Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink
  3. Evergreens

Veggie-infused low ABV cocktails are on trend, and the pros rec these 3 drinks

Low-alcohol vegetable cocktails for the win

By
Vegetables on counter
Devon Breen / Pexels

Savory drinks are a thing in 2024. So are lower alcohol drinks (and a good mocktail recipe), especially if you plan to imbibe during the day. Turns out, you can have the best of both worlds with a good veggie-infused cocktail.

Let’s make brunch a little healthier this year with some thoughtful drinks. After all, you don’t want to throw away your Sunday because you had too many Bloody Marys. Go low and slow—and even a bit healthy—with some savory drinks that include a few extra vitamins in the form of vegetables.

Recommended Videos

These drinks are spring-ready, full of bright colors and a sense of renewal. They look great and taste just as good. Plus, they’re easy enough to make at home while still impressing your guests. No, we’re not quite in smoothie territory in terms of health benefits but you could do a lot worse during brunch or happy hour, that’s for sure.

Read on for a trio of great low-ABV and veggie-infused cocktails from establishments in NYC. Session-able and on-trend, these cocktails are full of intrigue.

Heirloom Carrot

Heirloom Carrot cocktail.

This recipe, courtesy of Altair, is an orange gem. The drink, created by head bartender Miguel Munoz, combines vodka, carrot, ginger, cardamom, and lime.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 ounces Grey Goose Vodka
  • 1 1/4 ounces carrot juice
  • 3/4 ounce lime
  • 3.4 ounce cardamom ginger syrup

Method:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake.
  2. Strain into a crushed ice-filled cocktail glass and garnish with carrot greens.

Tomatillo Margarita

Tomatillo Margarita cocktail.

Made in Bar Calico, this savory Margarita is a hit on many levels. Head bartender Alex Dominguez indicates that this one is an homage to Georgia O’Keeffe and her southwestern home.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 ounces Herradura Silver Tequila
  • 1/2 ounces tomatillo salsa*
  • 3/4 ounce Ancho Verde
  • 3/4 ounce lime
  • 1/4 ounce agave
  • Salt, Tajin rim

*Tomatillo Salsa: Roast 12 peeled tomatillos, 4 serrano peppers, and 4 cloves of garlic at 400 degrees F for 14 minutes. Put in blender with 1/2 cucumber and 1 cilantro bunch. Blend and let cool.

Method:

  1. Combine all ingredients in tin and shake.
  2. Strain into an ice-filled and salt-rimmed glass.
  3. Garnish with citrus if desired.

Butternut Squash Sangaree

Butternut Squash Float.
Lindens / Lindens

Created in Lindens, this cocktail brings butternut squash to radiant life. Gary Wallach concocted it using rum, squash marmalade, red wine, and lemon.

Ingredients:

  • 2 heaping bar spoons Butternut Squash Marmalade
  • 1/2 ounce red wine syrup
  • 3/4 ounce lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 ounces Santa Teresa Rum
  • 1/2 ounce club soda

Method:

  1. Combine all ingredients except club soda in Collins glass with ice and stir.
  2. Top with club soda, creating the frothy head.

Thirsty for more? Try a great rhubarb cocktail this spring, or go with an easy-to-make cocktail if you don’t have much time (or interest). Want to stay ahead of the pack? Read about the major cocktail trends of 2024. Cheers!

Mark Stock
Mark Stock
Contributor
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since… Read Full Bio
Topics
Food & Drink
Europe is slowly embracing wine in pouches instead of bottles. Is America next? 
Medley Wine Co.

Boxed wine gets a bad rap because, well, it’s wine in a box. You’ve heard all the negative connotations by now: They’re cheap, unsophisticated, and downright boring. You walk into any party with boxed wine, and you’ll not only raise eyebrows, but also be persona non grata at the next shindig. I’ve personally never sipped wine from a box, though that has a lot to do with the fact that my introduction to wine happened when a date of mine from more than 20 years ago ordered a bottle of Château Ste. Michelle Riesling at a restaurant I frequented. The Riesling was sweet, crisp, and truly delicious for someone who runs on beer, tequila, rum, and whiskey. That bottle of Riesling, however, sparked curiosity: Buying a dozen red and white bottles of wine from my local shop in Pasadena, California. The bottles sat mostly on my wine rack collecting dust. I’d open one every few months when guests preferred something buttery or fruity over carbonated or oaky booze.

It wasn’t until my trip across Tuscany in April 2018 that I really learned to appreciate wine. After touring the tiny village, one wine came out on top, and it’s one I order every chance I get when dining out: Chianti Classico. But always make sure the bottle carries the black rooster symbol. The older I get, the more I appreciate a glass of wine. Heck, last summer while visiting Cuban Creations Cigar Bar in New Orleans, the lovely waitress recommended a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon for the Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva cigar I was about to light. It was a great recommendation. 

Read more
Food & Drink
Bowmore is bringing a new 20-year-old Islay single malt to the US
Whisky, Scotch, Bottle

Twenty years is a long time to wait for anything, let alone a whisky, but Bowmore is betting its newest release is one worth the delay.

The distillery, founded in 1779 in the town of Bowmore, is the oldest licensed distillery on Islay. It’s also the second-oldest in Scotland, and one of the few that still runs its own floor maltings, using peat smoke to dry the barley on-site.

Read more
Food & Drink
Holladay Distillery is celebrating its 170th birthday with its oldest bourbon to date
Ben Holladay 10 Year Bourbon

Holladay Distillery was founded way back in 1865 in Weston, Missouri. To celebrate its 170th birthday, the historic brand is launching its oldest bourbon yet. This week, it’s kicking things off by releasing Ben Holladay 10 Year Bourbon.

Ben Holladay 10 Year Bourbon

Read more