Zero-Proof, Not Sweet: 3 Savory Mocktails

If you’ve ever ordered a mocktail and gotten a neon cup of melted candy, we get it. While these sweeter drink have a time and place; we also love turning to drinks that are crisp, briny, peppery, and dinner-adjacent.

So we built three savory mocktails ideas for people who hate sweet mocktails: a Dirty Spritz, a Garden Mary, and a third that a bit experimental.

Our framework for savory mocktails

We are not bartenders or mixologists, so to help make amateur hour successful, we wanted to start by breaking everything down to basics. We build these the same way we build flavor in a dish. Its always good to start by breaking out our options to hit certain notes:

Salt

Olive brine, pickle juice, celery salt. Start small.

Acid

Lemon is your best friend here, but lime is often appropriate. Either way, they keep savory drinks from tasting heavy.

Heat

Hot sauce, horseradish, black pepper. A little goes a long way. Vinegar based hot sauces can also contribute towards acid.

Bitterness

Tonic is an easy shortcut. Some non-alcoholic aperitifs also bring that flavor.

Aroma

Citrus peel, fresh herbs, celery leaves. It matters more than you think.

Bubbles

Sparkling water or tonic at the end, not earlier, so it stays lively.

One guideline that keeps these from tasting like salad dressing: Start under-salted and under-acidic, then creep up. Brine is powerful.

Pantry and fridge checklist

Pick any five of these and you can make something good tonight.

• Olives and olive brine
• Lemons
• Tonic water and sparkling water
• Vegetable juice or tomato juice
• Worcestershire sauce
• Prepared horseradish
• Hot sauce
• Celery salt and black pepper
• Cucumber
• Fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme
• Non-alcoholic aperitif

Drink 1: The Dirty Spritz, Zero-Proof

Briny, citrusy, lightly bitter.

Ingredients (1 drink)

• Ice
• 1 to 2 teaspoons olive brine (start with 1 teaspoon)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus a lemon peel
• 2 to 3 ounces tonic water
• 2 ounces sparkling water
• Optional: 1 1/2 ounces non-alcoholic aperitif
• Garnish: 2 olives, lemon peel, rosemary sprig (optional)

Method

1. Fill a wine glass with ice.
2. Add olive brine and lemon juice.
3. If you’re using an NA aperitif, add it now and stir once.
4. Top with tonic and sparkling water. Stir gently.
5. Garnish with olives and a lemon peel. If you’re using rosemary, clap it once between your hands first.

Drink 2: The Garden Mary

This is our lane for the Bloody Mary crowd, without the booze and without the sugar.

Ingredients (1 drink)

• Ice
• 3 ounces vegetable juice, Clamato or tomato juice
• 1 ounce cucumber water (optional, but delicious if you have them on hand)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice (we favor lime in our household for these)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 2 to 4 dashes hot sauce
• Pinch of celery salt
• Black pepper

Quick cucumber water

Blend a few chunks of cucumber with a pinch of salt, then strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Method

1. Combine vegetable juice, cucumber water, lemon, Worcestershire, horseradish, hot sauce, celery salt, and black pepper in a shaker or a jar.
2. Shake hard with ice for 10 seconds (or stir), then pour into a glass of fresh ice.
3. Garnish with whatever makes you happy: celery, cucumber slice, pickles, olives.

Drink 3: The Demi Bullshot (tongue-in-cheek, but weirdly good)

A Bullshot is an old savory cocktail built around beef broth and Bloody Mary seasonings. 

Ingredients (1 small drink)

• 4 ounces cold beef broth (or chicken broth)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
• 2 dashes hot sauce
• Black pepper
• Tiny pinch of celery salt

Method

1. Stir broth, lemon, Worcestershire, hot sauce, celery salt, and black pepper in a mixing glass.
   
2. Taste and adjust with a few drops more lemon or hot sauce.
3. Serve ice-cold in a shot glass. Garnish with a lemon peel or celery leaf.

Use low-sodium broth if you can. This drink gets salty fast. The lemon is not optional.

If you like savory depth in a glass, you’ll love it in a pan sauce

This whole post is the same flavor logic we use when we cook: salt, acid, heat, aroma, and that last little finish that makes it feel like a restaurant.

• Start here: What Is Umami? The Fifth Taste, MSG, and How To Use Both
• Then this: What Is Fond? Turn Browned Bits into Sauce Magic
• And if you want the shortcut jar: Grass-fed Beef Demi-Glace or Pasture Raised Chicken Demi-Glace