 cinnamon sticks

35 cloves

4 star anise

2 cups of water

In a crockpot, combine half of each orange’s peel, the juices of both oranges and the remainder of ingredients. Set the crockpot on low and let sit for four hours before serving, stirring occasionally to ensure that the sugar has dissolved.

Midnight Spritz

Dram & Draught touts itself as “a place for the whiskey fanatic, the craft beer fan, the cocktail enthusiast, the wine tippler and more.” The “and more?” Perhaps its spirit-free cocktails. Why? “Because it is still a labor of love,” says director of marketing and events Edie Alexander. “We put a lot of effort and time behind making them. So we want them to be a little more elevated than the typical quote-unquote mocktail.” The Midnight Spritz is a riff on the classic Aperol spritz and has become a Dram & Draught fan favorite. “It still has some of the same light, refreshing citrus notes,” says Alexander. Plus, “it’s sparkling and a little bit festive.” Cheers!

1 1/2 ounces Lyres Italian Spritz, Non-Alcoholic

1 1/2 ounces verjus blanc

1/2 ounce lemon juice

1/2 ounce simple syrup

Soda water

Orange slice

Add first four ingredients to a shaker tin with ice and shake well. Dump into a wine glass and top with soda water. Garnish with an orange slice.

The Hot & Sober Marg

Borough Market & Bar owner Kam Culler knows what she likes. Something a little spicy, a little sweet, a vibe that’s reflected in the “market” part of her establishment. Her drink of choice? The margarita. So when she created a sober drink menu at the end of last summer, the Hot & Sober Marg, made with house-crafted candied jalapeño syrup, was a must-sip. And customers seem to agree, as this drink — and its alcoholic version — are the top sellers on their respective menus. What sets this alcohol-free margarita apart from others? According to Culler, it’s the quality of the nonalcoholic spirit. She tried other brands and just wasn’t sold. “And then I tried Ritual,” she says. Bar manager Olympia Hensley concurs. “Every time someone orders a Hot & Sober Marg, they’re always impressed by how much it tastes like a margarita,” she says. “That’s really the Ritual tequila popping in there.”

1 1/2 ounces lime juice

1 ounce orange juice

1 ounce jalapeño-infused simple syrup

1 1/2 ounces Ritual Zero Proof Tequila Alternative

Salt, sugar or Tajín seasoning (recommended)

Candied jalapeños

Edible flower

Edible glitter

Add first four ingredients to a shaker tin with ice and shake well. Pour over ice in glass rimmed with salt, sugar or Tajin if desired. Garnish with candied jalapeños, edible flower and edible glitter.