Mixology Monday LXXXIV: Temperance

This month's Mixology Monday theme is a bit counter-intuitive: temperance. While the event has historically been all about the booze, this time we were challenged by Scott of Shake, Strain & Sip to come up with non-alcoholic drinks.

While many of us today think of overly sweet and unimaginative uses of fruit juice combinations when we hear of nonalcoholic beverages, there is a growing resurgence and movement of creating real craft “mocktails” in cocktail bars around the world.  With there being more exotic and unique ingredients available to us then ever before, there are an abundance of innovative spiritless libations being developed today.  Believe it or not, there’s actually a company that produces non-alcoholic versions of rum, vodka, brandy, and a number of other faux spirits and liqueurs.

As such, this month’s theme challenges you to create unique craft “mocktails” only limited by your imagination.  Perhaps you have an abundance of that homemade lavender syrup sitting in your fridge?  Maybe you’ve been thinking about creating a non-alcoholic version of your favorite cocktail.  Or maybe you just wanted an excuse to mix up an Angostura Phosphate you saw in Imbibe.  Oh yes, non-potable bitters are fair game here since they are legally classified as nonalcoholic in the states.  However, if the Teetotalist inside of you won’t allow it, you can go without them.  Cheers!

I've been enjoying Jeffery Morgenthaler's tonic recipe for a few months now. It's a great choice when I want something non-alcoholic that's still full of flavor. So I decided to see if I could tiki-fi it a bit.

Tiki Tonik
1 oz tonic syrup
0.25 oz BG Reynolds passion fruit syrup
0.25 oz lime juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Trader Tiki's falernum bitters

Build over ice and top with 2-3 oz of soda water. Garnish with the spent lime shell - optionally add a lump of sugar and some high-proof spirit and light (carefully) for some extra tiki flair.

In a sense, the tonic water that this is derived from is already pretty tiki - with orange, lemon, and lime plus allspice berries and lemongrass. The passion fruit syrup and bitters help to push it further down the path, adding more layers of fruit and spice to the mix.

This would be a good one to play with if you have other options around - guava or grapefruit would both work beautifully. Actual passion fruit juice rather than syrup would also be a great pick. No matter how you end up making it, it's a nice way to have a tiki-style drink that won't knock you on your back.

Thanks to Scott and Fred for another great MxMo.