A Truly NA Cocktail That's a Delicious Midday Treat
May's Cocktail of the Month takes April's low-proof experiment all the way to nothing
The Cocktail - Nogroni
The first thing I ever wrote for MI was an ode to the Negroni, and it’s probably still my overall favorite cocktail. So I thought it was fitting that the first fully non-alcoholic cocktail I write about is inspired by the GOAT.
Now, does this cocktail actually taste like a Negroni? No. Nothing does. That’s kinda the point of the Negroni. But, I think it scratches the same itch. It’s intense, bright, and dry with an underlying sweetness that keeps you coming back. It’s more homage than substitute, and I think it actually works better that way.
What You Have - Martini Vibrante, Rosemary Tincture
If you, like me, need to replenish you Vibrante because you unexpectedly liked it so much I recommend doing so ASAP. I had to go to a very different Total Wine than usual to find it in-stock, and it’s not buyable online through them currently. I don’t know anything, but it certainly seems as if Martini may be pulling the plug here. I hope I’m wrong, I love this stuff.
What to Buy - Free Spirts Spirit of Gin
There are tons of NA spirits out there, and I’ve tried a lot of them. Seedlip makes some of my favorites, but they’re difficult to build drinks around. None of their spirits really act like any boozy equivalent, and they’ve always been best to me mixed evenly with a fizzy soda of some kind.
Free Spirits is different in that I think they’ve done a great job approximating the fully-loaded versions. Now, would this ever fool you into thinking its true gin? No. But, does it hit the same notes as gin? It has a burn, smells very floral, and contains distinct juniper notes throughout - so, yes it does. I’ve used this bottle in place of true gin a few times, and while there are certainly differences the drinks still work.
The biggest difference is that the burn seems to come from capsicum (though it’s not on the ingredient statement) which is what makes peppers taste hot. It’s still a bite, and that’s appreciated, but it’s very distinct from alcohol and that’s the piece I notice most.
What to Make - Noverna
Garden Bar in Phoenix has an aspirational NA cocktail list, and last time I was in I noticed “Noverna” as an ingredient in their NA espresso martini. I couldn’t get the details out of the bartender (closely-guarded trade secret it seems), but I did learn that they use Mexican Coke as the base to build around. So, armed with that little detail, I got to work in the kitchen and I think I’ve gotten close.
The first step is to grind the spices you want to use to modify the cola. I chose a bunch of cloves, cardamom pods, star anise, coriander seeds, and a little bit of cinnamon bark. I also picked some mint from my herb garden. I ground everything but the mint into a fine powder, added it to a jar with the mint, and then added in the flattened cola. I flattened it by pouring it in and out of another container a bunch of times with the hope that removing the bubbles at this stage would lead to a better infusion. I let the combined mixture hang out in the fridge for 72 hours before doing anything else.
After 3 days, I filtered out the spice paste and leaves and reduced the infusion by ~1/3 over low heat on the stove. I think I could have gone even further, but you need to burn off at least a third of the liquid to get anywhere close to the right syrupy consistency.
Again, this won’t fool anyone into thinking it's a classic Italian amaro. But, also again, it hits the same notes: it’s bitter (maybe not bitter enough, but still), it’s sweet and syrupy, and it has an herby brightness running through it. It’s close, and I think in the future I can get even closer. It may require breaking out the sous vide…
The Recipe
Since this is a Negroni riff, we’re going all equal parts here, stirred with and strained over ice:
1 oz Free Spirits Spirit of Gin
1 oz Martini Vibrante
1 oz Noverna
3 dash Rosemary Tincture
It’s not a Negroni, but I still can’t think of a better comparison to give you a sense for what to expect. And this is one that you can drink at lunch completely guilt-free!
The biggest difference is that the bitter orange you usually get from Campari is replaced with less bitter, but more bracing, clove and cinnamon. There’s less fruit and more earth happening here, and I think a lot of that comes down to the tincture addition.
Yes, the tincture is super high-proof. But, NA counts as anything below 0.5% alcohol and this drink certainly fits that bill. Even if Vibrante and Spirit of Gin are the full allowed 0.5%, the Noverna is 0 and you dilute with ice; it can absorb a few drops of alcohol, and I really do think it rounds out the drink meaningfully.
BONUS: Use a Different Tincture :)
If you, like me, have been playing around with different tinctures I think this drink will take about any of them well. I actually preferred the hibiscus to the rosemary, which really surprised me.