Bartenders get creative with nonalcoholic cocktails
There's one sure way to avoid a New Year's Day hangover: Don't drink on New Year's Eve.
But whether you choose to abstain for hangover avoidance, because you're the designated driver or for any of a myriad of other reasons, that doesn't mean you can't be part of the party.
Grant Garcia, a co-owner of The Lady Sylvia in downtown Las Vegas, said when the lounge opened, its bartenders were charged with coming up with creative nonalcoholic cocktails. The most popular, he said, has been ginger beer, created from juiced ginger root plus simple syrup and fresh lemon juice, processed in a seltzer bottle. They also make ginger lime fizz, which is the freshly squeezed ginger with fresh lime juice, a little simple syrup and some soda water.
Alan Gordon, a bartender at Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris Las Vegas, said his restaurant's bar gets a fair amount of demand for nonalcoholic drinks.
"We get a lot of pregnant ladies, or people who just don't want to drink," Gordon said. "Or even kids who just want to have something fun. They don't want a normal soda. They want something that looks like a cool presentation, something fun and quirky."
Gordon and his co-workers jigger some of their standard recipes to provide nonalcoholic alternatives.
An example is the H.K. Antioxidant (H.K. standing for "Hell's Kitchen," the TV show inextricably linked to Ramsay). The standard version of the drink contains Vive acai berry liqueur with muddled blueberries, agave nectar and fresh lemon juice. For the nonalcoholic version, they leave out the liqueur and add 7UP and soda water, "which makes it a little more refreshing," before garnishing with blueberries and a mint sprig.
A little on the sweeter side is the restaurant's strawberry martini, which starts with muddled fresh strawberries, basil, basil-infused simple syrup, lemon juice and Bombay gin. The alternative version is sans the gin but plus orange and pineapple juices.
"It has a nice smooth, creamy texture - kind of reminds me of an Orange Julius," Gordon said.
Mariena Mercer, mixologist at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, said each of the property's bartenders has his or her own purees and range of setups to provide customized cocktails. The new ice-skating complex, she said, offers the pumpkin chai pie, with housemade pumpkin butter, pumpkin and maple syrup, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, horchata, coconut cream and chai tea, garnished with whipped cream and pie-crust sprinkles. The Thyme to Tango is iced tea with thyme and citrus-yuzu sour and ginger syrup - "kind of a play on the Arnold Palmer," she said - garnished with a thyme sprig and lemon wheel.
Mercer said the Cosmopolitan's most requested nonalcoholic drink is the Virgin Mary.
The property's Book and Stage, she said, makes the Bacon Mary, with a beef bouillon base, chipotle for a little bit of smoke, the house bloody mary mix and a garnish of bacon.
John Bray, food and beverage director at Santa Fe Station, agreed that the Virgin Mary is a popular request, and said the drink can be varied more than may be obvious through the use of creative garnishes.
"What's great about bloody marys," he said, "is you can put a crisp slice of bacon in there, pickled asparagus or green beans. You can have almost a meal in a glass there."
Another popular nonalcoholic option served at the Santa Fe is the strawberry pina colada, he noted.
Bray and Gordon stressed the need for using glassware that will show the drink to advantage and garnishing lavishly.
With a nonalcoholic margarita, Bray said, "you can always garnish with mango or papaya if you're making it at home and want to explore a little bit."
Presentation "is everything," Gordon said.
"In our line of work, if you make something look really good, 10 or 15 people who surround that person see it and they want to have that," he said. "That's the thing that's key: Finish with great garnishes, great glassware."
"The brighter the garnish, the better the drink," Bray said. "Drinking is just like eating: You eat with your eyes first."
CRANBERRY SPARKLER
1½ ounces blackberry puree (recipe follows)
2 ounces white cranberry juice
2 to 3 ounces sparkling water
1 sprig mint, for garnish
Place blackberry puree and cranberry juice in a champagne flute. Add sparkling water to fill. Garnish with mint.
Serves 1.
For blackberry puree: Place 1 pint blackberries in the bowl of a food processor; process until pureed. Strain through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl; discard solids. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to use, as long as 2 days.
- Recipe from Martha Stewart Omnimedia
APPLE-GINGER SPARKLERS
¼ cup ginger syrup (recipe follows)
4½ cups sparkling apple cider
6 cinnamon sticks
6 pieces crystallized ginger
Place 2 tablespoons ginger syrup in each of six glasses. Fill glasses with ice cubes, pour in cider and stir to combine. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and fresh ginger and serve.
Serves 6.
For ginger syrup: Place 2 cups of sugar, a 6-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely diced, and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 1 hour, until ginger flavor is quite strong. Let cool; strain before using.
For a more intense flavor, make the syrup a day before using, allowing the ginger to sit in the syrup, refrigerated, overnight.
Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, as long as a week.
- Recipe from Martha Stewart Omnimedia
APPLE-PIE SPICED CIDER
1¼ quarts apple cider
3 tablespoons firmly packed light-brown sugar
7 whole cinnamon sticks, (6 sticks for garnish)
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Ground cloves
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt, to taste
In a medium saucepan, whisk together cider, sugar, spices and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from heat. Strain into a pitcher; discard solids. Serve in mugs, garnished with cinnamon sticks.
Serves 6.
- Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Omnimedia
HOT-COCOA AFFOGATO WITH
PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM
3 cups whole milk
1 cup chilled heavy cream (divided use)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large pinch of kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 72 percent cacao), chopped
1/3 cup (loosely packed) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso or dark-roast coffee beans
2 pints peppermint or mint chip ice cream
8 small candy canes (optional)
Combine milk, ½ cup cream, sugar, salt and ¼ cup water in a large heavy saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add chocolate and cocoa powder; whisk until chocolate melts and mixture just comes to a boil. (Cocoa can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Bring to a simmer before continuing.)
Whisk remaining ½ cup cream and ground coffee in a small bowl until firm peaks form. (Whipped cream can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Rewhisk if needed before using.)
Remove vanilla bean from hot cocoa; discard. Transfer cocoa to a blender and puree until thick and foamy, about 2 minutes.
Scoop ice cream into teacups; pour hot cocoa into cups, dividing evenly. Top each with a small dollop of coffee whipped cream. Garnish with a small candy cane, if desired.
Serves 8.
- Recipe from Bon Appetit
COFFEE-COLA COOLER
2 cups cold coffee
1 tablespoon maple syrup
12 ounces chilled cola
Lemon slices for garnish
Combine coffee and maple syrup; slowly stir in cola. Serve in ice-filled collins glasses. Garnish.
Serves 3 to 4.
- Recipe from "Mr. Boston All-New Official Bartender's and Party Guide"
CROW'S NEST
4 ounces orange juice
1 ounce cranberry juice
½ teaspoon grenadine
Lime slices, for garnish
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Garnish.
Serves 1.
- Recipe from "Mr. Boston All-New Official Bartender's and Party Guide"
LAVA FLOW
4 ounces light cream or half-and-half
½ ounce coconut cream
3 ounces pineapple juice
½ banana
½ cup sliced strawberries
Combine all ingredients except strawberries in blender with 1 cup ice and blend until smooth. Put strawberries at the bottom of a parfait glass, then quickly pour in blended mixture for a star-burst effect.
Serves 1.
- Recipe from "Mr. Boston All-New Official Bartender's and Party Guide"
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@review journal.com or 702-383-0474.
