Are you ready to start experimenting with creating your own non-alcoholic spirits or the next level of sophisticated NA cocktails? Then ZERO is your guide. If you’re starting off, and the idea of measuring out grams of gentian root sounds overwhelming to you, then you may consider this book aspirational and a beautifully photographed coffee table book.
ZERO is written, photographed, designed, and published by a collaborative called The Alinea Group. The Alinea Group is a collection of restaurants based in Chicago that all share the desire to provide high-quality hospitality and a unique, memorable experience for their guests. Their offering of Aviary Cocktail Books includes ZERO: A New Approach to Non-Alcoholic Drinks, The Office: Classic Cocktails, The Aviary: Holiday Cocktails, and The Aviary: Summer Cocktails.
Being a designer, I was initially drawn to purchasing ZERO due to its beautiful photography of a subject I loved – cocktails! I was overwhelmed by the recipes to create my own whiskey alternative or amaro alternative. I’m no cook, and these recipes called for a sous vide and many ingredients I’d never heard of, and I wasn’t sure how to source. But I was committed to giving it a try. I created my shopping list for the two base spirits I use the most – whiskey and gin. I found most of my ingredients at a local apothecary shop and a few more at the grocery store. Two of the ingredients in the whiskey alternative really stood out to me – a cooked banana (with skin on) and popped popcorn. Now, this is getting interesting! On the gin side, the recipe starts with crushing up juniper berries, no surprise. The minute I smelled the aroma of juniper my mouth was watering for gin. Yum!
Each recipe requires the addition of multiple herbs, spices, and more to a sous vide set-up. These concoctions then brew for a set temperature and amount of time before they’re cold-crashed over ice. Then, they’re strained, bottled, and ready to drink. It was easy enough, although I was initially overwhelmed.
The results? Well, the whiskey had an overpowering aroma/taste of that banana. I tried creating cocktails with ingredients that I hoped would override that taste. It didn’t work, and I soon realized I shouldn’t fight it. I needed to dump it down the drain and accept the failure.
As for the gin, that’s a different story. That juniper berry remained a lovely aroma in the finished product. It wasn’t like any gin I had ever had, but no two gins are alike, are they? I enjoyed this as a gin & tonic and tried some martini set-ups with NA vermouth. Would I make it again? Well, probably not. Why? Because there are some amazing gin alternatives already being made. And if I compare the cost of my ingredients vs a bottle from my favorite NA beverage shop, the price is comparable. And that doesn’t include my time. I did enjoy the experiment and have since made ZERO’s recipe for bitters in the style of Angostura’s aromatic bitters. As of this post, I’m still creating cocktails and finding other uses.
ZERO is divided into six chapters, beginning with the inspiration for this culinary experience of creating non-alcoholic cocktails. Chapter two contains the recipes to create your own amaro, gin, rum, tequila, and everything in between. The third chapter is based on classic cocktails like the whiskey sour or negroni. Assuming you’ve made the NA gin featured in chapter two, these recipes will reference the base spirit, like gin. But I recommend you use these recipes to experiment with your favorite purchased NA spirits if you don’t want to batch theirs. The modern cocktail chapter is what you’d expect from a sophisticated hospitality brand. They typically involve ingredients I don’t usually have on hand and recipes within recipes. Now, that scares me! Wines have their chapter, and then there’s everything else.
Overall, this is a lovely book for a gift or an indulgent gift for yourself. ZERO is the master mixologist’s aspiration in the non-alcoholic category.
Happy Every Hour NA Cocktail Book Sobees Score: 5 out of 5
THE HAPPY TRAVELER – VINTAGE TRAVEL BARS: The Artist & Curator, Kim Parsley, lives near Seattle, Washington.
With an education in Interior Design, her career path has led her to fulfill many roles in interior architecture. Now retired, she leverages her design skills towards the curation of vintage travel bars as well as collecting and selling vintage barware.
Kim is also a contributor to multiple magazines, including The Sober Curator. She writes reviews and articles for the Happy Every Hour section, including non-alcoholic spirit reviews and recipe contributions.
When not in the studio or traveling, she and her husband spend many weekends off-the-grid hiking and experimenting with new cocktails at their cabin in the woods of the North Cascades.
HAPPY EVERY HOUR: Welcome to the hub for all things NA, featuring reviews of alcohol-free beers, ciders, wines, spirits, RTDs (ready-to-drink), NA recipes, and so much more from behind the bar. #becausedrunkneverlooksgood
TSC LIBRARY: Welcome to The Sober Curator Library! We don’t just read books; we immerse ourselves in literary journeys, tune in on Audible, and craft insightful reviews. Our digital shelves are organized into four genres: #QUITLIT, Addiction Fiction, Self-Help, and NA Recipe Books
