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SOFT COCKTAIL RECIPE BOOK

VOLUME I
 CURIOUS ELIXIRS

CONTENTS

6 14
FATBEET MR. MOTO TAKES
BY NICO DE SOTO
A VACATION
BY NATHAN MA X WE LL C ANN

8
BROOKLINITA 16
BURRO VIRGIN IS THE
BY IVY MIX NEW BLACK
BY NICO DE SOTO

10
THE BOTANIST 18
FIZZ GRAPE EFFERVESCE
BY JOSH HILLER BY PATRI CK DUNN

12 20
SPICY APPLE CIDER HOT HIBISCUS
MARGARITA TODDY
BY JOHN WISEMAN BY JOHN WISEMAN

CURIOUS ELIXIRS
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Friends + Fellow Drink Adventurers,

Our mission at Curious Elixirs is to make delicious booze-free

cocktails accessible for everyone—whether you’re on the
wagon or off it. While we already bottle Curious No. 1 for
you to enjoy, it isn’t available everywhere yet. Meanwhile
a few of the best bartenders around the world are already
making amazingly delicious soft cocktails.

We hope that this volume, and future ones, will help to make
alcohol-free alternatives more readily available for everyone,
inspiring more professional bartenders and home enthusiasts
to make something interesting of their own.

So it’s with great pride in our fellow drinksmiths that we

present Curious Cocktails Vol. 1. Inside you’ll find soft
cocktail recipes from some of our favorite bartenders and
flavor magicians. Recipes range from “easy as pie” to “damn
that’s difficult,” but we promise that once you gather your
ingredients and equipment, each drink is easier to make than
you think… and certainly easier to drink.

Happy Mixing, Cheers, and Thanks!

- John Wiseman & the Curious Family

CURIOUS ELIXIRS
 CURIOUS ELIXIRS

FATBEET
BY NICO DE SOTO

YIELDS RECIPE SKILL LEVEL SHAKE TIME GARNISH

1 COCKTAIL ADVANCED 1 MINUTE BEET SLICE

TO BUILD DRINK
INGREDIENTS
Shake everything but soda. Strain into highball. Top with
1 oz raw beet juice pandan soda. Garnish with dehydrated beet slice. Coconut

1 oz green coconut syrup

syrup is equal parts coconut water (fresh) and sugar,
blended until dissolved. Orange acids is fresh orange juice
1 oz orange acids
with 25 grams of citric acid and 15 grams of malic acid.
Pandan soda For pandan soda, put filtered water in soda syphon with 5
pandan leaves, put 1 cart of No2, shake for 1 minute, take
air out and add 1 cart of Co2.

ABOUT
Nico de Soto has visited 72 countries and worked in 10 of them.
Named “Most Influential French Bartender”, he owns Mace in
NYC (ranked 28th best bar in the World in 2016) and Danico in
Paris. His drinks are influenced by the flavors from his travels.

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 CURIOUS ELIXIRS

BROOKLINITA BURRO BY IVY MIX

YIELDS RECIPE SKILL LEVEL SHAKE TIME GARNISH

1 COCKTAIL BEGINNER 1 MINUTE PINEAPPLE

TO BUILD DRINK
INGREDIENTS
Ginger syrup is two parts sugar and one part fresh
1.5 oz pineapple juice ginger juice. Shake all ingredients in a shaker, serve in

1 oz ginger syrup
a tall glass and top with soda.

1 oz lime juice

Soda to top ABOUT

Ivy Mix is a Brooklyn-based bartender with a passion for mixology
befitting her last name. After working her way up in the bartending
world, she teamed up with cocktail maven Julie Reiner at the
renowned Clover Club. The duo catapulted the bar to prominence,
earning the Spirited Awards for Best High Volume Bar and Best
American Bar in 2013. In 2015, Mix and Reiner launched Leyenda,
where the menu veers toward pan-Latin specialities that reflect Mix’s
roots in Guatemala. Mix was recently named Mixologist of the Year
in 2016. When she’s not dreaming up new cocktails, Mix organizes
Speed Rack, a national competition for female bartenders, dedicated
to celebrating the talents of these women while also raising money
for breast cancer research.

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 CURIOUS ELIXIRS

THE BOTANIST FIZZ BY JOSH HILLER

YIELDS RECIPE SKILL LEVEL SHAKE TIME GARNISH

1 COCKTAIL INTERMEDIATE 20 SECONDS BLACK PEPPER

INGREDIENTS
1.5 oz botanical verjus
0.5 oz strong bitter mint tea
1 oz raspberry cordial
TO BUILD DRINK
Shake all ingredients without ice. Add ice and shake for 20-30 seconds.
Strain into a tall glass without ice. Slowly pour soda water into the glass
until the foam reaches the top. Let it settle and pour just a little bit more
soda water and the foam will stand up just above the rim of the glass.
Insert a straw in the middle of the foam and crack fresh black pepper
over the top. Cheers!

0.5 oz lemon To make botanical white verjus: add 1.5 cups of white verjus to a small
sauce pot with a tight fitting lid, add the peel of 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons
1 egg white of coriander seed, 1 tablespoon of anise seed. Leave on the lowest
setting for 10 minutes or until very hot. Leave the lid on and let cool
Soda water completely. Verjus is under ripe grape juice, highly acidic, and a great
wine or vinegar substitute.

To make the bitter mint tea, steep 3 times the amount of tea per
recommended amount of water, use boiling water, and let steep twice
as long.

To make raspberry cordial: blend 1 small container of raspberries with

1.5 cups of warm water. Add 1 cup of sugar and blend until dissolved.
Strain and bottle.

ABOUT
Josh Hiller is a craft cocktail bartender that has worked at trendy
establishments like La Sirena in NYC and Siro in Orlando, FL. He is
currently mixing up his creative concoctions at DoveCote in
Orlando. “I love to live by the cocktail and all the adventures that
the modern cocktail era is providing for our social world.”

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 CURIOUS ELIXIRS

SPICY APPLE CIDER MARGARITA BY JOHN WISEMAN

YIELDS RECIPE SKILL LEVEL PREP TIME GARNISH

1 COCKTAIL BEGINNER 15 MINUTES APPLE SLICE

TO BUILD DRINK
INGREDIENTS
Add pepper citrus shrub, then add apple cider and 5-7 ice
3 ounces pepper + citrus shrub cubes into a mixing glass or shaker. Shake and strain into
mason jar filled with ice. Top with 1-2 ounces of soda water
3 ounces fresh pressed
apple cider and add Cortland (or Fuji) apple slice for garnish. Serve
with metal straw (one fewer thing to throw away)!
Soda water to taste

Cortland (or local) apple For pepper citrus shrub, bring 4 ounces of water and 1
garnish medium serrano pepper (or large jalapeño), including seeds
to a boil. Remove from heat. Steep 5 minutes. Strain. Add
4 ounces agave nectar. Stir to combine and let cool. Then
add 3 ounces fresh lime juice, 1 ounce orange juice, 1
ounce organic distilled white vinegar*.

*Important caveat: some vinegars have trace amounts (1-2% ABV). If you want to make
100% sure there’s no alcohol in your drink, omit the vinegar when making your shrub.

ABOUT
John Wiseman had the crazy idea for CURIOUS ELIXIRS. He
has worked in bars+restaurants since college, has built several
successful startups, founded + invested in nightlife venues, and
tamed wolves for fun.

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MR. MOTO TAKES A VACATION
YIELDS
1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1 oz Thai yellow curry syrup
1.5 oz pineapple juice
0.5 oz yuzu juice
2 oz Fever Tree
Mediterranean tonic
SYRUP
100g galangal, peeled and chopped
150g ginger, peeled and chopped
80g turmeric, peeled and chopped
120g lemongrass, cleaned and sliced
12g thai chili, ends removed and split
15g kaffir lime leaves, chopped
50g cilantro
1500g sugar, granulated
1500g H2O
CURIOUS ELIXIRS
BY NATHAN MA X WE LL C ANN
RECIPE SKILL LEVEL PREP TIME GARNISH
INTERMEDIATE 1 HOUR PINEAPPLE RING
TO BUILD DRINK
Combine ingredients (except tonic) into shaker tin. Shake
hard and strain into beverage glass with crushed ice.
Add tonic. Garnish with dried pineapple ring, edible
flower and umbrella.
THAI YELLOW CURRY SYRUP RECIPE
Place finely chopped herbs into a sachet using
cheesecloth and twine. Combine sugar and water into
pot and bring to boil. Place in sachet. Let boil for 15
minutes and then turn off heat and let macerate for 1
hour. Makes 2 Quarts.
ABOUT
Nathan Maxwell Cann is a San Francisco-based artist and
self-proclaimed “spirit handler” whose varied interests
have taken him from working at Invisible-Exports, a New
York art gallery that specifies in the occult and subversive;
to peddling snake-oil on the streets of New Orleans. He is
currently the bar manager at Nomica, a modern Japanese
restaurant in the Castro.
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 CURIOUS ELIXIRS

VIRGIN IS THE NEW BLACK BY NICO DE SOTO

YIELDS RECIPE SKILL LEVEL SHAKE TIME GARNISH

1 COCKTAIL INTERMEDIATE 1 MINUTE CUCUMBER SLICE

TO BUILD DRINK
INGREDIENTS
Combine all of the ingredients except tonic water in a wine
1 oz elderflower cordial* glass. Mix with spoon and garnish with a long cucumber
slice. Top off with tonic. Thai chili tincture is 50 grams cut
¼ oz cucumber juice
Thai chili infused for 2 weeks in high proof alcohol*.
2 dashes Thai chili tincture
*For a 100% alcohol free alternative, replace the high proof alcohol with water.
3/4oz lime juice

Tonic water

*We recommend Belvoir Elderflower Cordial

ABOUT
Nico de Soto has visited 72 countries and worked in 10 of
them. Named “Most Influential French Bartender”, he owns
Mace in NYC (ranked 28th best bar in the World in 2016) and
Danico in Paris. His drinks are influenced by the flavors from
his travels.

CURIOUS ELIXIRS
 CURIOUS ELIXIRS

GRAPE EFFERVESCE BY PATRI CK DU NN

YIELDS RECIPE SKILL LEVEL PREP TIME GARNISH

4 COCKTAILS ADVANCED 3-5 HOURS FROZEN GRAPES

TO BUILD DRINK
INGREDIENTS
To begin, wash and de-stem grapes into a large stove-pot. Mash grapes
down in smaller batches to make work easier, as you need the juices to
4 lbs. grapes
flow from the grapes.
6 cinnamon sticks Next, with the grapes already in your pot, slowly heat them and their juice
to a simmer. Stir occasionally so they don’t burn on the bottom. Mash for
4-5 star anise 10 minutes while it simmers to ensure you’ve broken up as much of the
grapes as possible.
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
In another large pot, place large sieve or cheesecloth over the top. Two
½ tbsp. dried cloves or three layers of cheesecloth work if you do not have a large enough
sieve. A big rubber band can help you in this instance. Pour the grapes
½ tbsp. Szechuan
and their juice over the sieve or cheesecloth, and allow them to strain for a
peppercorns few hours. Your final result will be a beautiful natural and organic juice. To
remove all sediment, re-run through a few more layers of cheesecloth to
3 tsp. Ichimi Togarashi ensure it’s properly filtered. Coffee filters will also work

½ tbsp. cardamom Place the juice and some extra water if needed to dilute to your liking. Add
all of the spices and bring it to a very light simmer again. Cover pot so it
5 long Grains of Paradise (spice) doesn’t reduce.

Cheesecloth or large sieve
Potato masher
You will also need a way to carbonate your
cocktail. We recommend an at-home
carbonation system such as SodaStream.
After about 20-30 minutes, your grape cider will be ready. Run this
through more cheesecloth into your container for cooling. Once cooled,
put into SodaStream and let carbonate overnight to really give it some
effervescence. This helps release the aromas of all the spices.
Serve over ice, with frozen skewered grapes misted in powdered sugar.
BELISSIMO!

ABOUT
Patrick Dunn of modern Italian cocktail bar Have & Meyer, Brooklyn,
is a New Jersey native that fell in love with the allure of Williamsburg,
New York City. “I feel at home with the wine and cocktail culture, and
when I’m behind “the stick,” I’m me”.

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HOT HIBISCUS TODDYBY JOHN WISEMAN
YIELDS RECIPE SKILL LEVEL
1 COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
4 Cups Water
4 Tablespoons Dried Hibiscus
(flowers not tea bags!)
1/2 Cup Fresh Ginger
(peeled, 1/2” slices)
1/2 Cup Fresh Pine Branches
(5” stems)
2-4 Tablespoons Agave Syrup
(to taste)
1 Tablespoon Coriander
1 Tablespoon Peppercorns
2 Teaspoon Clove
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne
2 Limes
CURIOUS ELIXIRS
C U R I O U S W I N T E R N O . 1
PREP TIME GARNISH
BEGINNER 30 MINUTES PINE STEM
TO BUILD DRINK
In a small to medium sized pot, WITHOUT adding water, put pine stems
on medium-high heat for 2 minutes, flipping often to toast the needles.
Add coriander + peppercorns, toast 2 minutes more. Add water + ginger,
bring to boil, reduce to lowest heat possible. Add clove, cayenne. Wait 20
minutes.
Turn off heat. Add hibiscus, stir thoroughly. Steep 5 minutes more, add
juice of 1 lime. Stir thoroughly + strain thoroughly, pressing ingredient
mixture to release as much liquid as possible. Pour into mugs, add 1
pine stem and 1/4 lime wedge with each mug. Makes about 4 Toddies
depending on mugs.
N O T E S : Wash pine stems very thoroughly before toasting them so that
they don’t burn too quickly in the pot. Don’t be afraid of the pine flavor,
it isn’t overpowering. You can always substitute for spruce or another
evergreen or skip it altogether if you’re feeling adventurous.
A LT E R N AT E PAT H :
Serve it hot + cold at your holiday shindig.
Make a big batch the night before and chill overnight. Heat up half on the
stove. Serve the other half over ice in rocks glasses with a sprig of pine
+ lime, and let guests choose. The flavors smooth out a bit when these
hibiscus toddies are cold. Or should they be called hibiscus coolers?
ABOUT
John Wiseman had the crazy idea for CURIOUS ELIXIRS. He
has worked in bars+restaurants since college, has built several
successful startups, founded + invested in nightlife venues, and
tamed wolves for fun.
CURIOUS ELIXIRS
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