I recently posted my first recipe for dry January – the Actually Dry Martini. With its botanical and vegetable flavors, the Actually Dry Martini might serve as a reasonable mocktail alternative for martini drinkers. But what about everyone else? Before January ends I wanted to get one more non-alcoholic recipe up so we have a broader spectrum of tastes covered. In this post, I present to you the Mexican Candy Soda:
For this drink we will once again be making use of the Garden 108 non-alcoholic spirit by Seedlip. As noted in the Actually Dry Martini post, Garden 108 features flavors of “leaf,” “herb,” and “pod.” In that post, I used Garden 108 as a reasonable non-alcoholic proxy for gin. (To temper expectations, I also cautioned that Garden 108 is not really gin. But that fact is less significant here, where other flavors make the drink less dependent on Garden 108.)
We will also be using a shrub. In the past, I’ve recommended shrubs from D.C.’s own Shrub District. (See my gift guide and recipe for the Autumn Breeze.) For this recipe I tried out one of Calvit’s Shrubs, the Tomatillo-Tamarind-Hibiscus drinking shrub.
The final flavor comes from freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. I used ruby red grapefruits for the color of the juice and peel. But the particular variety is not as important as the fact that you use fresh ingredients. (You’ll note I always include “freshly squeezed” to describe fruit juice used in my recipes. Fresh juice is always important in cocktails, but all the more so in mocktails, where there is no alcohol to hide behind.) You’ll also need soda water to top off the drink.
These flavors combine beautifully for a light and refreshing drink that makes for a perfect pre-dinner mocktail before a spicy meal. In fact, that’s partly how I decided on the name here. I enjoyed one of these mocktails prior to a spicy chorizo stew dinner. And in researching for inspiration for the name, I found that tamarind is popular flavor in Mexican candy. That description seemed to fit, and I liked the name, so the Mexican Candy Soda was christened.
Here’s how to make it at home:
Mexican Candy Soda
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz. Seedlip Garden 108
- 3/4 oz. Calvit's Tomatillo-Tamarind-Hibiscus Drinking Shrub
- 3/4 oz. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- grapefruit peel
Instructions
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Combine the Garden 108, shrub, and juice in a shaking tin with ice and shake vigorously.
- Strain mixed ingredients into the glass and top off with soda water.
- Garnish with grapefruit peel and add a metal or paper straw.
Note that if you are not observing dry January, I tried a version of this with gin instead of Seedlip, which was quite good. Tequila or mezcal should also substitute nicely.  However you decide to make it, I hope you enjoy!
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