Mocktails Masterclass - Improve Your Non-Alcoholic Cocktails

0:00 I’m sure you’ve seen this scenario before, if you wanted a non-alcoholic drink at a party. A bartender would just throw a bunch of fruit juices and flavored syrups into a shaker, give it a quick shake then dump it into your glass and probably add an umbrella too. But when it comes to non-alcoholic cocktail recipes there has got to be a better way! There is. Today I’ll show you tips, tricks and recipes that will bring your mocktail game to a new level. We’ll cover them all through 3 non-alcoholic cocktail recipes that go beyond your simple fruit juices and syrups. They’ll really show all your guests, even if they don’t drink alcohol, that you care about them. Just like we care about our Patreon supporters, so they're getting a bonus mocktail recipe in the next issue of the Cocktail Time e-book, focused on non-alcoholic ingredients and cocktails. It will be available for download to all of our Patrons, and for purchase to all Friends

0:48 of Cocktails under the shop tab on the Cocktail Time Patreon page, linked in the description. New e-books will be dropping monthly, but for now, let’s get on to making some Cocktail Time-style mocktails. We already have a full list of zero-ingredients that we created on the channel. From non-alcoholic bitters, bourbon, rum, vermouth, campari, orange liqueur, and even absinthe, which we covered last week. All of these give you options to create non-alcoholic variations of classic cocktails, but today we’ll go over some basic principles that can help you create mocktails for any occasion. To make the ingredients for today’s three cocktails I’ll be using these tools. A blender, a slow juicer - this is the latest edition to the Cocktail Time gadetry, a precision scale, a muslin cloth, and optionally a magnetic stirrer.

1:36 Nothing special needed as far as tools go, but I’ll link them below. Now, to make the first cocktail of the day, the Zero Mojito.. whichever way you want to spell that is fine… we’ll need mint tea syrup. Before I show you how to make it, here are the first tips for mocktails: Avoid using flavorless ingredients. Tea for example, offers a wide range of flavor profiles to bridge ingredients in a cocktail. Coffee, such as cold brew, can be used as a main ingredient or a subtle supporting flavor if you add just a barspoon or two. Instead of plain soda water, make soda from tea or coconut water, or use carbonated fermented drinks. For ice, freeze tea into cubes so it enhances the drink's flavor as it melts. Alternatively, use tea concentrate in your mocktails if you’re chilling it with regular ice. With all of that in mind we’ll make our mint tea syrup using coconut water, store-bought mint tea, sugar,

2:23 and green food coloring, but this is optional. Start by heating 150 mL of coconut water to a boil. Add 2.5g of mint tea and let it steep for 5 minutes. Then, strain the mixture, measure how much you got, because the dried mint will soak up some of it, then add an equal amount of sugar by weight. Stir until the sugar dissolves, or use this neat little gadget to do it for you. As mentioned, the magnetic stirrer is linked below. Once that’s done you can add the green minty hue to your syrup with a small amount of green food coloring. You could use matcha tea as well, but keep in mind the color will oxidize over time. Bottle and label, as always. We have that done, but the Zero Mojito will be made even better because of two other things. Fermented ingredients will add acidity, bubbles, and body to cocktails,

3:11 which is especially important when you don’t have spirits. Homemade kombucha, ginger beer, or kvass can have small amounts of alcohol, but you can find alcohol-free versions in stores. And when you want to boost flavors, salt is your friend. Use a 20% saline solution for precision and be mindful of pre-existing salt content in some ingredients, like balsamic vinegar. We’ll be using kombucha in the Zero Mojito, together with lime juice, our mint tea syrup and saline solution. I’ll build it in a highball glass over ice, starting with 0.5 oz or 15 ml of lime juice. You can use super juice as well, of course. Next, 0.75 oz or 22,5 ml of the coconut-water-based mint tea syrup. Add 2 drops of saline solution, to enhance all of the flavors, then top up the cocktail with 120g of kombucha. I’m using a classic,

3:59 non-flavored kombucha, but you could use flavored kombucha for an additional twist as well. Mix the ingredients with a gentle lift of a bar spoon, then garnish the cocktail. Spank a mint bouquet on the side of the glass then place it on top. Straw is optional, I prefer to drink long drinks without it. Cheers, to Dry January or any other reason you want delicious, non-alcoholic cocktails. The richness of kombucha and the freshness of mint are a perfect pairing. The coconut water adds just enough to elevate the experience, making this combination full-bodied, bubbly, and intriguing. Much more than you could say about this thing. On to cocktail number 2, the Penicilin..ish. Replicating a full-bodied sour cocktail that hits you in the face with strong flavors of scotch, smoke, and honey-ginger syrup is no easy feat, but with these next few tips we’ll come really close.

4:47 To replace the "kick" of alcohol, add spicy ingredients like ginger, chili, or horseradish, but be careful not to overdo it—these are meant to season the drink, not dominate it. Smoky flavors you’d usually get from scotch or mezcal, can be achieved without alcohol. You can smoke individual ingredients or the whole cocktail, use smoky ingredients like lapsang souchong tea, or even smoky paprika. Milk and whey add creaminess, body, and protein to the cocktail, creating a smooth texture when shaken. We already made a milk syrup on the channel and later we’ll make a non-alcoholic milk punch. You can of course use dairy alternatives like almond-, rice-, or coconut milk for the same result. And just like with regular cocktails you can add the finishing aromatic touch with a perfume of orange blossom water, rose water, or lavender hydrosol. These create an elevated sensory experience with minimal effort.

5:36 Lastly, vinegars and shrubs - highly flavorful ingredients that add complexity and a "bite" to the drink. They're easy to infuse, but some find vinegar’s bite too strong, which you can neutralize with baking soda and add another acid, which is what we’ll do today. Different vinegars pair well with specific spirits, the full list is available in the e-book. Again, keeping all of that in mind let’s make the ingredients we need for the Penicillin-ish, starting with the lemon vinegar acidifier. First we’ll neutralize 240 mL of white wine vinegar with baking soda. Add 16g of baking soda and stir using a magnetic stirrer. Make sure to use a container large enough to handle the foaming, as I learned the first time making this.

6:26 While this is going I’ll measure out the peels and acids we’ll add next. Once the foaming subsides, pour this into a blender and add 8g of lemon zest followed by 11g of citric acid and 3.4g of malic acid. Blend everything together using a blender, then strain the mixture through a muslin cloth filter. We now have a lemon vinegar acidifier with lemon’s acidity and the flavor profile of a white wine vinegar. Next up, the smoky honey ginger syrup, which we’ll make with Lapsang souchong tea, a black tea with leaves that are smoke-dried over a pinewood fire, and of course floral honey and ginger. To make the tea I’ll put 4g of Lapsang souchong into 200 ml of hot, not yet boiling water, and let it infuse for

7:13 4 minutes. Once strained, and with plenty of smoky notes in the room, it’s time to juice the ginger. No need to peel it with this slow juicer, but of course make sure you wash it thoroughly. This thing really does an incredible job at juicing. We need 40 ml of freshly squeezed ginger juice. Now we’ll mix together 145 g of floral honey, the already mentioned 40 g of ginger, and 55 g of our smoky tea. I’ll start this up, to help the magnet along, then let this run until you have one cohesive, smoky, floral, punch-y syrup. Pour some of the leftover Lapsang souchong tea into a spray bottle for the finishing touch on the cocktail. This is a regular tea, so use it within the day. Once the syrup is ready we have all of our ingredients. The base for this one will be whey. Since they can be quite different, here are the nutritional values our has.

8:03 You can make your own dairy free whey with dairy alternatives. Into a chilled shaker I’ll first add 0.75 oz or 22,5 ml of our smoky syrup. Ginger&Honey are already a powerful combo, but with the tea base it’s just elevated. Next, same amount, 0.75 oz or 22,5 ml of our lemon vinegar acidifier. And we need more than just 2 oz of our base, so let’s go with 3.5 oz or 105 ml of whey. That will be enough to give it some body and richness. Add 2 drops of saline solution as always, then fill the shaker with ice and give it a quick shake to chill the ingredients and whip up the protein in whey. Double strain the cocktail over a clear ice cube in a low tumbler glass. Garnish with a candied ginger and spray the cocktail with the Lapsang souchong tea perfume for that smoky finish. If there’s any curdling happening the whey

8:52 wasn’t fully clarified - find one that was or make your own—check out our Milk Syrup episode for instructions. It’s nicely smoky with a rich, full-bodied mouthfeel from the whey. The acidity is balanced and smooth, which isn’t typical for shrubs or vinegars. Great texture and a truly unique mocktail. For the last one we’ll make a non-alcoholic punch, again using a milk base for the body and balsamic vinegar for acidity. We covered both of these, what other things should you know when making non-alcoholic cocktails? Enhance cocktails with spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, star anise, tonka bean, or vanilla. These add warmth and depth. You can infuse them into syrups, vinegars, or even sprinkle them in powdered form directly into the cocktail. Instead of simple syrup, use gomme syrup for added silkiness and richness. For even better results, incorporate gomme into a milk syrup.

9:40 Gomme syrup is easy to make or can be purchased pre-made from brands like Liber & Co. I’ve gone through the process of making gomme syrup in the essential syrups episode, so this time I went for the easier route. Liber&Co.’s Demerara Gum syrup will add body but also some nice molasses notes, which will enhance our Strawberry Punch. The base for the punch will be hibiscus tea, which I made by steeping 5 grams of hibiscus in 500 grams of boiling water. We’ll also use balsamic vinegar, strawberry, powdered chili, and our demerara syrup. And you of course need milk, or a dairy-free alternative, to make milk punch. We’ll make this whole cocktail in a blender. So let's first add in 300g of strawberries. Since it’s not strawberry season I’ll be using frozen strawberries as these were frozen at peak ripeness. Now pour in the base, 450 g of our

10:26 freshly brewed hibiscus tea. Even if you had this hot, the frozen strawberries will chill it down enough, so it will be safe to blend it. Next, 2 oz or 60 ml of 2:1 demerara gomme syrup. Rinse the jigger with 1.5 oz or 45 ml of balsamic vinegar. This one has 6% acidity, same as lemon and lime. And lastly, for that spicy kick, a bit of freshly ground chili powder. I’ll say you can add this to taste, but be mindful of your guests. Blend everything on high speed for about half a minute to get a nice uniform puree. We’ll pour this whole batch into 225 ml of warm milk. The acidity will make the milk curdle, which will help with filtration, but we’ll still have some of the milk’s smooth texture. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, then strain through a muslin cloth. Move the filter to another container once clear liquid starts flowing, then give it time.

11:15 Once strained you basically have the non-alcoholic cocktail, ready to be served or stored in the fridge. I’ll serve it in a low tumbler glass over ice. Just give it a light stir and pick one of the many possible garnishes - chili, strawberry, chili strings, orange peel—whatever suits your punch. I’m going with the simple orange for mine. Strawberry and floral hibiscus notes intertwine beautifully throughout this punch. Subtle spiciness adds warmth and body, complemented by the balsamic vinegar. An excellent non-alcoholic sipper. With that we’ve reached the bottom of the glass. This week’s recommended read is Fix the Pumps by a friend of the channel, Darcy O’Neal. An excellent read on all things soda, which as we mentioned can bring your mocktails to a new level, so give it a read. Linked below. Drop a comment and let me know if you partake in Dry January or Sober October and make sure you’re subscribed,

12:03 with the bell icon turned on, so you’ll be notified next week, when once again, it’ll be Cocktail Time. Cheers.