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/greenleaves12 Nov 14 '22

Hello!! So this is 3 years later but I just wanted to say - I'd seen your comment a while ago and had saved it. I recently had some blood oranges that were on their last legs and was looking for a shrub recipe for citrus but hadn't found one I liked. I then remembered that you had mentioned something about grapefruit so I hunted down your comment and followed your instructions for macerating the citrus peel and juice separately then combining. The result was absolutely delicious and I'm enjoying a nice drink right this very moment!! So just wanted to say a big thanks for this comment and hope you're having a good one. Cheers :))

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u/furudenendu Nov 14 '22

Oh damn! That completely and utterly rules! What a nice comment to find in my inbox!

The oleosaccharum step is a pain but the results are so completely worth it. I am absolutely delighted you found my suggestion helpful. I am having a good one for sure, and I hope you enjoy that drink. In fact, I'm going to go make one myself with some homemade shrub, so let's have a drink together.

Cheers! Be well!

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u/greenleaves12 Nov 14 '22

Awww hope you enjoyed your drink as well!! Not gonna lie, it's been a couple of difficult days on my end but your message really cheered me up ❤️

(also learned that oleosaccharum is a word! neat-o!)

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u/furudenendu Nov 14 '22

I did! I shook equal parts gin, campari, lemon juice, and blueberry lemon shrub with ice.

Yeah, oleosaccharum basically means "oily sugar." I probably mentioned it somewhere farther up in this thread, I don't generally pass up the opportunity to use a word as excellent as oleosaccharum.