Mockingbird
By Frank Canizales, general manager of the Inkwell Tavern in Burbank.“As with any drink, you want to surprise with that first sip and reward with every sip after that,” says Frank Canizales, general manager of the Inkwell Tavern in Burbank. “A great mocktail requires just as much, if not more, craftsmanship than a regular cocktail,” he says, adding that he thinks zero-alcohol cocktails should be a staple at all venues.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 2 ounces pineapple juice
- ¾ ounce orgeat syrup
- ¾ ounce ginger syrup (recipe below)
- 1 ounce soda water, or more to taste
- ¾ ounce non-alcoholic Lyre’s Italian Spritz*
- Lemon wedge for garnish
- Lime wedge for garnish
GINGER SYRUP
- ½ cup fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
- 3 tablespoons water
- ⅔ cup sugar
Instructions
TO PREPARE DRINK
- Add the juices and syrups to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a Collins glass. Add soda water and top with a float of Lyre’s Italian Spritz.
- Garnish glass with lemon and lime wedges.
- *At Edible San Fernando Valley magazine, we also like non-alcoholic Lyre’s Italian Orange Spritz in this zeroalcohol cocktail.
TO PREPARE GINGER SYRUP USING A JUICER
- To make ginger syrup, juice whole ginger (including peel) in a juicer. Add two parts sugar to one part ginger juice. Stir in half the amount of water to the ginger juice. Heat mixture over medium heat and stir to dissolve sugar.
- Editor’s Note: If you don’t have a juicer, you can use the recipe below to make the ginger syrup.
TO PREPARE GINGER SYRUP WITHOUT A JUICER
- In a small food processor, process ginger and water until it’s a purée, scraping down sides as needed. Pour purée into a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Press ginger purée with back of a spoon to extract liquid. You’ll have about ⅓ cup of ginger juice.
- Add ginger juice and sugar to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring often. Remove from heat. Pour syrup in a glass container and store in the refrigerator.
