TIP OF THE DAY: Fall Mocktail
|
Two days ago we presented an extensive drink menu for a Halloween cocktail party. But what do you serve the non-drinkers and the kids?
Fall mocktails, of course. You can find many of them online. For starters, here’s a recipe full of fall flavor: apple, cinnamon and ginger, courtesy of Reed’s Ginger Brew, which has a portfolio of ginger beers from plain, in different strengths, to cherry and raspberry. Turn it into a cocktail with one of the optional apple liquors. Ingredients Per Drink 1. FILL a tumbler with ice. Pour in Spiced Apple Ginger Brew and optional alcohol. 2. STIR with a cinnamon stick and serve. |
Looking delicious: a fall mocktail of ginger beer with apple and cinnamon notes. Photo courtesy Reed’s Ginger Brew. |
|
|
|
WHAT IS GINGER BEER Ginger ale is carbonated water simply fllavored with sugar and ginger flavoring. Ginger beer, on the other hand, is brewed for deeper and more complex flavors and a sizzling ginger “burn.” The basic recipe combines ginger, sugar, water, lemon or lime juice (for an acidic pH balance) and the ginger beer plant, a fungus that contains specific yeast and bacteria that aid fermentation. Other live cultures can be substituted, including brewers’ or bakers’ yeast, lactic acid bacteria, kefir grains or tibicos, another culture of bacteria and yeasts. Brewers can add citrus zest, cayenne pepper and other hot spices, and blend-ins from nettle or dandelion beers. After a few days of fermentation, you’ve got ginger beer, effervescent with natural carbon dioxide (as in the fermentation of beer). Ginger beer originated in England, where it can be made with an alcohol content of up to 11%, or with no alcohol at all. In the U.S., it is typically found as an alcohol-free soft drink. |
|
|
|
||
