Non-alcoholic cocktails recipes for your wedding

For some, a wedding reception is all about the bar and signature cocktails. Colleen Shea and Christopher Smith, who live in Orlando, Florida, said a highlight of their August 17, 2019 celebration was the drink menu. But the couple, who met in 2015 on a 12-step show in Washington, DC, didn’t come up with your typical assortment of cocktails.

“We had a coffee bar with coffee, cappuccinos, lattes and syrups to satisfy everyone’s caffeine fix,” said Ms. Shea, 33, director of communications in the transportation industry.

Mr Smith, 32, and Ms Shea’s wedding at Catholic University in Washington, DC, went alcohol-free and started at 10 a.m. It doesn’t make sense to serve alcohol, ”she said.

Couples who want to keep alcohol afloat during their party can expect to spend around $ 2,300 on an open bar, according to one. The Knot Report 2020. But dry weddings, where no alcohol is served, often cost much less.

Eight percent of couples who married in 2018 and 2019 did not serve alcohol at their reception, according to The knot. And Americans’ alcohol consumption is generally declining: a Gallup Poll 2021 found that 40% of American adults say they don’t drink alcoholic beverages such as alcohol, wine, or beer, up from 35% in 2019.

If you are planning to have a dry bar at your wedding, experts say there are a few things you can do to make it even more appealing to your guests.

Start by letting them know in advance that alcohol will not be served. “Mention it on your invitation or on your wedding website so there are no surprises,” Lauren Megerdichian said, the wedding editor at Style me pretty, a wedding blog.

Having a daytime reception, like brunch, can create a natural setting for an alcohol-free affair, said Katy Beverly, a wedding and event planner in Greenville, SC In addition, a photo booth, games and other activities at a reception can help guests mingle and mingle without alcohol, Ms. Beverly said.

And signature mocktails, of course, can excite guests just like their alcoholic cousins ​​do, Ms. Megerdichian said. “Having a dry marriage doesn’t have to get in the way of your style,” she said.

Anastasia Stevenson, a destination wedding planner in Savannah, GA, knows what makes a great non-alcoholic bar. Ms Stevenson planned a dry wedding in Boothbay Harbor, Maine on May 18, 2019, where alcohol-free cocktails garnished with fresh herbs like rosemary, mint and thyme were served on carts she had set up in the garden of the place.

“Style is important when serving a non-alcoholic cocktail,” Ms. Stevenson said. “Do anything to live the experience and you can’t go wrong. “

With the help of a few inventive mixologists, we’ve put together the following list of six creative mocktails. Whether you’re planning a dry wedding or just looking to add a few alcohol-free options to the menu for an upcoming celebration, consider serving one (or more) of these zero-proof drinks.

Raspberry-Jalapeno Fizz

This alcohol-free cocktail from John deBary, mixologist in New York and author of “Drink what you want” “Is all about the interplay of jalapeño, banana and raspberry, which is an unexpected but great combination,” said deBary.

Time 12 minutes

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 lime wedge

• 1 thin slice of jalapeño, seeded

• 1 slice of ripe banana, 1 inch thick

• 1½ ounces of chilled verjuice (like the Wölffer estate)

• ½ ounce of raspberry jam

• ¾ ounce of fresh lime juice

• 1½ ounces of sparkling water

• Kosher salt

Not

1. Use the lime wedge to moisten the edge of a cooled coupe and dip one side of the edge in salt to coat it.

2. Place the glass in a freezer to cool for 10 minutes.

3. Combine the jalapeño and banana in a cocktail shaker and mix until the jalapeño is mashed.

4. Add the verjuice, raspberry jam and lime juice.

5. Add ice and stir for 15 seconds.

6. Finely filter into the prepared glass and cover with sparkling water.

Smash berries

This mixed berry mocktail recipe, garnished with a sprig of mint and powdered sugar, comes from Lauren Paylor, a bartender in Washington, DC

Time 4 minutes

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 strawberries

• 2 raspberries

• 1 blackberry

• 3 mint leaves

• ¾ ounce of simple syrup

• 1 ounce Seedlip Grove

• 1 ounce Seedlip Garden

• 1 ounce of hibiscus tea

• ounce of lemon juice

• 1½ ounces of ginger beer

• 1 sprig of mint

• Granulated sugar

Not

1. Combine the fruit and mint with simple syrup in a cocktail shaker.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the ginger beer.

3. Shake and strain into a highball glass

4. Top up with ginger beer.

5. Garnish with a sprig of mint and powdered sugar.

Soft margarita

Do you like a good margarita? This alcohol-free variant presents Aplos, a non-alcoholic, hemp-infused spirit that “calms and uplifts, without the negative effects of alcohol,” said Lynnette Marrero, mixologist in New York and MasterClass teacher who designed the recipe.

Time 3 minutes

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 lime wedge

• Salt

• 2 ounces of Aplós

• 1 tablespoon of agave nectar syrup

• ½ ounce of fresh lime juice

• 2 dashes of orange blossom water

• 1 orange twist

• 1 lime wheel

Not

1. Wrap a lime wedge around the rim of a tumbler glass, then roll the rim in salt.

2. Add the Aplos, the nectar syrup, the lime juice and the orange blossom water in a shaker.

3. Shake and strain over fresh ice cubes in the tumbler glass.

4. With a peeler, cut an orange zest and squeeze the oils into the cocktail.

5. Garnish with a lime wheel.

hot red

Cinnamon lovers will appreciate this riff on a paloma by Mme Marrero.

Time 3 minutes

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 ounces of chilled, brewed hibiscus tea

• 1 ounce of pink grapefruit juice

• ¾ ounce of chili-cinnamon honey syrup (to make the syrup, mix half a cup of water with a cup of honey and ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper; stir until evenly distributed)

• Grapefruit sparkling water

• 1 grapefruit slice

Not

1. Use the grapefruit slice to moisten the rim of a highball glass, then roll the rim in a mixture of cinnamon and salt.

2. Place the pink grapefruit juice, tea and chili-honey syrup in a shaker with two ice cubes.

3. Shake and strain into the highball glass filled with cool ice.

4. Top with the grapefruit soda water and stir with a spoon to make sure the soda is evenly distributed.

5. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.

Tender heart bear

This alcohol-free version of the Jungle Bird, a classic tiki cocktail, comes to us from Sam Treadway, the owner of Rear bar, a cocktail bar in Somerville, Mass.

Time 1 minute

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1½ ounces of fresh pineapple juice

• 1 ounce of fresh lime juice

• 1 ounce of Giffard aperitif syrup

• ¼ teaspoon of demerara syrup

• Bitters of Angostura

• Fee Brothers Bitter Molasses

• 1 wheel of dehydrated lime

• Pineapple leaves

• 1 mint leaf

Not

1. Mix the Giffard aperitif syrup with freshly squeezed lime juice in a shaker.

2. Add fresh pineapple juice.

3. Add a dash of bitter to the molasses and a dash of bitter to Angostura.

4. Add the demerara syrup.

5. Shake everything with ice and strain through crushed ice in a tiki mug.

6. Garnish with a dash of each of the bitters.

7. Garnish with a wheel of dehydrated lime, pineapple leaves and mint.

Placebo drug

For ginger lovers, this mocktail has a balance of smoke, spices, and sweet and sour. His recipe comes from Nick Lappen, bartender at Backbar.

Time 1 minute

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 ounces of black tea

• ½ ounce of fresh lemon juice

• ¼ ounce of honey syrup (To make honey syrup, mix one cup of honey and one cup of hot water until dissolved. Then let cool.)

• ¼ ounce of spicy ginger syrup

• gentian root tea teaspoon

• ½ ounce of Lapsang Souchong tea

• 1 slice of candied ginger

Not

1. Combine black tea, lemon juice, honey syrup, spicy ginger syrup and gentian root tea in a cocktail shaker with ice.

2. Filter into a highball glass filled with ice.

3. Garnish with Lapsang souchong tea.

4. Garnish with a slice of candied ginger.