Matt Dorsey - Healthy Cocktails: Easy & Fun Recipes for All-Natural, Low-Sugar, Low-Alcohol Drinks

Copyright 2019 by Matthew and Jenny Dorsey

Photographs copyright 2019 by Jenny Dorsey, unless otherwise noted

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Laura Klynstra and Brian Peterson

Cover photo credit: Jenny Dorsey

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-4494-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-4495-0

Printed in China

To those like me who shied away from their creativity: let it loose!
Matt

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

At its core, cocktail culture is about relaxing, sipping on something delicious, and having a bit of fun. That spirit guides our interpretation of healthy in this book, too: combining the goodness of less-processed, lower-calorie, and more nutritionally dense ingredients with both classic and experimental styles of beverage to take the edge off without compromising any New Years resolutions or fitness goals. To me, having control over every part of the cocktailfrom choosing quality liquor to mastering flavorful infusions, tinctures, and syrupsis the best way to maximize taste without sacrificing flavor and enjoyment.

I dont wish a life of vodka-sodas on anyone, but I do appreciate the simplicity of that drink. Thats why the recipes in this book are unfussy and easy to whip up for either a solo tipple or a group gathering. They also emphasize freshness in the form of juices or whole fruits and vegetables. Ive also taken refined sugar out of the equation by making syrups from natural alternatives like monk fruit or xylitol (derived from birch trees), removing premade mixers, and shying away from high-sugar liqueurs and amaros. In some instances, Ive removed the alcohol altogether in favor of zero-proof mocktails that are still multilayered and flavorful but contain few to no calories. This does require a little bit of extra effort, but I think its well worth it in delicious liquid results.

Living a healthy life necessitates a sustainable lifestyle, and these cocktails aim to find that balance of allowing some indulgences without causing you to guiltily reflect back on a nights fun. I hope you enjoy the heck out of each beverage, knowing you dont need to count calories, and learn some novel new techniques and tricks along the way. Ultimately, these recipes are meant to set a foundation for healthy cocktails, and I leave it up to you to imbue them with your own whims and personality, whether you choose a more seasonally appropriate fruit for a smash or switch up a spice for a syrup. The possibilities are endless, which is why Ive concocted this useful flavor profile and cocktail-style matrix to help categorize the recipes of this book and serve as a jumping-off point for your own future creations.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Photo credit: Dion Trinidad

MARATHONS & MIXOLOGY
About the Mixologist

The first time I ever served a cocktail to anyone besides myself and my then-girlfriend, now-wife, Jenny, was at our inaugural pop-up dinner. That was back in 2014, many moons and hundreds of events ago, when the two of us first had the (slightly harebrained) idea to start hosting food- and drink-centric events. We started first out of our home, gathering small groups of people who wanted something deeper and more thoughtful than the regular ol weather-and-subway conversation, then slowly migrated into venues across the world (some of my personal favorites include an island hotel in Nicaragua, an abandoned warehouse in San Francisco, and a multi-floor museum in NYC). You could say it was the ultimate trial by fire; not only was this an exercise in vulnerability and openness for meI was doing something I was actively interested in but completely new to sharing with othersbut it was also a learning curve to see if and how Jenny and I could work together to build something to bring out both our creative sides.

I still remember what I made: two cocktails, one called Cloak & Swagger, the other Oriental, both from the secret recipe book of mixologist Greg Best (then of Atlantas Holeman and Finch Public House). Until I had met him a year or so prior, I only considered myself a good drinkernot particularly discerning, nor particularly interested in knowing more. When I wandered into his bar, right around the corner from where I lived, his obvious love for craft cocktails and deep knowledge of the space pulled me in immediately. When you ordered any drink, he would tell you its origin story, how he made every single ingredientbitters, syrups, infusionsand why it made sense for the ethos of his bar. That was a clear delineation for me, learning the rich and complex history behind the alcohols I enjoyed and realizing the enjoyment of drinking isnt at all about maximizing the volume of alcohol being consumed. I found myself at Gregs bar at least a few times a week just listening, watching, absorbing. As I was leaving the city to move up north, he gifted me with a recipe book containing dozens of his and other mixologists tried-and-true recipes as a way to help me muster up the courage to make and serve drinks to others.

Even with his book, my first cocktail service did not go so well. I followed every recipe to a T, yet they just didnt taste the way I remembered. Everything was too boozy, and the balance was just wrong somehow. I felt open and exposed, bringing a tray of these cocktails-in-progress to new people who could certainly judge me. But Id be damned if I let that fear, that pressure, dampen something I could feel had grabbed me. So I got to work, researching everything I could about cocktails: first liquors; then liqueurs, amaros, and other odd ingredients; styles of drinks; the golden ratio and when to break it. I made every single one of the recipes in the book until I struck a rhythm between pours, stirs, and shakes as the balance of each cocktail slowly became muscle memory and not a strain. I was able to wean off riffing on others recipes to creating my own for the last four or so years now (theres a story about that later in the book too), and after making tens of thousands of drinks, I can say definitively there have been some great ones and some terrible ones, but all of them have been part of the most fun ride I couldve ever dreamed up for a formerly self-described noncreative type.