Nectar of the Gods
- Oct 6, 2023
- 2 min read
Sweet, salty, fruity - this one does it all.
One of the first alcohol-free cocktail books I received was Good Drinks by Julia Bainbridge. I am a self-proclaimed fan girl of hers, and she was ahead of her time in covering the emerging zero-proof cocktail scene. She wrote the book while driving across the US going to bars and restaurants to answer one question: Can you make an outstanding nonalcoholic drink? Of course we all know the answer is hell yeah!
This book was gifted to me by my brother-in-law in a moment of self-loathing, when I was going to scrap Soberish Mom and forget I ever thought about starting a blog. To him and Julia, I thank you for keeping me going.
Brine-and-soda is a fairly common mocktail when you're starting a sober(ish) journey because you almost always have the ingredients for it on-hand. You can use whatever leftover pickle jar juice you have in the fridge, a squeeze of citrus, soda, and you've got a pretty tasty and interesting beverage.
Nectar of the Gods is a kicked up version of this that includes some fresh-squeezed juices, and I sampled five different pickle variations to come up with my favorite combination for a perfectly satisfying mocktail. My winner was Famous Dave's Sweet & Spicy pickles. Second place was your basic bread-and-butter pickles or jarred Peruvian peppers.
Give it a try and let me know your thoughts. Cheers!
Ingredients:
2 oz freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz sweet & spicy pickle bring
1/2 oz simple syrup (you may need to adjust based on the sweetness of the brine you use)
5 oz soda water
Lemon slice or pickle for garnish
Instructions:
Combine the juices, brine, and simple syrup in a collins glass and stir to combine.
Add ice and top with soda water.
Garnish and enjoy!
Watch me make this drink on my Instagram. Cheers!