Dry January is working! Why'd I wait?

AnnPT77

Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »

Crodino comes in the golden/blond version you purchased @AnnPT77 and also a rosso which is a bit more bitter. There are other companies that make the bitter version like sanbitters. They all sort of approximate a somewhat sweeter campari apertif. You can get them on amazon, or at the online italian store or find retailers through their websites. You need to mix it with a lot of ice and seltzer and add a bit of citrus. The small bottle is a concentrate. https://crodino.com/how-to-drink/
There are also premixed cocktails that use these sorts of bevereages like the Nogroni and St Agresis makes a bottled “Phony Negroni” which is pretty good. Both are like a campari and soda. Wilfred’s - a British co. - makes a non alcoholic apertif in a 750 ml bottle like this and Lyre’s makes an Italian Spritz flavor that is also this same idea. They also taste good mixed with orange bitters.

On a totally different topic, I had amazing mocktails in NYC this weekend. One was a sugar snap pea based drink. I have to figure it out for myself but it appeared to be purred sugar snaps (blitzed in a vitamix till liquefied), shot of lemon juice, shot of lime juice, NA gin, a big square ice cube and a curry leaf.

Good info. Maybe some more future experiments, though I assume the rosso Crodino is also pretty sweet. I personally think I wouldn't want to mix this Crodino I have with soda/seltzer - for me, the flavor isn't really strong enough IMO as it is. I'll maybe try it, though. Maybe with some smoked orange bitters added?

I recently bought some other strange stuff, Thatcher's cucumber liqueur (a Michigan product) and Fernet-Branca amaro. But those are both solidly alcoholic, so unsuitable for this thread. Well, actually, no more alcoholic than traditional bitters, and the Thatcher's only 15% ABV, but still got them in a liquor store. Presumably because one uses more of those than the few dashes of traditional bitters, typically?

My holy grail would be to find something (liqueur, ideally, so off topic here) that tastes exactly like the Formula 44 cough syrup of my youth. 🤣 Man, I loved that stuff. (Modern cough products differ.) So far, green Chartreuse is the closest thing I've found, but it's not perfect. I made basil liqueur once, was hopeful, but it was frankly horrid.

The sugar snap mocktail sounds very tempting!

mtaratoot

AnnPT77 wrote: »

mtaratoot wrote: »

@AnnPT77

Someone else posted about this, and I've been looking for it unsuccessfully.

I've just been on hold for well over an hour dealing with a financial institution. Ugh. At least the only had to put me back on hold ONE time, and at least it was less than ten more minutes. So I'm just having a decaf, some dark chocolate, and some aspirin....

Bezos. Not cheap. I assessed the price based on entertainment value, not really on food value.

I'd share with you if I could. It's OK, but not - to me - craveable.

Price-wise, it's probably good that I don't adore it. That's a slippery slope for a hedonist.

Yes; I saw Jeff was selling it, and I didn't like his price. I was thinking a N/A Campari & soda sounded like it might be nice. One of the people on my volunteer dive team suggested Lyre's has a concoction that would make for a nice "not Gin" and tonic, and I have seen it at one of the local grocery stores but for sure at a premium price. If I thought it would make a good martini, I'd give it a whirl. Maybe I'll try some anyway after I get my tax refund, assuming I'll get one.

My hedonist tendencies are being assuaged with something I almost never ever eat - ice cream. Because I had a moment of weakness at the discount grocery after my visit to the dentist (a good visit except for some structural issues that need attention). It's a locally-made version from a good creamery, and I like salt and caramel, so there ya go. Probably will sate my taste for ice cream for quite a long time. I think the last time I had some was last April.

Sinisterbarbie1

@mtaratoot if you haven’t tried the N/A spirits my advice is that they work mostly as mixed drinks and not to think it will ever remind you of a real drink jut like a NA wine won’t ever taste like a real wine etc. If you are used to the mouthfeel and heat and other effects specific to alcohol those are not readily replicable, but the aromatics etc are. So something like a martini will taste like mildly flavored water to you, but the same non-spirit mixed with a quality tonic and a few dashes of bitters might approximate the aromatics and some of the taste of a g&t. There is a brand that ends their products in -ish (gin-ish rum-ish etc) that is pretty good. Lyre’s is pretty good too.

@AnnPT77 other botanical apertifs you might want to try are Ghia (it has a touch of sweet but that is balanced with bitter flavors and herbs not like the crodino, it gets the sweetness from dealcholized wine base). My husband brought home something called the Pathfinder hemp & root (no cbd or other hemp effects). It is concentrated and sweet and super bitter at once. If you like Frenet you will probably like it. Its like an amaro or if you have had the hungarian drink unicum …. It might be like the cough syrup of your dreams. I think it would be good cut with tonic and lemon on ice.

mtaratoot

@Sinisterbarbie1

That's kind of what I figured. I do like G&T in the summer, so maybe in a few months I'll try the Lyre's. Maybe some time before that I'll just have myself a martini, but for now I'm enjoying staying even drier than a dry martini, which by the way should have more vermouth than many people think since the "dry" is just from dry gin not the absence of vermouth. And please - no olive brine!

AnnPT77

Thanks, @Sinisterbarbie1, I'll look for those to try. I like even the beverages that are a good-tasting close call, most of the bitter/herbal drinks I've tried, so those sound like enjoyable next steps even if they don't completely fulfill my life-quest for Vicks Formula 44 flavor. 😆

I probably should've experimented with other homemade herbal liqueurs, but basil and (even more so) marigold were so awful I was rather put off the experimental track. I forget what others I tried making, there were some, others that were just meh, but nothing great. (Cranberry, coffee, and tart cherry, though . . . 😋. With apologies to the OP, I'm veering off topic again. Sorry!)

Sinisterbarbie1

@mtaratoot I’ve been totally dry now for a couple years for overall health reasons (cancer survivor, other stuff, general weight loss and now everyone seems to agree its just healthier not to if you don’t already drink). But when I did imbibe I agreed with you 100% on martinis . I wholeheartedly agree with the theme of this list though — its going so well, why did I wait so long? And in my case - doing it for health reasons - I actually felt a little put out at the beginning that I was “missing out.” As you can see from our robust discussions here there are SO MANY alternatives and new adult NA beverages coming out every day so that you can keep the ritual and ditch the hangover when you go out with friends. I have to say it is actually becoming fun to go out to bars and see what they have on their NA lists. I’ve even had several opportunities at restaurants to have alcohol free “pairings” with a tasting menu.

Sinisterbarbie1

@AnnPT77 just to clarify, the Ghia and the Pathfinder are both NA recommendations for herbal apertifs. I also saw a few wormwood based ones at my local wine/gourmet shop but did not try those. The brand is Gnista I believe. It is from Sweden. I think it is an acquired taste. Here are links to articles in NYT and epicurious on NA bitters and bar supplies. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-non-alcoholic-drinks/ And https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/nonalcoholic-bar-dry-january-bitter-aperitif-article

Sinisterbarbie1

@AnnPT77 tagging you here because I found another great bitter - sumac … it has a really complex/nuanced flavor like the spice itself and the bitter is based on a rhubarb extract for bittterness. I am having it with fever tree tonic and a slice of lemon at the moment and it is as good as any adult beverage because of the quality of all the ingredients. Will try it with just sparkling water and see if I like it equally well.
We should start a bitters lovers thread to go with the cheese and chocolate threads you started. Though it might just be the two of us there.

AnnPT77

Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »

@AnnPT77 tagging you here because I found another great bitter - sumac … it has a really complex/nuanced flavor like the spice itself and the bitter is based on a rhubarb extract for bittterness. I am having it with fever tree tonic and a slice of lemon at the moment and it is as good as any adult beverage because of the quality of all the ingredients. Will try it with just sparkling water and see if I like it equally well.
We should start a bitters lovers thread to go with the cheese and chocolate threads you started. Though it might just be the two of us there.

That sumac bitters sounds good!

A dedicated thread would be fine with me: I've learned a lot of interesting things from you already on this topic.

Could broaden out the subject line to some kind of interestingly offbeat NA/LA low calorie or mocktail drinks for grown-ups, maybe?

I don't know whether a dry January thread has staying power, though it's been fun so far, and I appreciate @jthanmyfitnesspal starting it rolling.

I've appreciated @mtaratoot's NA beer reviews, too, though I'm more oriented to flavor-rich beers that are LA myself.

Sinisterbarbie1

Agree on the mocktails/low alcohol drinks for adults idea. I sometimes pop in to the less alcohol thread and folks sometimes share ideas there, but that is a monthly thread so they get lost quickly. Plus the list has a higher purpose that not everyone interested in the occasional mocktail recipe will share.
On N/A beers I am personally not a big beer drinker but my husband has been drinking Guiness 00 and also Gruuvi stout and enjoying them. NA Brooklyn Brewing Company and Athletic Brewing Company products also make regular appearances in our house.

mtaratoot

I'd visit an adult N/A beverage thread.

I most likely will go back to beer with ethanol, but for now am still enjoying the N/A stuff and the calorie benefit I get. I have a big river trip coming up, and it actually might be nice to be able to drink beer during the day without the ethanol! The Deschutes Black Butte Porter is FULL FLAVORED and N/A.

I just picked up a different flavor of Omission today - Ultimate IPA. It's chilling in the refrigerator for now. Their "Bright Eyed IPA" is surprisingly good. I hope the other isn't too much sweeter; it has 50% more calories. Still way less than a regular beer. I almost just cracked one open at room temperature, but I have patience.

cmriverside

I popped in to see if you did dry February too. I am disappoint. It's all beer talk. Kind of needs its own thread. #baitandswitch

mtaratoot

@cmriverside

No bait. No switch. The beer talk is mostly N/A beers which are good to have if you actually like beer and are taking a booze break.

Maybe the thread needs a rename from Dry January to Booze Break.

cmriverside

mtaratoot wrote: »

@cmriverside

No bait. No switch. The beer talk is mostly N/A beers which are good to have if you actually like beer and are taking a booze break.

Maybe the thread needs a rename from Dry January to Booze Break.

Yeah, I should know better than to post in any threads about alcohol - they stay in my feed ForEver, regardless. I haven't drank in many years, so I don't care to read about [any]beer at all.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I have not been fully dry in February, but I have had alcohol very sparingly (two nights, actually). My approach is "still working" in that I've lost 8lbs since Jan 1 while improving my performance in just about every activity. But, I've also had a couple of colds this month, and I'm hoping I'm over with that. The goal is to stay very light on the alcohol, keep training (5k coming up), and try for about 10 more lbs to lose.

AnnPT77

Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »

Agree on the mocktails/low alcohol drinks for adults idea.
(snip)

mtaratoot wrote: »

I'd visit an adult N/A beverage thread.
(snip)

I'd participate in a mocktails and low/no alcohol drinks thread, too . . . but I wonder whether someone will start one? I won't, probably. I'm already thread-mommy for the chocolate and cheese appreciation threads (yummmmmm, chocolate and cheese!). I don't want to (won't) hog all the joys of thread-parenting.

There've been several threads looking for soda/pop alternates lately, so such a thread might draw some of those folks to participate, too, never know.

Apologies to @Jthanmyfitnesspal for the digression, and thanks to him for getting this sub-thread going.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@AnnPT77 : The digression has been great!

Me update: It's Friday, I've had a big week on all fronts, and I'm tired. I still want to walk to the pool and swim at lunch, which may either energize me or could leave me even more tired! We're going to a beer place tonight and I'll definitely have a real beer.

mtaratoot

I had a real beer on the First day of Meteorological Spring. It was a special beer a friend had bought me a while back - from Russian River Brewing. I even got out a special glass for it. Yes, it was Pliny the Elder. It was very good.

Next week I may have some red wine. Or maybe this weekend.

Now, after I've had an ordinary beer, I'll need to see if I still like the N/A ones as much as I thought. I do still like the hop flavored sparkling water.