The Story Behind The RumHaven Vanilla Brandy Eggnog For those asking for an alternative recipe for eggnog this holiday, consider this cocktail your first gift of the season. Use one-part E&J’s Vanilla Brandy, one-part simple syrup, two-parts RumHaven, and a whole egg shaken with ice. (Don’t worry, when mixed with high-proof spirits, the raw egg…
The Story Behind The Bunny Slope Dropout All the cocktails at Washington D.C.’s Above Board are available “spirit-free,” with non-alcoholic preparations taking their place. In the zero-proof version of the Bunny Slope Dropout, Owen Thomson includes a proprietary NA aquavit, which pairs exceptionally well with carrot juice and turmeric syrup. This recipe is part of…
The Story Behind The Filtered Feelings If you batch drinks for your holiday party year after year but are tired of making the same Eggnog and seasonal Sangria recipes, this large-format drink recipe is for you. The Filtered Feelings mixes things up with a base of blanco tequila, and supporting characters like cinnamon, coconut, and…
The Story Behind The Better Living Bar Contra, the much-anticipated and most recent NYC offering from Dave Arnold, opened in 2024. Bar manager Theo Ouya uses Arnold’s extensive technical expertise and experience for each of the bar’s cocktails, including this shaken non-alcoholic concoction. As with all recipes in the Arnold realm, this is not for…
The Story Behind The Scrimshaw At Brooklyn’s Sunken Harbor Club, Chief Cocktail Officer and VinePair 2024 Next Wave Awards Bartender of the Year Garret Richard features non-alcoholic cocktails in the menu’s cheekily named “On Dry Land” section. Scrimshaw, a zero-proof alternative to amaro, utilizes The Pathfinder non-alcoholic spirit, as well as grapefruit juice that’s been…
The Story Behind The Belltown Goddxssxs Created by Jojo Kitchen, bar manager at Seattle’s Rob Roy, the Belltown Goddxssxs is a nod to Seattle’s nickname as well as a gender-expansive permutation of the word “goddess.” Served in a Collins glass, the highball combines non-alcoholic amaro with a proprietary cantaloupe shrub, saffron-rose syrup, and citrus. This…
The Story Behind The Barrilito Old Fashioned Enjoy this play on the chocolate orange, a seasonal holiday staple, with a glass of the Barrilito Old Fashioned. This cocktail does an exquisite job balancing the sweet and subtle smokiness of Ron del Barrilito 3-Star rum with chocolate and orange bitters. Served over ice and garnished with…
The Story Behind The Sound & Fury Many of the non-alc cocktails at Wild Child use techniques like atmospheric distillation — a process that separates liquids with different boiling points, like water and ethanol — to strip traditional spirits of their booze. Other drinks, however, are made with more accessible techniques. Case in point: the…
The Story Behind The Apples + Agave Oranges might be one of mezcal’s traditional fruit pairings, but at Brooklyn’s Layla, partner Stefano D’Orsogna gives the spirit a seasonal twist by pairing it with green apple and Calvados. At the base of the Apples + Agave sits a mezcal and Calvados mixture that’s been infused with…
The Story Behind The High Violet At Seattle’s Life on Mars, every cocktail on the bar’s menu is displayed with its alcohol content, giving drinkers full knowledge of exactly what they’re opting to drink. In terms of truly zero-proof options, the bar’s High Violet mixes a non-alcoholic amaro with blueberries, coffee, a non-alcoholic tequila alternative,…
