Hey booze-free friends, guess what? You can be merry and bright while staying dry this holiday season with my three easy-to-make alcohol-free drink recipes all featuring Canadian ingredients.
We shared these live on CTV Your Morning today! WATCH THE CLIP HERE
Whether you are abstaining from alcohol or simply need a refresher in between festive drinks, you can be sure to enjoy these delicious, elevated, non-alcoholic drinks all season long.
Cheers!
“MULED” CIDER
When we have such beautiful fruit growing in our own backyard, why look anywhere else? Here is an easy way to enhance the flavour of local apple cider with a twist on the famous Moscow Mule cocktail.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
- 1 bottle (750ml) good quality sparkling apple cider (non alc), e.g., BUSL Cider non-alcoholic apple cider
- 1 bunch mint
- Limes
- Candied ginger, cut into small pieces
- Fairy Dust (Spirdust; see link below)
- Ice cubes
- Collins glass or large wine glass
DIRECTIONS
- In your glass, add the juice of ¼ lime, then place a generous teaspoon of chopped candied ginger and 1-2 mint leaves. (Clap the mint between your hands first to release more aromas.)
- Fill glass with ice. (Optional: Sprinkle a little fairy dust!)
- Top up glass with your choice of craft apple cider.
- Garnish with additional lime, mint and candied ginger. Enjoy!
ROGER COLLINS
There’s nothing more Canadian than maple syrup. Well, perhaps hockey, but that’s it! This drink is named after the farmer where my friend, Best Canadian Sommelier Pier-Alexis Souliere, sources his maple syrup, and is a twist on the gin classic, Tom Collins.
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
- 100% Canadian maple syrup, e.g., Pier-Alexis Souliere Selection Cuvee Roger
- Lemon juice
- Your choice of bitters – we used Angostura bitters
- 1 bottle (750ml) sparkling water, unflavoured
- Ice cubes
- Cocktail cherries (optional)
- Collins glass or large wine glass
DIRECTIONS
- In your glass, add 2-3 drops of bitters, a dash of lemon juice, a dash of cherry juice from your cherry jar (if using), plus 1/4 oz. maple syrup.
- Fill glass with ice.
- Top up glass with sparkling water. Garnish with a thin lemon slice plus a cherry. Enjoy!
CEDAR SPRITZ
We learned to make cedar tea from my new friend, Interior Salish First Nation Chef David Wolfman earlier this year. This Indigenous herbal tea is used by some tribes to calm the spirit and invite clarity and peace of mind. Here we’ve given it a slight twist for a cool holiday drink with the addition of sparkling water, however, you could also serve this without the ice and sparkling water for a calming winter beverage. (Note: Cedar is used as a medicinal herb by many cultures. If you are pregnant, nursing or currently taking other medications, please consult with a physician to see if this is right for you.)
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
- Cedar tea (see below for directions)
- Cranberry juice
- Local honey
- Ice
- 1 bottle (750ml) sparkling water, unflavoured
- Collins glass or large wine glass
- Extra cedar springs and cranberries for garnish
DIRECTIONS
- To make cedar tea, gather and wash clean roughly one cup of fresh green cedar leaves (remove any woody stems). Cedar fresh from a quiet forest is best! Remember to thank the tree for harvesting its leaves. Add leaves to one medium sized pot of boiling water and simmer on low heat for 5 to 15 minutes (depending on how strong you’d like the tea). The tea should be golden in colour with a fresh, piney / minty scent and taste. Strain and set aside to cool.
- In your glass, add 1 oz. cranberry juice, a half teaspoon of honey, and 2 oz. cedar tea. Stir well to incorporate the honey.
- Fill glass with ice.
- Top up glass with sparkling water. Garnish with a cedar spring and/or cranberries. Enjoy!
LINKS
- BUSL Cider https://buslcider.com/
- Pier-Alexis Souliere Selection (maple syrup) https://pasouliereselection.com/
- Chef David Wolfman http://www.cookingwiththewolfman.com/
- Alambika – all featured cocktail tools and accessories available online at https://alambika.ca/ (Canada-wide shipping)
