Drinks for the non-drinker

High atop the Potter building, we extend love and cocktails to all--except as I noted last week, there are some who are unfortunately underage.  Or pregnant.  Or having to get a mole on the leg removed and the doc said no drinkin' for three days prior (poor Mr. Potter). Or who choose not to drink.  Or who are just plain not in the mood for a cocktail in its usual definition. 

Most hosts keep some Perrier around for that and plop a lime slice in and that's that.  And most non-drinkers are OK with it.  But it seems so--non-festive when everyone else is having Monkey Glands or some such. 

There's always alcohol-free beer, but frankly, it's awful. Maybe it's slightly better than the Perrier option if you're serving really intense chili or Indian food, but I'm not even sure of that. 

Our godchildren loved the Shirley Temple, made with diet ginger ale and a shot of real grenadine and richly garnished with cherries and orange slices and tiny paper umbrellas.  And honestly, they're not bad as long as you use the sugar-free soda as a base; using even "good" (small producer, fancy label) sugared G.A. makes a drink too sweet even for the under-12 set. 

But what does one do for college-age kids, or adults?  The answer is as close as the aseptically packaged boxes of interesting fruit juices in your local gourmet store--or if you're lucky, in your mega-mart.  Check out the Latin foods area; Goya has some good ones, but there are more and more companies that put the stuff up.  Read the ingredients and make sure you're buying something that's not too laden with high fructose glop, but most of the ones I've found are basically what they say they are: fruit puree and fruit juice, sometimes sweetened, sometimes not. I found some wonderful sour cherry juice from Turkey once. The market near our house even stocks passionfruit juice, which opens up a world of old Tiki cocktails for those who will pour them with booze--but that's not our week's topic.

Basic recipe:

Get a big red wine glass and put in some ice.  Pour in a few ounces of some exotic tropical juice--passionfruit, mango, guava...be creative.  You can even mix flavors.  Taste with a straw.  Too sweet?  A colorful option is to add a dash of unsweetened cranberry juice, which is also becoming more and more available.  Now you've got something the color of a Hawaiian sunset.  Top off with some good seltzer.  We have one of those soda stream penguin machines, which is worth EVERY PENNY.  Stir, and garnish with a lime or lemon quarter-wheel, perched at a jaunty angle on the rim of the glass.  You could even experiment with making a drink on the tart side and sugar-rimming the glass, especially if you're mixing for someone quite young.

There you go!  No reason the party shouldn't extend to everyone!  Cheers!!  And do join me on the air at 4 at Area 24 Radio!