Rachel Marwedel
Website Manager
Each Monday, I gather my roommates and taste-test two mocktails. Here’s how this week went:
Baby Blues
Not actually blue, and baby-free. Don’t worry; I checked.
1 graham cracker
Lime wedge
2 ounces vanilla seltzer
2 ounces ginger ale
1 ounce blueberry juice
Pinch of cinnamon, for garnish
Place a graham cracker in a baggie and use your fingers to crumble it. Place crumbs in a small dish. Wipe the edge of a martini glass with a lime edge, then dip the glass in the plate to coat the rim with crumbs. In a cocktail shaker, mix vanilla seltzer, ginger ale, blueberry juice, and ice.
This drink comes from Mocktail Magic by Bondjour. I started with the graham cracker rim – crushing up a cracker (honestly, you only need half a cracker for three glasses) and pouring out the mixture onto a plate. I then cut up a lime and rubbed it on the edges of the glass. It’s necessary to use an actual lime here instead of lime juice – fresh lime will help the crumbs to stick. Dip the glass into your mixture, twist it around a bit, and presto! A beautiful graham cracker rim. I then mixed my liquids. I couldn’t find “vanilla seltzer,” so I substituted it with cream soda. If you feel like a garnish, add a pinch of cinnamon to the top!
It’s got a light flavor and a nice taste. Nothing particularly stands out for this drink. The graham cracker rim, on the other hand – what a fantastic idea! A lot simpler than other rims and super cute!
Rating: 2/3
Vanilla Pear Fizz
So close, yet so far from perfection…
1 cup pear juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Ginger Ale
Ice Cubes
Mix pear juice, vanilla extract, and maple syrup in a shaker. Pour over ice and top with ginger ale. Stir. Garnish with a pear slice.
This drink also comes from Mocktail Magic by Bondjour. I began by adding the pear juice, vanilla extract, and maple syrup into my shaker. For the maple syrup, make sure to use high-quality syrup – you really can taste the difference, and it matters in a drink with few other ingredients. Also, if you don’t have a shaker, no worries! Just be sure to mix well. I added some ice and then topped it with ginger ale (it ended up being half ginger ale and half pear mixture). No garnish. I didn’t think it was necessary.
Sweet, slightly viscous, and unique, this was one of those elusive drinks where perfection seemed so close, yet so far away. With a small change, this could be one of the few drinks that could be added to my permanent recipe box. But what? A spice, perhaps, such as cinnamon, mint, or nutmeg? Maybe trying it blended or with a brown sugar rim would enhance the flavor, or possibly adding a splash of ginger beer? It seems I’ve got some experimenting to do.
Rating: 2.5/3
Both photos courtesy of Rachel Marwedel.
