Low-Alcohol Cocktails
We're almost past Dry January, and some of us didn't join the crowd in giving up alcohol. If like us, you're not quite ready to have a dry month altogether, but you want to slow down the drinking train a bit, we have a solution: low-alcohol cocktails. Lots of great flavor, less work for your liver. Have fun with your happy hour while being even more responsible.
Of course, you can still make your traditional Gin Tonic, Screwdriver, Bloody Mary, Vodka Tonic, etc. and put in 1/2 of the alcohol and up the garnish, but we want to share some drinks that you may not have thought about in a while or at all. Here are some super-simple low alcohol cocktail recipes for you:
The Americano
Fill a highball glass with ice and pour in:
1 1/2 ounces Campari
1 /2 oz sweet vermouth
Soda water to top
Stir to combine and garnish with an orange twist.
The Garibaldi
Fill a highball glass with ice and pour in:
1 1/2 ounces Campari
Top with freshly squeezed orange juice (no cheating!)
Stir to combine and garnish with a wedge of orange.
Porto Tonico
Fill a wine goblet with ice and add
2 oz dry white port
4 oz tonic water
Stir to combine and garnish with a Meyer Lemon wheel.
The Perfect Wine Spritzer
Pour into a wine glass with ice:
3 oz white wine (whatever your favorite is)
a dash of orange or lemon bitters
1 oz club soda
Stir to combine and garnish with a lemon twist.
Rosé Spritzer
In a rocks glass, combine:
2 lemon slices
4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
1/2 oz St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)
Add ice and top off with 4 oz sparkling rosé.
The Designated Driver
Almost no alcohol at all!
Fill a highball glass with ice and pour in:
2 oz of lemon juice
8 drops Angostura bitters
Tonic water to the top
Stir to combine and garnish with a lemon wheel.
And make a pitcher of Faux-mosas for lounging poolside:
Combine in a large pitcher:
2 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice (from 2-3 grapefruits)
1/2 cup St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)
1/4 cup Campari
1 750-ml. bottle chilled sparkling wine
Chill for 2 hours before serving.