Autumn drinks without alcohol: spritzes, chai, lattes and shrubs
Spiced apple spritzes, rose hip with cardamom, a real pumpkin spice latte and tangy homemade shrubs. Grown-up drinks for dark evenings, no alcohol needed.
In October my kitchen smells of cinnamon, cardamom and apples, and not everyone at my table wants a glass of wine. Drivers, friends who are pregnant, the ones taking a dry month and the ones who just feel like something different. They deserve a drink that is made with the same care as a cocktail.
The trick with good zero-proof drinks is to give them what alcohol usually brings: some bitterness, some acidity, a bit of body and plenty of aroma. Tea, spices, tonic and vinegar do that job beautifully, and autumn hands us the best fruit to go with them.
Spritzes with a bite
My favourite is a chai apple spritz. Brew strong chai tea, let it cool, and mix it with cloudy Swedish apple juice and a squeeze of lemon. Pour over plenty of ice and top with tonic. The tannin in the tea and the quinine in the tonic give it the dry finish that keeps it from tasting like juice.
Recipe: alcohol free chai apple spritz
Rose hip is the other autumn star. A quick syrup of rose hips, sugar and crushed cardamom, strained carefully through muslin so none of the irritating seed hairs get through, makes a deep coral drink when topped with tonic and fresh orange. It tastes of the Swedish countryside in a glass.
Recipe: alcohol free rose hip spritz with orange and cardamom
Bella's tip: Use big, clear ice cubes and chill the glass. A zero-proof drink has no alcohol to hide behind, so dilution shows quickly.
Guide: ice for cocktails
Warm and cosy: chai and a real pumpkin spice latte
For warm drinks I make a chai concentrate on Sunday. Simmer black tea with crushed cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, fresh ginger, black pepper and a little sugar, strain and keep it in the fridge for up to five days. Heat it half and half with milk or oat milk for a proper masala chai in two minutes.
And the pumpkin spice latte, which I tease my Swedish friends about every year, is much better made at home with real roasted pumpkin. Blend pumpkin purée with milk, a little brown sugar and warm spices, heat it gently, then pour it over a shot of espresso. If you want it fully caffeine-free, use strong rooibos instead of coffee.
Recipe: homemade pumpkin spice latte
A good drink without alcohol still needs a little bitterness, a little sour and a lot of personality.
Shrubs: the old way to drink fruit
A shrub is a drinking syrup of fruit, sugar and vinegar. It is an old preserving method, and it makes the most refreshing autumn soda you can imagine. Equal weights of fruit and sugar plus vinegar is the classic starting point.
- Cold method: chop apples, pears, plums or blackberries, cover with the same weight of sugar and leave in the fridge for a day or two until syrupy.
- Add vinegar: strain, then stir in apple cider vinegar or a good white wine vinegar, starting with about half the volume of syrup and adjusting to taste.
- Store: bottle in a clean jar and keep in the fridge. It mellows over a week and keeps for several weeks.
- Serve: 2 to 3 cl shrub over ice, topped with sparkling water or tonic, with a sprig of rosemary or thyme.
Shrubs I like
- Pear and ginger: Gentle and warming, with apple cider vinegar.
- Plum and star anise: Deep colour and a spicy finish, very good with tonic.
- Blackberry and thyme: The late berries from the hedge, sharp and herbal.
- Apple and cinnamon: Like a cold apple pie, lovely with soda and a lemon twist.
For more on balancing syrups, infusions and shrubs, see my guide.
Guide: syrups infusions
