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The restaurant industry is notorious for its intensity on the line, impossibly high standards and back-breaking work, all in the hopes of bringing a memorable experience to diners night after night. Entwined with it all is alcohol. From a casual shift drink to an all-out bender after a tough night of service, alcohol is almost unavoidable in the restaurant industry, especially as a good chunk of service is dedicated to pushing glasses of wine and shots of liquor. However, several service professionals have abstained from alcohol entirely, embracing the sober lifestyle. And with the plethora of thoughtful zero-proof drinks across the city, sober and sober curious individuals have more options than ever. We caught up with a handful of few sober industry professionals and asked them about their favorite spirit-free drinks around NYC.
RECOMMENDED: NYC's 10 best mocktails and where to find them for Dry January
Amber Sky at Bar Moga
“The bar has an incredibly thoughtful NA menu designed by Shintaro Eleazar Tozzo-Okuda, with five different options that follow a theme, morning to evening. The Amber Sky is a perfectly balanced and delicate cocktail that's basically a sour, served up, made with a non-alcoholic bitter aperitif, grapefruit, lemon and beautiful notes of rose. I also appreciate that it uses aquafaba instead of egg whites to create texture and frothiness.”— Sam Bail, Founder of Third Place Bar
Negroni Zero at Bar Pisellino
“I would argue it’s the best N/A version of a negroni in the city. It's simple on paper, but extremely balanced and complex. It’s a marriage of the citrus and herbal notes from the Seedlip Grove, combined with the herbal, citrus and vanilla notes from the Lyre’s Rosso. But the true piece of the puzzle is The Pathfinder Hemp and Root Bitter, which carries the cola nut flavors upfront as well as those bitter notes of gentian and wormwood. It’s a knockout.”— Chris Cardone, Bar Consultant
Glad Rags at Hekate Café & Elixir Lounge
“I was really impressed with Hekate's in the East Village, which is the first fully alcohol-free bar in the city. Elliott, their current head bartender, has crafted a solid, well-rounded menu, where I heard a lot of praise for their Old Fashioned. I was especially impressed with the Glad Rags, with a great NA blanc de blanc and notes of lavender and elderflower. A rich, almost jammy drink, perfect for a cold wintery night.”— Lorelei Bandrovschi, Founder of Listen Bar
The Spicy AF at NeueHouse
“I have to shout out our January menu collaboration with NeueHouse, which members and guests get to enjoy this month. It features one of our classics, the Spicy AF, which drinks like a spicy, refreshing marg with a jalapeño and cilantro kick. Serving these at Fashion Week, some people fully thought they were getting a buzz. It's the subtle spice, it tricks ya.”— Bandrovschi
Public Sesame No. 1 at Nowon
“It's our take on an espresso martini. There's house brewed cold brew, coconut milk and black sesame that really adds savoriness and complexity to the mocktail. I highly recommend it.”— Jae Lee, owner of Nowon
Road to Nowhere at Please Don't Tell
“You can actually find many great non-alcoholic negronis and negroni riffs in the city (it's fairly easy to do bitter and herbal well without alcohol. [The Road to Nowhere] uses Pathfinder, an amazing bitter, herbal, hemp-based non-alcoholic amaro, a bitter aperitif and verjus to create a deep and complex uncanny cousin of a classic negroni. It's served with a large rock and feels like a proper, serious, spirit-forward drink.”— Bail
Gingersnap Espresso Martini from Riff Raff Club
“You get the ginger and espresso notes upfront, but then the subtle almond notes from the orgeat and the Seedlip’s cardamom and citrus come in mid palate, followed by a long smooth finish. It’s strangely refreshing while at the same time savory and satisfying. Charles Joly is truly a master of the craft.”— Cardone
Guinness 0 at The Dead Rabbit
“When I used to drink, my favorite drink, like most Irish people, was a perfect pint of Guinness. When I stopped drinking nearly nine years ago, the thing I missed most was sharing pints with my dad and the social aspect of it. So, when I heard that Guinness would be releasing their Guinness 0 product in 2020, I was both delighted and a little nervous, in case they didn’t execute it well. I tried the canned version as soon as it was released, and it’s delicious. Since then, it has become my go-to non-alcoholic drink whenever I’m in bars or pubs in America, including our very own The Dead Rabbit and The Irish Exit.”— Jack McGarry, Co-founder of The Dead Rabbit.
For even more non-alcoholic options, check out Time Out Market New York’s full lineup of spirit-free drinks.