Fancy Mocktails

[paul mitchell]

After an exhaustive search of the internet I haven't found much in the way of interesting non-alcoholic concoctions - does anyone have any ideas of virgin recipes on "classic cocktails" - I am trying to create a kid's drink menu that not only makes the kids feel important but show's their parents that we've thought and planned for their child's experience over as well - anyone can put a banana and strawberries in a blender to make a smoothie - I'm trying for a little bit more panache - you know something I can shake in front of the kid - impress them a bit - maybe you all have some suggestions - if you can make a frappe for a geezer why can't you make one for a kid.

Edited March 19, 2004 by paul mitchell (log)

[ColinRiggs]

This Virgin Martini has been wowing friends of mine for years.

1. Take Glasses

2. Get out Gin/Vodka of Choice

3. Find Vermouth

4. Tip bottles over martini glass, capped.

5. Give Toast 'Here's looking at you, etc etc'

6. Drink.

:)

Colin Riggs

sometimes drinks Virgin Martinis himself

[Mabelline]

Way, way back in the time of singers like the Eagles and Pure Prairie League, I thought that a Tequila Sunrise was aesthetically pleasing. If you were to make one with a layer of orange juice in a martini glass, a layer of grapefruit juice, then dribbled the grenadine into the side, it would be tasty and pretty, wouldn't it?

[sml311]

And on the King Cocktail website there is a section devoted to non-alcoholic drinks. Maybe that would give you some ideas.

http://www.kingcocktail.com/Non-alc.htm

SML

[beans]

paul -

There are always the two standby kiddie cocktail classics: Roy Rogers (cola, grenadine with a flag garnish of an orange slice and cherry) or the Shirley Temple (lemon-lime soda with grenadine and a flag garnish).

From there will depend on how much you are willing to invest. Do you wish to stock ice cream, sherbet(s), yogurt, various fruit purees and flavoured syrups at the service bar?

Much will be a variation upon the milk shake.

A yogurt shake with the addition a fruit puree, simple syrup (or sugar) and water would make a yummy Lassi.

Pink Panther: milk, icecream and raspberry jam

Then there's rootbeer! Variation on a float? Black Cow anyone?

Here are a few others (think of the fruit juices that are normally stocked at most bars):

Cranberry Frog: equal parts OJ and Cranberry; shaken like a martini and served in a chilled cocktail glass. (gets parents quite concerned however with viewing a child drinking from a cocktail glass)

Fruit Loops: 1 part Cranberry, 1 1/2 parts OJ, 3 parts Pineapple juice with a splash of Grenadine. Garnish, again, with a flag (orange slice and cherry).

Fuzzy Lemon Fizz: 2/3rds Peach Nectar, 1/3 Lemon juice (I've used Lemonade too), topped with a splash of soda water. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Merlin's Treat: 2 ounces Mango juice, 1 ounce Pineapple, 1 ounce OJ, 1/2 ounce strawberry syrup. Combine in an ice filled cocktail shaker; shake and pour into a tall glass and top with Ginger Ale.

For the most part, best advice: Mix these up for experimentation and then name it a current cool sort of kid appealing name. What colours are popular with kids? Consider stocking a blue coloured Kool Aid type of fruit juice mix and combine it with OJ to get something similar to a "Monster Slime Juice."

I hope some of this helps.

[paul mitchell]

Thanks for the replies, some interesting ideas.

Edited March 20, 2004 by paul mitchell (log)

[Comfort Me]

I serve equal parts lemon-lime soda and apricot nectar garnished with a chery and orange slice.

My favorite mocktails all start with Schweppes Bitter Lemon -- I like it with a dash of those odd, red New Orleans bitters, or with a dash of 100% cranberry juice, or pomegranate juice. And just plain, it reminds me of a gin and tonic.

[KatieLoeb]

You can make a glass of faux "Pink Champagne" by dissolving a bit of powdered Pink Lemonade mix into one oz. of white grape juice and filling the glass with sparkling mineral water or club soda.

Looks and tastes better in a real Champagne flute. You can buy the plastic flutes for the kids at a party store and not worry about broken glasses.

[Marlene]

paul -

There are always the two standby kiddie cocktail classics: Roy Rogers (cola, grenadine with a flag garnish of an orange slice and cherry) or the Shirley Temple (lemon-lime soda with grenadine and a flag garnish).

Now see, I learn something everyday here. I always thought that the only difference between a Roy Rogers and a Shirley Temple was gender. Boys would order a Roy Rogers and girls would order Shirley Temples. God forbid boys should ever be caught ordering Shirley Temples (except for my son of course )

[paul mitchell]

Well my inspiration to this post funnily enough comes from a "pink champagne" incident - I was serving a rather famous hotelier and a music exec at lunch - the two gents had decided to bring their daughters (ages 8-10) for a week at our resort - I have always taken the iniative to serve white grape juice and 7-up "champagne" to any young 'princess' that graces my dining room - nearing the end of this lunch one of the little 'princesses' promptly stood up on her chair, raised her 'champagne' flute in the air and announced to the room, "I'm Drunk!"

Again, I really appreciate the responses even though this isn't 'a usual' liquor question.

[Verjuice]

You could sugar the rims of glasses and have them decide whther they want their virgin margaritas frozen or on the rocks. You could provide a trio of flavor options, too: say, mango, lime and raspberry (razzaritas!). Garnish with lime zest or melon balls or decorative slices of tropical fruit, perhaps.

Blood oranges are sophosticated and unexpected, too; I think they taste like a cross between grapefruit and Hawaiian Punch. A few drops of blood orange juice shaken with lemonade would turn it a gorgeous vibrant fuschia. It would probably be great with ginger ale.

Don't forget the virgin daiquiris. Garnished with skewers of pineapple and strawberries.

Virgin kir royales? Grenadine or blackurrent syrup with ginger ale, served in a flute. Maybe garnish with nasturtium, which is edible.

Virgin gimlets. Rose's lime, 7Up or Sprite... beautful color, served up in a martini glass with a spiral-shaped twist of lime zest bobbing in the glass.

You could probably freeze edible flowers and even unripe berries in the ice cubes.

Or, you could freeze cranberry juice ice cubes or some variation on the "colored ice cube" theme and serve in cordial glasses of lemonade or whatever. I'm sure that it would be very pretty. Well, creative anyway.

[beans]

Thinking of all of this mock champagne -- What about stocking some of those bottles of sparkling N.A. grape juice? Perhaps even some adult guests may enjoy this option as well.

Much can be done with it:

-A frozen strawberry awaiting at the bottom as both a visual beautification, a treat at the end of the fizzies and serves to keep the beverage cold too! (Consider frozen rasberries/blueberries too!)

-Splash of some of the fruit coulis from the pastry chef's supplies or some OJ or Peach Nectar into the bottom of the glass and top with NA bubbly?

-Maybe even think about purchasing some beautiful coloured sanding sugars and rim the champagne flute glassware with pretty pink or purple for added eye appeal?

Something else one of my co-workers reminded me of last night I thought was fun. Garnish a banana-chocolate milkshake with one of those silly plastic pieces from a Barrel of Monkeys games. (I haven't been to a toy store in ages so I don't know how expensive or how many come in a barrel). These same monkeys have also been seen hanging off the edge of a chilled cocktail glass containing some sort of "Chocolate Chimp Martini" banana/chocolate liqueur based mix, for adults, in some bars as well.

I know, a bit gimmicky, but that's sometimes what kids love.

[paul mitchell]

Beans I'm from the way out in the boonies north (meaning Canada) so could you give me an idea of how to make "sanding sugars" or where I could purchase those over the net - neat idea - whish I could visualize how to pull them off.

[Marlene]

Beans I'm from the way out in the boonies north (meaning Canada)

Hey! We're not that isolated here

[sml311]

This is just what I got from a google of "sanding sugar sale."

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=...ding+sugar+sale

Seems that many people sell it online.

SML

edit: This combo got slightly different links.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=...e+sanding+sugar

Edited March 22, 2004 by sml311 (log)

[beans]

paul,

Do you have any cake decorating/baking supply stores? You can find the larger sized granulated sanding sugar in those sorts of places. If not the colour you would like, not a problem. Plain sugar (sanding or the regular granulated type used for sweeting your coffee) can easily be tinted with a dab of paste food colouring. Small amounts at a time are easy to tint using a ziploc type of baggie. The pastes are very concentrated, so a little goes a long way and is best to use the aid of a toothpick. (Unless of course you'd like to have blue, purple or hot pink finger tips for a few days ).

A friend lent a book to me (long ago I'm afraid -- for inspiration and study for the eGCI) filled with fantastic Champagne cocktails. The photos are beautiful and many feature the use of tinted sugar. Book cover here, Champagne Cocktails, by Anistatia Miller, Jared Brown and Don Gatterdam.

[Paulo Freitas]

Here are some mocktails recipes that cmae to my mind the other day... NO names for them yet as they are preliminary recipes. Waiting feedback for them. Also, if you come up with a name for them, feel free to say so, as I am terrible at naming my children :

Recipe 1:

1 1/2 oz mango puree

3/4 oz Ginger syrup

2 oz. Sweet Lime juice

3 drops of Orange Flower Water

Shake and strain in cocktail glass, garnish with 3 pink peppers.

Recipe 2:

6 strawberries

4 blackberries

3/4 oz rose syrup

2 oz canberry juice

Muddle the berries, shake and strain in cocktail glass, garnish with a purple basil leaf with a rose water drop on top of the leaf.

Recipe 3:

6 lychees,

3 mint leafs

1 1/2 oz Apple Juice

3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice

2 dashes Angostura bitter

Muddle the lychees with the mint, shake and strain in cocktail glass, garnish with a mint leaf and a drop of angostura on its side (yes, i used toby's idea )

Recipe 4:

2 oz Passion Fruit

3/4 oz lemon juice

3 tbsp vanilla sugar

1 oz club soda

Shake and strain in a cocktail glass rimmed eith vanilla sugar, add the club soda and garnish with a vanilla stick.

[mkayahara]

I'm curious: what is "sweet lime juice"? Every lime I've ever had is sour; is this just a different variety of lime?

[Paulo Freitas]

I'm curious: what is "sweet lime juice"?

Sweet Lime is the Citrus limetta species of the citrus genus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citrus_limetta

"Palestine Sweet Limes don't usually show themselves on the grocery store shelves here in the Northwest, but are quite common in other parts of the world. The juice is oddly non-acidic and sweet without being as sweet as an orange. The overall flavor is much lighter, even drinkable straight from the fruit."

Don't know in the US, but here in Brazil I can find it pretty much everywhere

[alankar]

Hi all, I am a mocktail lover.

Share with your favorite mocktail name, it's prepartion methods & tips.

Edited August 17, 2013 by alankar (log)

[weinoo]

Iced Tea. I like to brew tea with hot water, cool it down, then stir it over ice with sugar.

[Hassouni]

Arabic style frozen mint lemonade - fresh lemon juice, water, sugar, and a handful of mint leaves blended with ice

Rooh Afza, lime juice, some water, and grapefruit bitters

Everything else are just plain juices/sharbats

(Mitch, I thought you were a coffee and cocktails only guy! )

Edited August 17, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I like Day-quiris, which are basically just fruit blendered with ice and maybe a little simple syrup (if it's very tart fruit, like Maracuyá). Looks like a proper Daiquiri, but nothing to ruin you for the after-lunch work period.

[heidih]

When I was pregnant, the mommy-to-be drink (while stuck in a smoky Vegas casino) was club soda with a generous squeeze of lime and an ample dash of Angostura bitters. I imagine other bitters would be interesting and refreshing as well as would playing with the citrus - being sure to include some zest for that oil packed flavor punch.

(Yes I know the bitters are alcohol based but not in significant amounts in this application)

[FrogPrincesse]

When I was pregnant, the mommy-to-be drink (while stuck in a smoky Vegas casino) was club soda with a generous squeeze of lime and an ample dash of Angostura bitters. I imagine other bitters would be interesting and refreshing as well as would playing with the citrus - being sure to include some zest for that oil packed flavor punch.

(Yes I know the bitters are alcohol based but not in significant amounts in this application)

Heidi - That sounds very similar to an LLB, lemon lime & bitters, a delicious soda made by Angostura and available in the Caribbean, which is easily reproduced at home.