Mixers/Non-Alcoholic

By definition, a cocktail is a mixed drink, and while there are plenty of cocktails composed entirely from alcoholic beverages, many of the best involve a mixer — a nonalcoholic juice, syrup, carbonated drink, or some other addition. A mixer’s job may be to twist the flavor of the cocktail in a different direction or to reduce the overall amount of alcohol in the cocktail — or both. While many mixers (like lime juice or simple syrup) can be easily made at home, there’s a cottage industry dedicated to ready-to-use mixers, ranging from artisan ginger ale to exotic, spiced syrups.

Top Mixers Posts:

Cocktail Artist Cocktail Mixers
The Murph’s Famous Bloody Mary Mix – Original and Hot & Spicy
Cascade Ice Zero-Calorie Mixers

Review: Studio Null NA Wines – 2022 Gruner Weiss and 2019 Sparkling Verdejo

By Christopher Null | September 21, 2023 |

Non-alcoholic wines continue to improve, and we were interested to taste the new releases from Studio Null — not just because I can get totally behind the name, but because they’re legit wines complete with vintage dating. Let’s give these two Euro-sourced wines a try. 2022 Studio Null Gruner Weiss NA – A (vintage!) blend…

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Review: Franklin & Sons Sparkling Pink Grapefruit

By Christopher Null | September 14, 2023 |

The London company may have an established on date of 1886 on the front label, but Franklin & Sons is a new brand to me in the U.S., at least. (Turns out the brand was relaunched in 2015 after a few decades of dormancy.) Now aiming to compete with high-end mixer makers like Fever-Tree and…

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Review: Tilden Non-Alcoholic Cocktails – Tandem and Lacewing

By Christopher Null | August 13, 2023 |

Non-alcoholic spirits and other beverages continue to raise their profile, and a new brand called Tilden is taking the bottled cocktail approach toward NA, offering two ready-to-serve offerings in 750ml bottles, designed for enjoying over ice. We tasted both expressions and have some opinions to share. Tilden Tandem – A wild combination of savory and…

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Review: Fever-Tree Margarita and Bloody Mary Mixers

By Christopher Null | July 20, 2023 |

Fever-Tree is famous for its carbonated mixers, and now it’s turning its attention to an obvious counterpart: cocktail mixers in the form of margarita (two types) and Bloody Mary mixes. The trio are available in 750ml bottles and, like most Fever Tree products, are made from high-grade ingredients. All prices below are for 750ml bottles.…

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Review: Elysian Odd Water and Hazy ’96

By Christopher Null | July 10, 2023 |

Seattle’s Elysian recently dropped two new beers — or rather, one beer and a hop-flavored sparkling water. Let’s try both. Elysian Odd Water – Pretty simple: This is just moderately sparkling water flavored with Citra and Amarillo hops. Much less overtly hoppy than other hop-flavored waters I’ve encountered, this has a refreshing, lightly fruity quality…

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Review: Nowadays Cannabis Infused Beverage

By Robert Strohmeyer | July 7, 2023 |

As the wave of cannabis legalization washes over the United States, new variations of cocktails are emerging at a rapid clip. Here to help fuel the wave of weed-based innovation is Nowadays Cannabis Infused Beverage, a tart, fruit-forward infusion of low-dose or microdose cannabis that lends a refreshingly unusual flavor profile to the mixologists’ toolkit.…

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Review: Ghia Non-Alcoholic Aperitif (2023 Reformulation)

By Christopher Null | June 21, 2023 |

Ghia has been a leader in the non-alcoholic amari space, in part because it’s not a category that invites a lot of competition. Bitter liqueurs probably aren’t something the zero-abv set tend to demand a lot of. I’ve admired and enjoyed Ghia as an NA alternative since its 2020 launch — though I definitely consider…

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Review: Filthy Cocktail Kits and Garnishes

By Monica Uhm | March 1, 2023 |

Filthy is based in Miami and is the latest contender in the cocktail kit arena trying to raise the bar (this pun was unavoidable) for the DIY home classic cocktail game. Filthy was founded by Daniel Singer because, well, accordingly to the website, “He loved cocktails but couldn’t understand why the best bartenders were using…

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Review: Clean Co Clean G and Clean T Spirit Alternatives

By Christopher Null | January 24, 2023 |

Clean Co produces a range of non-alcoholic “spirit alternatives” — including a non-alcoholic vodka, even — and while I’d like to tell you how they’re made, the company behind them doesn’t share a lot of information on that front. Available primarily in the UK, the Clean Co lineup is made without sweeteners or gluten and…

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Review: Fever-Tree Blood Orange Ginger Beer

By Christopher Null | January 13, 2023 |

Take Orange Crush and mix it with Fever-Tree’s winning ginger beer and you’ve got this unique yet versatile mixer, which was created in partnership with Maker’s Mark for its Blood Orange Kentucky Mule (1 part bourbon, 3 parts mixer). It doesn’t particularly evoke the Italian blood oranges with which it is made, but rather a…

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