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
Crafted from kola nut, pimento berries, key limes, Sicilian lemon, and “vainilla fresca” (not clear how that’s different from vanilla), Fever-Tree’s spin on a classic cola recipe doesn’t really rock the boat of expectations, using cane sugar to gently sweeten its iconic mixer. The flavor here lands somewhere between Pepsi and Coke, with ample vanilla…
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HipStirs is the latest player in the craft cocktail mixer category, a newbie since it only launched in 2022. All their expressions are strictly non-alcoholic syrups which aim to simplify the process of making cocktails at home: Just pour the mixer and the base of your choice — alcoholic or non — and voila. If…
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Non-alcoholic wine is a tricky beast, but we’ve been watching the category evolve and improve in recent years. Oceano’s latest holds a lot of promise: Not only is it vintage-dated, it’s a vineyard designate from the Spanish Springs Vineyard in central California near San Luis Obispo. Process-wise things are similar to other NA wines: It’s…
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Oh, that chill in the air can only mean one thing: It’s finally time for cool-weather cocktails. Ready to take a break from pumpkin spice? Give Pink House Alchemy’s Winter Spice Syrup a try. This syrup blends cane sugar, cloves, cardamon, black pepper, nutmeg, and vanilla into a cohesive and seasonally appropriate mixer that can…
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Based in Suffolk, England, Big Drop Brewing Co isn’t your usual across-the-pond brewing operation. And not just because they make a Mexican-style lager… but because all of their beers are non-alcoholic. (It also has operations in the U.S.; the beers reviewed below were all brewed in Illinois.) The company currently produces 7 different brews, all…
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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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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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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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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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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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