Nonalcoholic drink offerings can help operators nab patrons who don't imbibe

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 27, 2004 by Gary Regan

It's probable that nonalcoholic drinks have been available in bars, saloons and taverns for just as long as bars, saloons and taverns have been around. Some of those drinks, though, haven't been as nonalcoholic as others.

In the 1862 book, "How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon Vivant's Companion," by bartender Jerry Thomas, for instance, a recipe for ginger wine in the "Temperance" section calls for a cup of yeast to be added to the mixture of sugar, ginger, egg whites and lemons. "Let it work for three days," instructs Thomas. In the mid-19th century, however, temperance still retained its original meaning--restraint, not abstinence.

Almost 70 years later, when Americans were suffering the indignities of Prohibition, a nonalcoholic drink named the Pussyfoot came to be. The drink is made of equal measures of orange juice, lemon juice and lime juice shaken with a dash of grenadine and the white of an egg. It was named for William E. "Pussyfoot" Johnson, an agent for the Anti Saloon League who wrote some of the organization's propaganda and lectured for the cause. In 1926, however, six years after Prohibition was enacted, Johnson admitted that during his campaign against American saloons he had lied, bribed, and "drank gallons of [alcohol]" to attain his goal.

Nonetheless, every bar in America should offer a variety of nonalcoholic drinks to its patrons. The designated drivers or this country, along with those who simply choose not to imbibe alcohol, deserve a good selection of drinks from which to choose when they socialize. And over the past few months I've noticed a couple of restaurants that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to offer a little variety to those among us who choose not to drink alcoholic beverages.

La Bourse Bar in the Hotel Sofitel Philadelphia, for instance, offers live torch singers, chic surroundings, a wait-staff dressed in "glamorous Diane von Furstenberg-inspired wrap dresses" and a special cocktail menu of "Maternitinis." Maternitinis? Yes, this new category of drinks comprises nonalcoholic potions specially devised for mothers-to-be. "It arose from the trend of many expectant parents coming to the hotel for one last vacation before baby's arrival," according to the hotel's general manager, Nicolas Pesty.

The drinks include the Little Bundle of Soy, made with soy milk, chocolate syrup and hazelnut syrup, and Mother's Milk, a blend of fresh bananas and white chocolate milk. There's also It's a Boy, with white grape juice, white cranberry juice, blueberries and lemon sorbet, and, of course, It's a Girl, a pink drink made with ruby red grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, raspberries and raspberry sorbet.

In Manhattan, Ixta, a new Mexican restaurant on East 29th Street, offers what Irene Sax of the New York Daily News described as "a high-level fantasy of Mexican food" prepared by Linda Japngie, a chef who made her name at such restaurants as La Caravelle, Jimmy's Uptown and Jimmy's Downtown. To complement such fare, the restaurant hired beverage consultant Jerri Banks to create a list of contemporary cocktails and a menu of interesting nonalcoholic drinks to boot. She didn't let them down. Abstainers at Ixta can choose between Banks' Coconut Kiss, a mixture of coconut milk, pineapple juice and seltzer; a Sunrise Spritzer made with pomegranate juice, orange juice and seltzer; or Fresa Frio, a fruity drink made with strawberry hibiscus tea, lime juice, rose syrup and fresh strawberries. In addition to those treats, Ixta also offers a range of Agua Frescas, refreshing Mexican drinks made from sweetened water flavored with such ingredients as melons and hibiscus.

The powers that be at restaurants such as La Bourse and Ixta deserve applause for paying as much attention to their nondrinking clientele as they do to everyone else. Not only do savvy restaurateurs know that nondrinkers are grateful when they're being catered to, but their nonalcoholic drinks make a great deal of profit, too.

You can write to Gary Regan at gary@ardentspirits.com

Mother's Milk

Adapted from a recipe from Sofitel Philadelphia's La Bourse Bar

1 cup white chocolate milk

1 fresh banana, peeled and cut into quarters

2 teaspoons white chocolate shavings

Blend the chocolate milk and the banana with enough ice to almost fill a large wineglass. Pour into the wineglass. Garnish with white chocolate shavings.