Earlier this year, Penn and I got sober curious and decided to cut back on drinking. We wanted to cut back and get curious about why we were reaching for alcohol at the end of the day.
We still enjoy a glass of wine or a beer, but we’ve learned that we function a lot better without that daily drink. (I mean, having a hangover in your late 40s takes DAYS of recovery, and that’s no bueno.) As we head into the fall and holiday season, we want to keep our new lifestyle going.
The shorter days and colder temperatures (not to mention the stress of the holidays) can cause me to overindulge, I’ll admit. I’ve discovered that having something other than water or club soda to look forward to helps me curb those urges.
If you’re cutting back on drinking too, here is how you can stock your fall mocktail bar:
Creating your fall mocktail bar is a perfect excuse to update your barware. In a way, every drink starts with the glass. These beaded amber glasses bring a vintage, fall vibe to your mocktail, no matter what it is.
Seedlip Spice 94 gives you that cozy fall cocktail feel without the booze. We tried Seedlip Garden 104 and thought it was just okay, but friends have told me that the Spice 94 has a lot more flavor. Give it a shot! (No pun intended.)
When we did our mocktail taste test, the Ritual Zero Proof Tequila was one of our favorites. You don’t see many fall mocktail recipes calling for tequila, so that’s why we picked the whiskey alternative.
Okay, I know this isn’t a spirit, but hear me out. When we did our mocktail taste test, this was one of my favorite drinks. Plus, it’s always good to have a white wine on hand, right?
Bitters are a great addition to any mocktail, but cinnamon bitters will be the dose of “fall” you might be craving.
If your go-to drink is an old fashioned, try Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey with cinnamon bitters, a sugar cube, and an orange peel. Bonus points if make it a smoked pecan old fashioned—yum!
Nothing says fall like pumpkin spice! Rimming sugar has two purposes: to make your mocktail look good and to make it taste good.
Sugar balances out tartness, so this is great for especially tart mocktails. If you’re not a die-hard pumpkin spice fan, you can put the sugar around half of the rim to achieve the high-end cocktail look, without the taste.
