Two Great Mocktail Recipes to Try for Dry January

You won’t miss the alcohol in these two spirit-free concoctions by Nathan Williams, the co-owner of Current Wellness.
recipes by Nathan Williams | photography by Joe Pellegrino

“A non-alcoholic cocktail can be a beautiful, special drink,” says Current Wellness co-owner Nathan Williams. His Peppery Paloma and Thai Basil Rickey are both complex in flavor and with a faint kick of spice. He uses ingredients like Seedlip, a non-alcoholic spirit with similar properties to gin, mimicking the bitter flavor liquor adds to a cocktail. The Paloma uses coconut water and grapefruit juice as its base for a substantive feel. Local ingredients like peppers and basil from their garden, plus bitters from nearby Crude Bitters, give the recipes a personal touch.


Thai Basil Rickey


Ingredients

1 ounce Seedlip Garden 108 alcohol-free spirit
2 sprigs Thai basil
1 to 2 lime wedges
1/2 ounce lime juice
4 ounces Topo Chico or other sparkling water
1/4 teaspoon minced Thai Chile pepper

Directions

Add lime wedges to a cocktail shaker and press 4 to 5 times with a muddler. Gently muddle in 3 to 5 Thai basil leaves. Stir in Seedlip, lime juice, and chile. Pour into a medium-sized tumbler glass, top with ice and Topo Chico, and stir gently with a bar spoon to combine. Garnish with a sprig of basil.


Peppery Paloma


Ingredients

2 ounces grapefruit juice
2 ounces coconut water
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounces Royal Rose Three Chile syrup
Half-dropper of “Pooter” bitters from Crude Bitters
Tajín seasoning (for glass rim)

Directions

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add in all ingredients and shake vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds (this will help crack up the ice to give a slightly “slushy” mouthfeel; shake less if you want to keep it smoother and more liquidy). Rim a coupe-style cocktail glass with Tajín seasoning, then pour in the drink. 

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These recipes originally appeared in the January 2022 issue of WALTER Magazine