Mocktails, Anyone?

Whether you’re the designated driver, a soon-to-be mom or simply don’t feel like drinking tonight, you don’t have to suffer with a glass of tap water or tonic while the rest of your party orders something boozy from the barkeep. Only a few restaurants and bars in town list a mocktail on their cocktail menu, but there are a lot of talented bartenders who can concoct one on the spot and slide you a virgin drink that’s no kiddie cocktail. When Terrene’s Jamie Kilgore gets a request for a mocktail, she tries to get a sense of the flavor profile that the customer prefers. “Dry,” “sweet,” “fruity,” “tropical,” “savory,” “bright” and “refreshing” are a few of the keywords that cue her in to the drink that’s right for your taste buds. Kilgore also noted that if the drink is meant to accompany a meal, she would try to pair the two, for instance, preparing a savory, rich-tasting sipper to accompany a steak or a drink with citrus notes for a lighter seafood dish. There’s no set formula for a mocktail, but Kilgore frequently opts for a small quantity of a sweetening agent and tops it with something sparkling to lend effervescence and round out the flavor. Her go-to sweeteners are pomegranate molasses, which she likes for its thickness and sweet, intense flavor, and ginger syrup, hibiscus syrup, cinnamon syrup and high-quality grenadine. Club soda or Sprite are standard for making bubbles, but Kilgore also likes using ginger beer, and noted that flavored tonics and sodas, like Fever-Tree’s bitter lemon, furnish a tasty fizz. “And don’t underestimate the value of a squeeze of fresh citrus that can brighten a drink,” she added. Michele Bildner of Brasserie by Niche oftentimes reaches for flavored teas in her nonalcoholic drinks. She makes double-concentrated teas because “a mocktail typically tastes more diluted than a cocktail. I try to make it doubly strong, or it will be really watery.” Her faves are orange spice, pomegranate, chamomile and blueberry, because these teas will lend the drink both flavor and body. Craft bartenders like Bildner and Kilgore always keep a stock of fresh seasonal herbs such as basil and mint, sage, thyme and rosemary. After all, an adventure, albeit tempered, is what you’re asking for when you order a mocktail. And considering that the mixology scene in St. Louis has never been better, it’s nice to know that even if you have to eighty-six the heady stuff, you can still mix it up.