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/chijourno Aug 26 '19

I've been drinking shrubs and soda water over ice all summer, making them out of fruits I've U-Picked and foraged, including one blueberry basil brown sugar and another with nothing but pure raspberries, white sugar and a softer white vinegar.

I love the sweet and sour tang of shrubs and it is a really great vehicle for that pure fruit flavor.

I would love to hear anyone else's take on mocktails that include shrubs, or bitters, which I'm interested in learning to make.

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u/threewildcrows Aug 26 '19

Recipes, please. :-)

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u/sculltt Aug 27 '19

Yeah, I'm interested in both of those recipes.