Millions of Americans brought in the new year with health and wellness goals. For some, that included forgoing alcohol for the month of January, perhaps longer. Whether it’s to cleanse after a season of non-stop holiday parties and drinks or for benefits like improved sleep, Dry January is all about a month of sobriety. However, you don’t have to miss out on the nostalgia or camaraderie that comes with a night out enjoying a cocktail or having a drink after a long day. Grab your best pals to host a spirit-free happy hour this month and beyond with these mocktail recipes from award-winning Black mixologists and bars.
The Humble Baron (located at The Uncle Nearest Distillery) is home to the longest bar in the world. Jackson has crafted a delicious twist on a classic negroni with blood orange, rosemary and oakwood flavors.
Ingredients
Stir together in a mixing glass:
Ice
1 oz Seedlip Garden 108
1 oz Pentire non-alcoholic apertif
1 oz Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso
Strain into a coupe or Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Dream House is the first wellness lounge in NOLA. The Signature conscious cocktail is a bar best seller featured in United Airlines’ inflight magazine Hemispheres and the New York Times.
Ingredients
In a shaker combine:
Ice
1 oz of Cut Above zero-proof mezcal
2 oz of sorrel
.5 oz of lavender syrup
Shake and pour in a glass, then top with 3 oz of Avec pomegranate and hibiscus. Add your favorite garnish. Wallace suggests a dried blood orange dipped in white chocolate from Dardiman’s Crisps.
Brown – and Tek Services – is known to create magic behind the bar with her unique combinations and twists on classic drinks. Her dedication and vision landed her the Best Mixologist title in Best Of The Nest 2022. This drink is warming and slightly spicy while also managing to be refreshing.
Ingredients
3 oz cinnamon chile cordial
1 oz fresh lime juice
Shake in a tin with ice. Strain into a rock glass with ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a fresh lime wheel. For added flavor that pairs well with the lime and warm spices, add 1.5 oz of your favorite zero-proof whiskey, rum, or tequila by Ritual.
Sinema is housed in a renovated historic 1940s movie theater and is known for naming cocktails with a nod to film and music. The establishment has racked up many accolades for their bar program, including Best Whiskey Bar, Best Cocktail Bar and Best Happy Hour.
Ingredients
Ice
2 oz Lyre’s Dark Cane rum
1 oz Dr. ZeroZero AmarNo
1 oz fresh acid adjusted pineapple juice
.75 oz Demerara syrup
Strain into a highball or Collins glass with ice. Garnish with pineapple fronds.
Madame Fortune is a speakeasy situated in Ybor City. The establishment’s goal is to educate the community on the history of Black Tampa through drinks inspired by trailblazer Madame Fortune Taylor, who made Tampa the citrus capital it is today. This drink is a fun twist on the classic old-fashioned.
Ingredients
Combine in a chilled rock glass:
½ oz banana syrup
2 oz Ritual zero-proof rum
2 dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters or All the Bitter Chocolate Mole Bitter
Add a king size ice cube. Add bitters and other ingredients. Gently stir. Garnish with fried plantain (sprinkle white sugar and bruleé).
Yashira “Yoshi” Meija, behind Super Yosh Cocktails, is a coveted bar consultant and certified mixologist serving both North and South Carolina. She is known for her unique twist on classic cocktails and her continuous work to promote diversity and equality in the bar and hospitality industries.
Ingredients
1.5oz Seedlip Grove 42
1oz fresh orange juice
.75oz lemongrass syrup
3 dashes of orange blossom water
1 egg white
2 lime Leaves
Add one lime leaf into the shaker and lightly muddle. Add all additional ingredients into the shaker without ice. Dry shake cocktail for at least 30 seconds. Open the shaker and add ice. Shake the cocktail for another 20 to 30 seconds. Double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with lime leaf.
Chef Celeste is a restaurant owner and food producer. Her culinary skills have delighted the casts of blockbuster films, the Pentagon staff, and numerous celebrities. She has won Chef of the Year from the American Culinary Federation. Her cocktail is a concoction of herbs and produce that will delight your palate most unexpectedly.
Ingredients
30 shakes of Hella Aromatics
Juice from 1/2 lime
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed red grapefruit
1 oz spicy pickled carrot juice
1 sprig of rosemary
1 teaspoon of honey
Salt
3 oz ginger beer or ginger ale
4 cherries
Muddle the lemon lime rosemary and cherries. Add juice and shake. Strain and pour over ice. Coat the rim with honey and light salt. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with rosemary, lime twist, and additional cherries, carrots or olives.
A force of nature in the bar world, Christina Viera of Bar Mordecai is a Wine and Spirits Education Trust nominated educator and was named as one of Canada’s 100 best bartenders of 2023. She has also made the Drink International’s Bar World 100 for three years in a row. This drink is intense, unexpected, and a bit spicy.
Ingredients
1.5 oz Seedlip Grove 42
1.5 oz macerated plum and Concord grape
.5 oz orgeat syrup
.75 oz lemon juice
3 oz club soda/seltzer water
1 oz ginger beer
2 dashes of rose water
Combine orgeat, lemon juice, Seedlip and rose water in a shaker tin. Add ice and whip shake for five seconds. In a Collins glass, layer the plum and Concord grape mixture at the bottom. Top with crushed ice. Add your club soda and ginger beer. Top with rose petals. Add a float of Angostura bitters to provide a bit of herbaceousness and warming spices. Or you can top it with a float of your favorite non-alcoholic aperitif like the ones from Curious Elixirs.
Restock Your Bar
Give your liquor cabinet the upgrade it deserves by adding these spirit and alcohol-free additions to your collection. As you read the recipes above, we’ve highlighted alternatives to wine and spirits. Here are a few more you should add.
Replace your favorite bitters with All the Bitter. From herbaceous to fruity or nutty, they have a zero-proof option to add a depth of flavor to your mocktails.
For ready-made cocktails, Curious Elixirs have an assortment for every mood. I was pleasantly surprised to find Elixir No. 7. It is their version of my go-to drink, a French 75.
We can’t forget about the bubbly! Whether you want to unwind or pop bottles to celebrate something major, TOST is your new best bud. Sparkling wine and rose have never tasted better.