You’ll Want to Sip These Low ABV Cocktails All Summer Long
Summer is about finding ways to stay cool - think lazing in a pool on a massive inflatable, cutting into an icy watermelon, or floating around on a yacht. We wear lightweight fabrics like cotton and silk in hot weather because wool is heavy and hot, and we swap boots for sandals. So doesn’t it make sense for our drinks to lighten up too?
Many drinkers do this naturally: while a hot toddy or a snifter of Cognac bourbon is welcome on a chilly day, we wouldn’t think of ordering either when it’s 90 degrees outside. While alcohol doesn’t increase our body temperature, a high-proof drink like a Manhattan or a couple of fingers of Scotch will make us feel warmer. That’s because alcohol opens up the tiny vessels just under the skin, and more blood rushes to the surface, so we feel the warmth.
Enter low-alcohol drinks like spritzes, highballs, coolers, and fizzes, often called low ABV for alcohol by volume. These offer the perfect combination of satisfying flavors in a refreshing package that leaves us relaxed but ready for whatever’s next.
What does low ABV mean?
So how low are we talking? The definition of a low-ABV drink is fluid. According to the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET), low-alcohol wine is under 11% alcohol. Meanwhile, for IWSR, a global beverage data consultancy, low-proof wines are under 7.5% alcohol, low-alcohol spirits are .5 to 30% alcohol, while low-ABV liqueurs are .5 to 10% alcohol, says Serina Aswai, head of content and communications. Session beers, perfect for an extended sipping sesh, are about 2.5 to 4.5%ABV, according to Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery.
So now that that’s out of the way, low ABV drinks can take various forms, from old-school highballs and twists on classics to extremely inventive originals with housemade syrups and infusions.
Aromatized Wine, Vermouth and Herbs Keep it Light
At The Matheson’s Roof 106 in Healdsburg, bar manager Kathleen Amtower Unzueta loves drawing on the seasonal ingredients from the garden or the farmers’ market. “I love low-ABV cocktails, especially being in Sonoma County. It’s so easy to have vermouth, soda, and fresh citrus peels, herbs, or anything growing around you,” says Amtower Unzueta. “It’s nice to be sipping on something easy-drinking, and you’re able to have a few without changing your headspace.” Her La Chingona, with the spiced hibiscus tea called jamaica and pisco, is a perfect daytime sipper that would be just as delicious with tequila or mezcal. She says this lighter style of drink is tailor-made for day drinking.
Over at Lo & Behold, a downtown Healdsburg cocktail bar that specializes in farm-to-bar drinks with a worldly vibe, owners Tara Heffernon and Laura Sanfilippo often create lighter recipes by swapping the high-proof and lower-proof ingredients in a recipe. That’s called a reverse, and it’s another easy way to convert any classic cocktail into a low-ABV drink. But they also find many ways to get creative with lighter spirits and seasonal herbs. “We have a healthy obsession with vermouth and all things in that fortified-aromatized wine category and find they play so well in place of full-strength spirits in cocktails,” Sanfilippo shared in an email.
Whether you love aromatized wines and vermouths, you’ll be happy to know both hover around 16 to 20% alcohol. Our current favorites include California-made choices Mommenpop, Lo-Fi, and Vya by Quady Winery, as well as Lillet Blanc and Elena Penna Vermouth di Torino. Mix any of these with sparkling water, herbs, and citrus peel - and enjoy.
Classics Cocktails and Creative Syrups
Most cocktail fans would be surprised to learn that many classic drinks made with full-proof spirits like gin and tonic, rum and Coke, and whiskey highballs are low-ABV drinks. That’s because the ratio of alcohol to non-alcoholic mixer is so low. Mixing up a low-ABV sipper at home can be as easy as mixing a couple of ounces of your favorite spirit with lemonade. For a simple cocktail like this to shine, the key is using high-quality ingredients and mixers, according to drinks experts Brian Freedman and Miles Karakasevic, founder of Charbay Distillery. They shared a simple green tea lemonade recipe during their panel at the Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience.
At Viridian, the Asian-inspired cocktail and dining experience in Oakland’s Uptown, Toki Japanese whisky highballs on tap are a signature. But there are lots more on the bar’s award- winning menu. Drinking at Viridian is a singular experience because many ingredients are created in-house.
One of the most refreshing choices on the warm weather menu is the Xi Muoi Fizz, a layered drink that starts savory but finishes with a soft, powdery sweetness. The star ingredient is the syrup from the Vietnamese preserved plums called xi muoi. This snack comes dried in packages sold in many Asian markets, but the fizz relies on the syrup from the jarred plums.
The drink evokes the salted plum soda often found at Vietnamese restaurants. “It’s a great option for when you’re hung over,” says William Tsui, bar manager at Viridian. The saltiness helps your body retain some fluid, which will help perk you up whether you’re just dehydrated from hot weather or after a night of imbibing.
7 Low ABV Cocktail Recipes
Xi Muoi Fizz
Xi Muoi Fizz photo credit Jeremy Chiu_Viridian
Viridian, Oakland, CA
.5 oz Mizu Matcha Shochu
.5 oz Empirical Ayuuk
1 oz salted plum syrup (see below)
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz egg white
3 oz soda water
Li Hing powder, for garnish
Combine all ingredients except soda in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with Li Hing powder and serve with a straw. Makes 1 cocktail
Salted Plum Syrup
.75 cup sugar
.5 cup water
1 oz salted plum brine*
Make simple syrup by boiling sugar with water, stirring a few times until the sugar is dissolved (you can also do this in the microwave in a heatproof mixing cup). Let cool, then add the salted plum syrup and stir. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. *Jarred salted plums can be found at most Asian markets.
Makes 11 oz syrup.
Mommenpop Kumquat G + T
Mommenpop Kumquat G + T
2 oz Kumquat-POP
1 oz gin
2 drops vanilla extract (optional)
2 oz Q Mixers Tonic Water
Mint sprig, for garnish
Lime slice, for garnish
In a Collins glass filled with ice, add the Kumquat-pop, gin, and vanilla if using. Top with tonic water. Stir lightly, then garnish with mint and lime. Makes 1 cocktail.
Photo credit: Nicola Parisi
Matcha Tea Highball
Hatozaki Matcha Highball photo credit Hatozaki Whisky
1.5 oz. Hatozaki Finest Blended Whisky
.5 oz. honey syrup (1:1 honey & water)
.5 oz. lemon juice
.25 tsp. matcha tea powder
Club soda, to top
Combine whisky, honey syrup, lemon juice, and matcha powder in a shaker. Fill with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with club soda. Stir gently and garnish with a dehydrated lime.
Love Bizarre photo credit Lo & Behold
Love Bizarre (low-ABV version)
Lo & Behold, Healdsburg, CA
1 shiso leaf, 3 mint springs and a pinch of fresh fennel fronds
.5 oz Calisco (California made grape spirit in the style of Pisco)
1 oz Carpano dry vermouth
.25 oz Carpano bianco vermouth
.25 oz Chareau Aloe Liqueur
.75 oz fresh lime juice
.25 oz fresh cucumber juice
.5 oz simple syrup
Fresh fennel frond, shiso leaf and mint sprig, for garnish
Add all fresh herbs to a cocktail shaker and lightly tap with muddler. Add all other ingredients and ice to the shaker and shake for 10 seconds. Double strain over fresh ice into a tumbler and garnish with fresh herbs.
Charbay Green Tea Lemonade
Charbay green tea lemonade
Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience
5 oz lemonade
Lemon wheel, for garnish
In a tall glass filled with ice, add the vodka and lemonade. Stir lightly and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Frosé photo credit Grounded Wine Co. + The Charter Oak
Space Age At Home Frosé
1 bottle Space Age Rosé
.25 cup lemon juice
1 cup simple syrup
.25 cup peach-flavored vodka
4 -5 cups ice
Fresh peach slices, for garnish
Add the rosé, lemon juice, simple syrup, peach vodka and ice to a blender. Process until smooth and slushy. Pour into glasses and garnish each with a slice of fresh peach.
Makes 8 servings
Lo-Fi Paloma
Lo-Fi Paloma
Lo-Fi Aperitifs, Napa, CA
Rimming salt
2 oz Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro
2 oz blanco tequila
Grapefruit soda (about 3 oz.)
Grapefruit slice, for garnish
Moisten the rim of a Collins glass and rim with salt. Fill the glass with ice. Carefully add Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro and blanco tequila. Top with grapefruit soda and stir lightly to mix. Garnish with grapefruit.
La Chingona photo credit Kathleen Amtower Unzueta, The Matheson_Roof 106
La Chingona
Roof 106, Healdsburg, CA
1.5 oz pisco
1 oz agua de jamaica (see note)
.75 oz pineapple juice
.5 oz lemon juice
Fresh mint sprig, for garnish
Fresh pineapple chunk, for garnish
Add the pisco, jamaica, pineapple juice and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with the mint sprig and pineapple chunk. Makes 1 cocktail.
Note: To brew agua de jamaica at home, bring water to a boil and steep 4 jamaica tea bags with 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 1 star anise and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger until fragrant. When cool, strain out spices, sweeten to taste with brown sugar simple syrup, bottle and refrigerate.