Dry January is not something new to the cocktail culture, but what is new is the amount of options available to create a delicious and inventive Non Alcoholic beverage. So for those of you looking for something creative without the effects of alcohol, well LC’s here to save the day!
We’ve got ourselves another episode with the ladies on CTV’s The Social, and we’re talking all about Non Alcoholic Beverages! This time around with everyone on a cleanse from the holiday’s, you may or may not have heard of a term ‘Dry January’. In essence, it refers to not having alcohol during the month of January, much like there are ‘Dry’ counties where the purchase and consumption of alcohol is prohibited.
The movement for sophisticated Non Alcoholic Beverages (aka Mocktails –but we don’t like that word here) is something that has been trending in the past few years. The European market, particularly the UK has already flooded its market with options for responsible and balanced drinking, and we’re finally seeing it surface here in Canada.
Now the number one question I’m typically asked is ‘why?’. Why even bother, what’s the point of Non-Alc Spirits, etc. I pretty much always respond with ‘Why not?’. We live in a world now where inclusivity is so important and for everyone to feel welcomed, and I can’t tell you how many times a Non Alc beverage comes in handy. One of my favourite stories comes from a time when I was working at a bar in the financial district. Women would come to us and ask if we could make their drink look alcoholic (and even charge for it too so it shows up on the bill!), but omit the alcohol since they hadn’t told their boss they were pregnant yet. This, and MANY OTHER SCENARIOS is the reason why we need to start coming up with better options other than a Cranberry Soda (or worse Shirley Temple). We aren’t 5 years old anymore, so why would we want to drink like that now?
I’m very excited to share the recipes I created for this episode. It highlights some brand new, exciting local products, maybe new ways of looking at your own home kitchen and bar, plus so much more. If you’d like to catch the episode, you can watch it here by following this link.
Want to know what I created? Well we’re featuring Canada’s very first Distilled Non Alcoholic Gin in a Non-Gin and Tonic, we’re mixing with Big Drop’s Pale Blanche Non Alcoholic Beer in a Beer-tail, a tropical Shrubby Breeze made with Shrubs and a beverage made with Verjus! If this all sounded foreign to you, make sure to either check out the video here, or head over to the recipes for details. Cheers!
NOTE: All glassware on today’s episode can be bought at my favourite cocktail store in the city; Cocktail Emporium! Head over to their locations downtown or head over to the website to shop online!
