Scott Reba - Better Cocktails Through Chemistry A Guide To Sugar Free Drinks

Better Cocktails Through Chemistry:

A Guide to Sugar Free Drinks

Scott Reba

Copyright 2018 Scott Reba

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1-977066-49-6

ISBN-13: 978-1977066-49-7

To Holly, for believing in me and always bringing out my better sel f .

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are many people without whom this book would not exist, and I thank you for all your kind words and support throughout this process. Thank you to my father whos consultation on the chemical extraction process was key. Id like to thank my wife, Holly, who I owe more to than words can ever describe. Id also like to thank Jason Wisnieski, my lifelong friend, who gave me the initial idea and inspiration for this book, and supplied many spirits along the way. Thank you all for your taste-testing palettes, good times, and your friendship.

Special thanks to Jay Santini, who proofread this book and to Victoria Stanbridge of Victoria Stanbridge Photography for the awesome cover art and design.

Forward

For many years, I did not participate in certain aspects of social functions. There would be get-togethers, parties, and weddings, and people would do as people do and socialize over a cocktail. However, this was not an option for me. I have been a Type 1 diabetic (T1DM) since I was 13 years old. For over 25 years, I have learned to avoid sugar like the plague and, over time, have even limited food carbohydrates. This practice has allowed me to lower my HbA1c and virtually erase the peaks and valleys of my blood sugars. This better control has allowed me to live a healthier life free of complications from my disease.

This practice left me on the sidelines when it came to cocktails, though. Sure, I could sit and drink my rum and Diet Coke or sip my scotch, but I was missing out on mixed drinks. Much like a good meal, a good cocktail has flavor profiles, aromatics, and subtle complexities. The art of cocktail making is simply incredible. It also happened to be something closed off to me.

Saccharine in soda can be unpleasant, but is a necessary evil. Saccharine in a cocktail ruins the flavor and almost makes it unrecognizable compared to traditional recipe cocktails. It is also impossible to bake with. The world of sugar free cooking has changed dramatically over the years, but most recently with the introduction of Splenda, things changed for the better. Splenda, or sucralose, is an artificial sweetener that engages the same receptors on your tongue that indicate sweetness, yet has no calories or carbohydrates due to its molecular composition. It is not broken down, nor absorbed by the body. While this was useful for adding a little sweetness to my tea, it would be a while yet before it would mean something else to me.

A good friend of mine is a cocktail enthusiast and would always host a Repeal Day party every December to celebrate the repeal of prohibition of alcohol in the United States. I would, as mentioned above, not really participate in the tasting of various libations. One of those years, I had the inspiration to get up and try to do something about it and make actual sugar free, no carbohydrate versions of regular cocktails that tasted as close to the originals as possible. That being said, every good cocktail uses all natural ingredients. This presented various challenges, which over time and experimentation, were overcome to great success. My friend would give me a recipe, then we would test each drink side by side with regular cocktails versus sucralose sweetened cocktails and tweak recipes where necessary to make them as indistinguishable as possible. Eventually, we started running low on recipes since new recipes required sugar-infused spirits like cordials, vermouth, or liqueurs. This led me to research and invent ways to make my own homemade sugar free versions to open up those different families of cocktails. I started a website to document that journey and am now pleased to share all the various cocktails, liqueurs, and the processes that I invented to make this all possible in one convenient reference book.

Enjoy!

The following is a simple list of the different cocktails contained within this book that require a certain type of base components. Pure distilled spirits contain no sugar nor carbohydrates. The required liqueurs listed can all be made following the recipes in this book.

This list should make it easier to locate new cocktails that contain components that youve already made or obtained.

Not included in this list are bitters, ReaLemon, nor ReaLime. Almost every cocktail has a citrus component. Many require bitters. ReaLemon, ReaLime, and bitters are items that cocktail maker should always have in stock.

The most common bitters used are Angostura. They can be bought just about anywhere. Specialty bitters can be found online, or at your local liquor store for reasonably cheap, so plan ahead before making cocktails that require those.

Cocktails Sorted by Required Spirits

Absinthe

Deep Sea Cocktail

Royale with Ease

Sazerac

Gold Cup (Clio Version)

Allspice Dram

Royale with Ease

Lion's Tail

Nannie Dee

Pumpkin Spice Cocktail

Solstice

Woody Sour

Amaro

Alto Cucina

Apparent Sour

Good Night, Irene

Gruff and Rumble

Trans-Siberian Express

Apple Brandy

(Applejack)

Carolina Julep

Gold Baron

Hawaiian Room

Pink Lady

Pioneer Spirit

Special Relationship

Brandy/Cognac

Charles Cocktail

Coquito

Curacao Punch

Gazette

Hot Toddy

Metropole

Mississippi Punch

Panama

Stinger

Crme de Cacao

Panama

Trans-Siberian Express

Grasshopper

Hershey Manhattan

Mulata Daisy

Crme de Menthe

Trans-Siberian Express

Grasshopper

Stinger

Crme de Violette

Aviation

Blue Moon

Fool Moon

Goodnight Gracie

Margarita Violette

Elderflower Cordial

Alto Cucina

Apparent Sour

Bohemian

Means of Preservation

Gin

Army & Navy

Aviation

Basil Gin Gimlet

Blue Moon

Deep Sea Cocktail

Fool Moon

Hong Kong Cocktail

Magnolia Blossom

Means of Preservation

Pink Lady

Ramos Gin Fizz

Tom Collins

Trans-Siberian Express

Grenadine

Angostura Fizz

Black Rose

Castle Habour Special

Chinese Cocktail

El Presidente

Gold Baron

Magnolia Blossom

Mexican Firing Squad

Opening Cocktail

Pink Lady

Planters Punch

Scofflaw

Hibiscus Syrup

Royale with Ease

Wild Hibiscus Sour

Maraschino Liqueur

Aviation

Chinese Cocktail

Gold Cup (Clio Version)

Tango 'til They're Sore

Orgeat Syrup

Army & Navy

Gold Cup (Clio Version)

Pioneer Spirit

Trinidad Sour

Pineapple Vodka

Castle Habour Special

Panama

Saint Croix Rum Fix

Wild Hibiscus Sour

Rum (Spiced or Dark)

Castle Habour Special

Chinese Cocktail

Conquistador

El Presidente

Mississippi Punch

Saint Croix Rum Fix

Rum (White )

Castle Habour Special

Curacao Punch

Daiquiri

Gold Cup (Clio)

Goodnight Gracie

Gruff and Rumble

Hawaiian Room

Imperial Fizz

Mojito

Mulata Daisy

Panama

Planters Punch

Simple Syrup

Angostura Fizz

Buster Brown

Carolina Julep