How To Craft the Best Low-Alcohol Cocktail Recipes

What makes a cocktail appealing? Is it the customizable garnishes, like the cute little umbrellas, floating hibiscus, maraschino cherries, or olives that make them so unique? Or is it because it’s another type of alcoholic drink?

Cocktails are very well-marketed (hello, James Bond!) and hold an enduring allure in culture and media. Recent trends in mixology have elevated cocktail-making to an art, with innovative flavors and new twists on classics. Luckily, for those of us trying to cut back, delicious mocktails and low-alcohol cocktails have also proliferated and mixology specialists are challenging the conventional perception of drinking. In doing so, they are paving the way for a more inclusive and health-conscious approach to socializing. 

Let’s explore the rise of low-alcohol drinks within the field of mixology. We’ll check out the reasons behind its popularity, the essential ingredients for crafting delightful concoctions, and the science behind crafting tantalizing low-alcohol drink recipes.

The Rise of Low-Alcoholic Mixology

Mixology dates back to the mid-19th century and arose from a desire to shakeup traditional bartending. Whiskey was the primary drink of choice up until that point, but in 1850 the Sazerac became America’s first cocktail.

Today, mixology has evolved into both a science and an art by pushing traditional boundaries of alcohol-centric beverages by focusing on creativity, quality ingredients, and unique experiences. Mixology continues to evolve in response to drinkers’ desires. For those trying to cut back on alcohol, this creative boom lets us keep the flavor high and the alcohol by volume (ABV) low.

Thanks to the increasing social acceptance of sobriety, mindful drinking, and the rise of the sober-curious movement, there is a high demand for craft mocktails and alcohol-free spirits. It’s now easier than ever for non-drinkers to enjoy everything mixology has to offer.

This shift in focus has led mixologists to explore even more innovative ingredients and intricate flavor profiles and, by doing so, develop an entirely new conceptualization of the cocktail experience while still keeping the cute umbrellas.

Essential Ingredients for Crafting Low-Alcoholic Cocktails

Like we said earlier, mixology is both an art and a science. So what exactly goes into the technical side of mixing a good alcoholic drink (or mocktail)? Let’s dig deeper!

Approach and Philosophy

Crafting a cocktail is more than mixing a random liqueur with a random refresher and expecting it to taste good. Don’t be afraid to try new things, but avoid doing too many experiments all at once. Here are a few small ways you can play:

• Find a recipe you like and start tweaking small things. Just remember that the objective of mixology is to improve the combined flavors of ingredients, not to compete with them.
• Pay attention to flavor profiles. Mixologists must know which ingredients are sweet, sour, bitter, savory, or salty. They also need to know the depth or strength of each one.

• Apply the principles of flavor pairing. Think about how certain flavors work together to enhance or complement each other. For example, when creating cocktails and other mixed alcoholic drinks, mixologists often pair sweet and sour flavors together, as one balances out the other. Similarly, they may pair bitter flavors with sweet or savory ingredients to create a more complex flavor profile.

These principles are key to crafting balanced and delicious drinks, but it’s also important to carefully select premium quality ingredients. Less alcohol means the flavors have more room to shine! Let’s look at some items that play a pivotal role in attaining flavor.

Bitters, Mixers, and Liquids

To craft enticing low-ABV cocktails and mocktails, we need to be familiar with the ingredients that contribute the most flavor. Non-alcoholic heavy lifters — such as bitters, citrus, juice, sweeteners, and fresh fruits and herbs — offer a palette of flavors that pack a big punch.

• Bitters are flavor extracts often made from botanicals like herbs, spices, barks, roots, flowers, and seeds. There are a huge variety of flavors out there. While bitters are typically extracted in high-proof alcohol, they are sold in small 1-3 ounce dropper bottles — it only takes a few drops of bitters to deliver a whole bunch of flavors. Due to their strong flavor they often taste, well, bitter. But when added to a drink, their flavor mellows out and delivers a subtle botanical backdrop.

• Citrus includes oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit (among others). Citrus adds acidity and brightness, and the peel can be used as an aromatic garnish (more on that later).

• Juices are often the flavor backbone of a drink. In fact, the strong flavor of juice is often used to mask the taste of alcohol in cocktails. Pineapple juice, cranberry juice, and orange juice are commonly used, and purees like mango and strawberry add a smoothie-like texture.

• Sweeteners include honey, agave, maple, simple syrup (half sugar, half water), and flavored syrups like grenadine and sweetened lime juice. These enhance bright and fruity flavors in things like fruit smashes and spritzers.

• Fresh fruit and herbs can be used as garnishes to complement the flavors of the beverage, or they can be the star of a show. A muddled cherry or blackberry can become the flavor base of a smash or spritzer, and mint can become the glue that holds a mojito (or virgin mojito) together.

Once we have our base components, it’s time to mix them all together and pick the perfect glass!

Glassware

The science of mixology relies on two major factors — the blend of flavors and the glassware used. Yes, the glassware! While it may seem odd, specific shapes and styles of glassware not only make for a great presentation, but they also enhance the flavor of what we’re drinking.

For example, the shape of the cocktail glass not only influences the look and feel of the drink, they also influence how we drink. People tend to drink more quickly from wide glasses as opposed to straight or narrow glasses. Furthermore, glasses are typically designed to enhance certain aspects of the drink. Glasses with stems prevent our hands from warming up the beverage, and tulip-shaped beer glasses are designed to keep the aroma of the hops trapped in the glass.

Garnishes: The Finishing Touch

Attention to detail is paramount when creating a cocktail or mocktail. Once we’ve applied our knowledge of flavors and hardware, it’s time for the finale! Garnishes add the final visual and sensory touch that can elevate a drink.

Garnishes may serve two purposes: they can add a whiff of aroma, or set the mood with their looks. Adding mint to the top of a drink provides a wave of botanical freshness that could enhance the sharpness of a blueberry spritzer or muddle the sweetness of a virgin piña colada. But that piña colada may feel a whole lot more fun with a little umbrella poking out of the top!

Smell is Presentation is essent. To make a low- or no-alcohol drink feel extra special, a beautifully placed garnish can inspire us to be mindful and enjoy.

Turning a Cocktail Into a Mocktail

We can reduce or eliminate alcohol from cocktails by taking inspiration from existing recipes. For instance, let’s think about the flavors that go into some classics:

• Gin and tonic. This breezy summer sipper makes a great mocktail. Try a non-alcoholic gin or just a couple dashes of botanical bitters, a splash of soda, and some tonic with a lime garnish. 

• Moscow mule. Another option is a moscow mule, made of vodka, lime, and ginger beer. The zesty lime and spicy ginger pack a lot of flavor to cover up the boozy taste of alcohol. If you swap out the vodka for water or soda water, you may not even realize you’re sipping an alcohol-free drink. 

• Piña colada. This tropical tiki classic translates perfectly to the mocktail world. Just leave out the rum and you’ll have a delicious pineapple-coconut delight perfect for when you get caught in the rain.

Most flavored alcohol has non-alcoholic counterparts. Oftentimes, the taste profile of a cocktail comes from the mixers and added flavors, not the alcohol itself. If you do want a little alcohol kick, consider reducing the liquor by half or ordering a single instead of a double.

Going low-alcohol has plenty of benefits, and no-alcohol offers even more. Let’s get the skinny on the health benefits waiting for us when we go low.

Benefits of Low-Alcohol Content Drinks

Alcohol impacts just about every aspect of our health. And according to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol’s wide-ranging effects reach further than just our body.

• Alcohol misuse is a factor in more than 200 known diseases and conditions.
• Alcohol misuse results in more than 3 million deaths every year worldwide, representing 5.3% of all deaths.
• In young people aged 20-39 years, approximately 13.5% of all deaths are attributable to alcohol misuse.
• There is a causal link between alcohol misuse and a range of mental and behavioral disorders.

If we do choose to drink, low-alcohol options allow us to mitigate these risks. They’re easier on our brain, our body, our mental health, and our pocketbook. And for those of us trying to lose weight, it’s crucial to keep low-alcohol options in our toolbox.

Calories in Low-Alcohol Cocktails

Alcohol is full of empty calories that provide little to no nutritional value. Reducing or eliminating alcohol from our drinks makes for more health-friendly options without compromising on flavor.

Let's compare the calorie content of three common spirits found in alcoholic drinks.

These measurements represent one standard serving of liquor. Although we may not think about it, many full-strength cocktails contain way more than this! Most well drinks and martinis contain at least 3 ounces of liquor, sometimes more.

Once these liquors get mixed into our favorite drinks, the calories tend to go up — especially as alcohol content goes up. Strong flavors and sugary mixers are often used to mask the flavor of alcohol in mixed drinks. Let’s take a look at the calorie content once these liquors get mixed into popular and easy alcoholic drinks.

Calorie conscious sippers should focus on keeping the alcohol serving low and choosing low-calorie mixers. Then again, when alcohol isn’t in the mix, we have more room in our calorie budget for a second round!

Key Takeaways

The rise of low-alcohol mixology signals a significant shift in how we approach and enjoy cocktails. And with the rise of the sober-curious movement, there has been an explosion of no-proof spirits and low-proof alcohol options. Most of our favorite cocktails can be enjoyed with just a little less booze, and there is a whole world of craft mocktails to explore.

Crafting flavorful low-ABV cocktails is not about compromise; it's about embracing a new dimension of taste. When exploring the world of low-alcohol or alcohol-free cocktails, keep moderation in mind and remember that the benefits of mindful drinking extend beyond the glass.