As you may be aware, it is Dry January and many people are forgoing alcohol for the month to reset after the New Year. However, just because you don’t want to drink, doesn’t mean you don’t want to go out and have a fun time! More and more bars are now catering to those who wish to remain sober, by offering up mocktails. These drinks may be sans spirits, but they are full of creativity and delicious flavors!
Michelle Oliver and Kila Peeples set out around metro Detroit to find your fix for mocktails! Here are three places you should check out.
1) The Oakland Art Novelty - Ferndale
This prohibition themed bar is known for its classy atmosphere and craft cocktails, but there is a collection of drinks on their list that are alcohol-free. The Glo Worm is a tall drink featuring a sprig of mint, cucumber syrup, saffron syrup, pineapple and lime juice, and some crushed ice. It’s a refreshing drink, similar to lemonade with sweet and tangy flavors and freshness from the mint. You could also try the Guava Mama which has grapefruit juice, diluted honey, and guava nectar. The sharp grapefruit juice is mellowed out by the guava, making for a very drinkable tropical mocktail.
Glo Worm (left) and Guava Mama (right) mocktails at The Oakland Art Novelty
2) Castalia at Sfumato - Midtown Detroit
Sfumato is a unique spot. It’s a fragrance store by day, and a bar at night, but they like to mix the two. Every cocktail or mocktail they create gets paired with a scent that will change your experience with the drink. It’s a ride for your tastebuds. Similar to the old school “Bull Shot”, Stardust is a strangely savory drink that is paired with their scent Arcanum. This beverage is made with beef broth, cider, lapsang souchong smokey tea, and raspberry simple syrup. It has a savory smoked meat taste off the top with the sweet raspberry as a finish. If you smell the scent before the sipping on the drink, the raspberries will hit you much faster. The drink is also served with a shot of kokumi, which is an offshoot of nutritional yeast and will round out the flavors of the cocktail when you add the kokumi to the drink. As Kila put it, “it’s like three drinks in one.”
3) M Cantina- Dearborn
This inventive Mexican restaurant’s beverage program is entirely booze-free. Executive chef and mixologist, Junior Merino, is known as the liquid chef for a reason, his mocktails are outstanding, full of flavor, and beautiful to behold. One such beauty is the Passion Fruit Ginger Margarita. It’s made with agave nectar, orange juice, fresh passion fruit puree, mango puree, ginger, and pineapple juice. Sipping on this will make you feel like your on a beach in Mexico. A real show stopper is the Smokey Piña Colada. This velvety smooth drink is made with coconut cream, coconut milk, grilled pineapple juice, sugar cane juice, and a little bit of lime. It is served inside a real coconut and comes in a glass case filled with applewood smoke.
Smokey Piña Colada (left) and Passion Fruit Ginger Margarita (right) at M Cantina in Dearborn