How to make this alcohol-free January the tastiest yet

Embrace homemade zero-proof drinks which are so tasty you’ll not miss booze…

A couple have a winter warming drink with a blanket wrapped on them

After the excesses of Christmas, it doesn't seem too hard to cut back or give up drinking alcohol altogether. But as the memories of those festive headaches fade, and more people fall off the wagon, sticking to a low or no-alcohol resolution can be challenging.

This year, with the help of drinks expert Jassy Davis, you can create delicious non-alcoholic drinks that are tasty enough to make your “usual” in February, March and beyond.

The author of seven books on cocktails, including Alcohol Not Included, Davis says, “Cocktails are a quick way to turn a moment into an event. It’s lovely to have a friend over for a glass of wine or a cup of tea but mix a cocktail and suddenly it feels like a celebration. It doesn’t matter if they just came over to eat pizza and watch TV – add a margarita or a passion fruit martini and the whole evening is elevated. Cocktails are a shortcut to glamour.”

Happy hour

Low and zero alcohol beers, wines and spirits are growing in number and popularity. While the new and novel ranges of zero-alcohol spirits are tempting to try, they don't always come with a low price tag. Add the cost of trendy mixers, and not drinking gets more expensive than… drinking.

Homemade cocktails don't have to use pricey products. “Keeping things simple and focussing on flavours you enjoy are probably the biggest money savers,” says Davis.

“Low and no alcohol drinks don’t have to include a long list of ingredients – most of mine are no more than three ingredients – and they should be based on drinks and ingredients you actually like. That way you won’t waste money buying things that end up gathering dust in your kitchen cupboards.”

There are plenty of ways you can embrace alcohol-free mixed drinks in January, and they don’t need to be expensive either.

The three key elements

According to Davis, the most basic cocktail is “a shot of something sweet, a shot of something sour, and then topped up with tonic or soda water. This is a simple formula for making a refreshing long drink.

“Simple syrup, citrus juice and soda are a great combination – especially if you add a few botanicals to the simple syrup when you’re making it. Grenadine, orange or grapefruit juice and soda also make a delicious long drink.”

A simple syrup is another name for a sugar syrup that's equal parts sugar and water – you can make it in moments and store it in the fridge for a week or so. “Make an infused sugar syrup by simmering 250g white sugar with 250ml water for two minutes, then add spices, herbs or citrus zest and let it steep for two hours before straining.

“If you’re a fan of gin then you can get the taste by adding juniper berries, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, lemon zest and rosemary to the mixture. Just 10-15ml (2-3 teaspoons) of this syrup with soda water is a good zero-proof replacement for gin and tonic.”

Replicating the texture of alcohol

For many, a cocktail isn’t just about the taste but the whole experience. When Davis was coming up with recipes for Alcohol Not Included one issue kept cropping up: “How important texture is in drinks.”

Davis adds: “Alcohol has a thicker, silkier texture than non-alcoholic drinks and zero-proof cocktails can be less satisfying when they don’t have that same luxurious mouthfeel.”

The solution? “A teaspoon of glycerine in short cocktails, especially those shaken over ice and served in a coupe/martini glass, gives the drink a softer texture and makes it more ‘sippable’.

“Adding pasteurised egg white or aquafaba [the water in tins of chickpeas] to shaken drinks also gives them body and a velvety texture, as well as creating a beautiful layer of foam on the top of your drink.” (If your eggs have a British Lion mark on them, the egg white is considered safe to consume raw. It is much nicer than it sounds!)

Enjoy the flavours of the seasons

Not only do in-season ingredients tend to be cheaper but they taste great. And, at this time of year deliver a winter-warming hit.

“Citrus fruits are at their best right now, especially blood oranges. A 50:50 mix of fresh blood orange juice combined with a bitter, non-alcoholic aperitif is elegant and not too sweet. If you find bergamot (a lemon-like citrus fruit), snap them up and mix them with clementine juice and soda water for a refreshing, floral long drink.

“Forced rhubarb should also be coming in – if you’re poaching or roasting it with sugar, pour off the syrup and keep it in the fridge to mix into drinks. Try rhubarb syrup and cream soda for a rhubarb and custard flavoured drink. Alternatively, shake a shot each of rhubarb syrup and lemon juice with two shots of jasmine tea, a dash of glycerine and half an egg white to make a tea sour that will look beautiful served in a chilled coupe.

If the cold weather leaves you in need of a hot drink, then, Davis’s go-to drink is a non-alcoholic mulled-wine, or winter cup.

“Even if it’s not chilly, a mulled punch is still a crowd pleaser,” says Davis. Before adding, “I’ve used a mix of English breakfast tea and pomegranate juice in this alcohol-free version. The tea is steeped for 20 minutes to make sure it’s strongly brewed, which gives it a robust tannic flavour. Combined with tart pomegranate juice, it makes a rich, gutsy stand-in for red wine.” Flavoured with cinnamon, cardamom and star anise, it's completely delicious.

Another winter-warming cocktail Davis suggests is hot buttered apple juice. To increase the richness, blend butter with sugar and spices before adding it to warmed apple juice. You could make up a batch of the butter and keep it in your fridge for up to four weeks…

When following the recipe, Davis suggests: “Only add all the butter to the pan if you’re serving it all straight away. If you’re serving it individually over the course of a party, measure out 2 tablespoons of butter into a glass when you’re ready to serve and pour in around 100–150ml warm apple juice. Stir to blend together, then grate over the nutmeg.”