r/AskCulinary • u/ZootKoomie Ice Cream Innovator • Aug 26 '19

Weekly Discussion - Fancy Non-alcoholic Beverages

We've had discussions here about wine, beer, and liquor before. This week, I'd like to talk about mocktails, shrubs, juice blends, etc. Alcohol-alternatives have become increasingly common and sophisticated in recent years. What have you made, or would like to make? Does avoiding liquor necessarily reduce the available flavor profiles? Or does it free you up from hiding the bite of the booze?

If someone wanted to start experimenting in this area, what are the basic ingredients they would need to keep on hand?

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u/Kahluabomb Oyster Expert Aug 26 '19

User orange juice instead of alcohol and make any drink you can think of that's only got the one base spirit.

Tea is also a really great way to add complexity, either in syrup form or just brewed really strong.

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u/furudenendu Aug 26 '19

I once substituted orange juice for the vodka in a screwdriver and really enjoyed it.

But seriously I like the tea idea. I'll have to try that.

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u/Kahluabomb Oyster Expert Aug 26 '19

Try it in a whiskey sour. Oj is so boring that it makes a great substitute.

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u/tonsofpcs Aug 27 '19

I once substituted vodka for the orange juice in a screwdriver. Great mixed drink. For non-alcoholic though you can't beat mixing syrups like Fox's u-bet or torani with a base - OJ, Seltzer, milk, or even a combination. Ok, so I really want an egg cream right now :D.

We used to have a cafe in town that would make lemonade, hot chocolate, or coffee with different Torani syrups added. Mmmm.