7 Low Proof Cocktails To Kick Off the Year Sorta Healthy-ish

Uptown Sunset at Archer & Goat, photo by Lily Brown, MST Creative

Drinks that are light in alcohol but not in flavor

Dry January comes at a most inopportune time. Between dismal forecasts of wind chill warnings, polar vortexes, and looming post-holiday credit card bills, you might need a drink. Don’t feel guilty if you just can’t banish booze for the month; instead, resolve to drink better, smarter, lighter. These cocktails employ ingredients like sherry, vermouth, small amounts of amari and liqueurs, infusions and bitters—their dimensional taste belies their low ABV.

Editor’s note: we in no way suggest that any drink containing alcohol is healthy, or that more should be consumed because they contain less alcohol by volume, rather that these options are less bad for you than those with higher alcohol content.

Uptown Sunset

Recipe courtesy of Tathiana Montes de Oca, Beverage Director, Archer & Goat, New York, NY

Montes de Oca wanted to emphasize the flavors in Lillet Blanc (fresh, smooth and fruity) and Aperol (bittersweet orange) yet maintain an appealing simplicity. “[This drink] combines the unique and unexpected flavors of two aperitifs which are often disregarded or overshadowed by full-strength spirits,” she says. “A great low ABV cocktail is balanced and uncomplicated, unpretentious and delicious!”

1 oz. Lillet Blanc
1 oz. Aperol
½ oz. cranberry shrub (instructions follow)
½ oz. lime juice
garnish: cranberry and orange peel ribbon on a skewer

Add all ingredients except garnish to a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a coupe and garnish with the cranberry and orange peel ribbon.

The Inverno at Tulio, photo by Adela Lee

For the cranberry shrub:

Add 1 cup water, ¾ cup fresh or frozen cranberries, ½ cup sugar, ⅜ cup red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. lemon juice and ½ tsp. lemon zest to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and cook five minutes, or until most cranberries have burst. Spoon out remaining cranberries and reserve for garnish.

The Inverno

Recipe courtesy of Sean Troup, Bartender, Tulio, Seattle, WA

Troup’s smooth and well-balanced concoction encapsulates the essence of winter in the Northwest. The amaro brings notes of orange peel, allspice, nutmeg and tobacco; apple syrup and lemon add body; egg white gives luxurious texture; bitters add complexity, and a sparkling rosé ties it all together with effervescence. “A great low alcohol cocktail should… have well-balanced flavors and a depth that keeps the sipper going back for more,” he says. “Kick back by the crackling fire with loved ones and imbibe with ease.”

1 oz. amaro (the bar uses locally made Letterpress Distilling Amaro Amorino)
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ oz. raw apple syrup (instructions follow)
2 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
1 egg white
2 oz. chilled sparkling rosé
garnish: orange peel

Add all ingredients except sparkling rosé and garnish to a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake until well chilled. Strain out ice and res-shake to emulsify. Double strain into a chilled coupe, gently add sparkling rosé to top, and garnish with orange peel.

For the raw apple syrup:

Mix ½ cup raw, unfiltered apple juice and ½ cup white sugar in saucepan. Bring to a simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool. Store the syrup in the refrigerator up to several weeks.

Weak(er) Sauce

Recipe courtesy of Brandon Lockman, Lead Bartender, Red Star Tavern, Portland, OR

A spinoff from another of Lockman’s cocktails, this one replaces the gin with a semi-dry Amontillado sherry and includes a few other tweaks. “The key to great low ABV cocktails is interesting layers,” he says. “Ingredients like sherry and amaro made great additions, since they often have great depth with less alcohol.”

1 oz. Amontillado sherry
2 oz. dry vermouth (such as Noilly Prat)
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ oz. serrano/honey syrup (instructions follow)
serrano pepper slice, for garnish

Add all ingredients except garnish to a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake until well chilled. Strain into a Nick & Nora glass or coupe, and garnish with the serrano pepper slice.

For the serrano/honey syrup:

Steep ½ serrano pepper in ½ cup of simple syrup for several hours up to one day, until desired flavor is achieved, then remove pepper. Combine with ½ cup of honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, stirred to combine). Store in the refrigerator for up to several weeks.

What a Lovely Thing

Recipe courtesy of Joshua Coates, Beverage Manager, Notch Modern Kitchen & Bar, Allentown, PA

The beauty and delicacy of elements in Asian culture were the inspiration for this cocktail from Coates, who often designs drink menus with low proof sipping in mind. “Yuzu liqueur is bright and fragrant, the floridity of the rose petals is very complementary, and ginger ties it all together,” he explains. “Shochu provides a splash of funk to the mix, and vanilla gives it this extra layer of depth.” Vermouth and sherry are always great components to low proof drinks, he believes, and the shaking process of egg white extends the volume while naturally reducing the cocktail’s alcohol content.

1 oz. Yokaichi Mugi Shochu
½ oz. organic rose-infused Choya Yuzu Liqueur (instructions follow) (or alternately, add a splash of store bought rosewater to the recipe)
½ oz. Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur
½ oz. vanilla syrup (see instructions follow)
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
1 egg white
garnish: organic, pesticide-free rose bud (optional)

Add all ingredients except garnish to a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake for 10 seconds. Strain out the ice and shake again for 10 seconds. Double-strain the cocktail through a fine mesh strainer into a cocktail glass and garnish with the rose bud.

For the organic rose-infused Choya Yuzu Liqueur:

Add 20 grams of organic rose petals to a 750 ml bottle of Choya Yuzu Liqueur. After 3 hours of infusing, strain out solids.

For the vanilla syrup:

Add ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer until the sugar dissolves. Remove it from the heat, let cool and add ½ oz. of pure Madagascar vanilla extract. Strain through a cold brew bag to remove vanilla specs and store in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Fino Bianco

Recipe courtesy of Glendon Hartley, Co-owner, Service Bar, Washington, D.C.

A focus on sustainability in the kitchen and behind the bar was the impetus for this drink made at a bar that strives to use every single ingredient at least three times before creating waste—and then do their best to use that waste. Lemon pulp leftover from juicing citrus goes into sorbet, which serves as a sour mix. “The fino sherry is dry and nutty while the Carpano bianco is citrusy and bright,” Hartley explains. “Both of these things pair perfectly with the sweet and tart flavor of the sorbet, and everything becomes lighter and fresher with a touch of bubbles.”

3 ice cream scoops of lemon sorbet (instructions follow)
3 oz. soda water
1 oz. fino sherry
1 oz. dry vermouth (the bar uses Carpano bianco)
Dehydrated lemon wheel or fresh lemon peel

Add the lemon sorbet to a highball glass and muddle lightly with a spoon or stirrer. Add the other ingredients, stir gently, and garnish with the dehydrated lemon wheel or fresh lemon peel.

Coup de Lait photo credit Dominic Episcopo

For the lemon sorbet:

Combine 1 part lemon pulp to 2 parts 1:1 ratio simple syrup. Using a Vitamix or blender of choice, purée ingredients and freeze until solid.

Coup de Lait

Recipe courtesy of Fitz Bailey, Mixologist, Cooper’s Craft

Churning ice cream with his mom using his grandmother’s old fashioned maker is the memory that stirred this creation from Bailey, a decadent and low ABV dessert-inspired milk punch, with just a spoonful of Bourbon. “I wanted to make a low ABV dessert cocktail that avoided the pitfalls of being too heavy or too sweet, something that tasted good,” he says. “I love the challenge of keeping the flavor of the spirit as a component to the overall drink without washing it out completely.”

4 oz. whole milk
2 ½ tbsp. cream
1 tsp. bourbon
1 egg white
4 tsps. powdered sugar
garnish: ground nutmeg

Add the egg white to a cocktail shaker and shake to froth (or froth using a milk frother.) Add the rest of the ingredients except the garnish, add ice, and shake until well chilled. Strain into a coupe or highball glass and garnish with grated nutmeg.

Chicago Summer

Recipe adapted from a recipe by Will Patton, Bar Manager, Bresca, Washington, D.C.

“A delightful aperitivo highball, the Chicago Summer celebrates bright fruit flavors in the dead of winter,” Patton says. “A play on the continental classic of vermouth and tonic, the addition of shochu adds a hint of umami and the salt get your mouth watering.” This recipe includes a simplified version of their sober pineapple batch, which is used to make a completely non-alc riff on the drink.

½ oz. Rhine Hall Mango Brandy

½ oz. Iichiko Shochu

½ oz. blood orange liqueur

2 oz. sober pineapple batch (instructions follow)

2 pinches salt

1 ½ oz. Q tonic water

Build this drink in a double Old Fashioned or highball glass, add ice, and gently stir.

For the sober pineapple batch:

Combine equal parts pineapple juice, yellow verjus, and cooled, brewed chamomile tea. Store the mixture in the refrigerator for up to a week.