Tart Mixers for Delicious Cocktails and Mocktails
by Michael Dietsch
Recipe Flavors: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Easy to make: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Uniqueness of recipes: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My recommendation: These are the best non-alcoholic drink recipes I’ve ever tasted. Each one is a sophisticated blend of sweet, sour, bitter and spicy notes, just like modern bartender-crafted drinks. The recipes call for unique combinations of flavors, making for the kind of delightful taste surprises you expect from a real cocktail.
There used to be a bar in Tokyo where all they served was drinks made with vinegar. Yes, vinegar. A taste I normally hate. I went there more to write a blog post about how weird Japan is than expecting every single drink to be absolutely delicious. They surprised me! There were both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions, each featuring a combo of vinegars made from fruits or herbs. I still long for their green shiso sour, because even though I embarked on a mission to seek out vinegar drinks elsewhere in the world, none ever came close.
Until now.
This book of “sweet and savory shrub” recipes doesn’t just match the vinegar drinks I had in Tokyo, it takes them up a notch. The recipes call for unusual flavor combos and unexpected spices, which elevate the drinks to something you’d taste at a top-notch bar, anywhere in the world.
We all know the issues with mocktails: they’re often an afterthought—perfunctorily added for the designated drivers, pregnant guests and abstainers. They usually amount to fruit-flavored sparkling water or too-sweet juice served in a fancy glass. They’re more like a prop you carry around and pretend you’re partying than something you actually want to drink, and are no more satisfying than sad non-alcoholic Japanese beers.
Not these. So far, I’ve tried the Green Tea & Ginger Shrub (and you can too—it’s this month’s Japanese Home Cooking recipe), the Blood Orange, Ginger & Old Bay shrub (with a dollop of Old Bay shrimp boil for spice) and the Pomegranate, Grapefruit & Ginger recipe. They’re all delicious, with a blend of sweet, sour, bitter and spicy that leaves you satisfied, not wishing you had a margarita.
You can get it right now, or check out the March Japanagram to see if you won a copy. All subscribers are automatically entered to win—if you’re not yet a member of this lucky group, click this button to subscribe, and be automatically signed up to enter.
How I pick the book giveaway winners: At the end of March, I will load all the email addresses of current Japanagram subscribers into an online random name picker and ask it to choose one lucky subscriber to get the book from this month’s review. I’ll publish the winner’s email in the next Japanagram (obscured in a way so only the subscriber will be able to recognize it as their own, of course) so check your March Japanagram to see if you won!
If you’d like to be automatically entered to win the book or Japan swag giveaway, subscribe!
•
Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Japanagram 