With 2016 in full swing now, many of us are trying to keep our ever so present New Year’s Resolution in trying to maintain a healthier you. Even when it comes to making or ordering craft cocktails, you can still find ways to make them healthy yet tasty and satisfying all at the same time. Natural ingredients such as aloe, ginger, matcha tea and pomegranate are all great examples of what you can put into your drinks that can help the body yet retain the flavor. So the next time you are hosting your own cocktail happy hour with the help of on-demand cocktail delivery service Instapour, you should try making these recipes to impress, digest, and enjoy. Check them out.
Cooler than a Cucumber
Created by Mixologist Justin Lavenue (North American Winner of the 2015 Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender Competition)
Available at Roosevelt Room in Austin, TX
1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
1 oz Cucumber juice
0.5 oz Aloe juice
0.5 oz Grapefruit juice
0.5 oz Texas Tarragon syrup
2 oz Prosecco
Build ingredients over Crushed ice a 12 oz Collins glass, Stir well to incorporate ingredients, Garnish with a Tarragon leaf, Cucumber slice and serve with a straw.
Apple Cider Light & Shifty
2 oz Caliche Rum (premium Puerto Rican, aged white rum)
2 oz Apple Cider (1/2 pressed apple)
2 oz Be Mixed Zero-Calorie & Sugar Free “Margarita” Cocktail Mixer
3 slices muddled fresh ginger
Dash ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Shake all ingredients over ice until well chilled. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Garnish with apple wedge.
Big Green Bloody
Created by Head Bartender Dave Danger.
Available for $14 at Kimoto Rooftop (the first Japanese Beer Garden in Brooklyn, NY)
1.5 oz Caliche Rum (premium Puerto Rican, aged white rum)
4 oz Bloody Mix
1 oz Acai Syrup
* Serve in large rocks glass or collins glass
*Garnish with banana chip or fried plantain chip
Bloody Mix (in quart container):
15 oz tomatillo juice (4:1 water to paste)
10 oz green tomato juice (4:1 water to paste)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
2 oz fresh lime juice
1.5 oz hot sauce
1 tsp garlic puree
3 Tbsp fresh grated horseradish
1.5 Tbsp celery salt (if you are concerned about sodium, substitute ground celery seed)
1.5 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
Acai Syrup (in quart container):
16 oz Acai juice
16 oz Sugar (For healthier option, use sugar substitute)
1 tsp orange blossom water
*Heat Acai juice and sugar in small pot until sugar dissolves (do not boil). Remove from heat and add orange blossom water
Miso Banana
Created by Mixologist Tyson Buhler (Death & Co)
2oz banana-miso Caliche Rum (premium Puerto Rican, aged white rum)
1oz lime
.5 turmeric syrup
.25 Barrows Intense Ginger liqueur
Pomegranate Rum Punch (*great for winter gatherings*)
4 cups pomegranate juice
1 cups Lemon juice
1/4 cup Honey syrup (1:1 water to honey)
One 750-milliliter bottle Caliche Rum
1 cup fresh berries, pomegranate seeds
Lemon wheels, for garnish
Ice, for serving
Directions: Combine the pomegranate juice, lemonade and rum in a large punch bowl and stir well to incorporate. When ready to serve, add large ice cubes to float, stir well and then chill for at least 15 minutes. Garnish with the berries and lemon wheels. Serve over ice in punch or rocks glasses.
The Green Dream (an exclusive 2016 cocktail available for order from Instapour.com — a new premium on-demand cocktail service that delivers craft tipples straight from the bar to wherever you are in under an hour anywhere in NYC and LA. See below for more details)
Created by Instapour Mixologist Warren Hode
Available in January 2016 on instapour.com
Ingredients: Tangerine, Green tea, Caliche Rum
Garnish: Dried jasmine flower
Yields approx. 6 drinks
The Oracle
2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
1/2 oz Falernum
1/2 oz St-Germain French Elderflower Liqueur
3 dashes absinthe
10 drops citric acid solution
Ylang-Ylang Essential oil (**helps combat depression**)
Fog
Method: Pour cocktail ounces mixed in base chamber of cruet.
In other side of cruet, add 2-3 drops of Ylang ylang oil, dry ice, and water
Note: Ylang-Ylang essential oil side is only used for aroma and not to drink
Created by Mixologist Ran Duan (2014 North American Winner of the Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender Competition)
(Available at The Baldwin Bar at The Sichuan Garden in Boston)
Yuzu Ginger
Created by Mixologist Shinya Yamao (Piora):
1.5oz Caliche Rum (premium Puerto Rican, aged white rum)
2/3oz Barrows Intense Ginger Liqueur
1/2oz Green Chartreuse
Splash Yuzu juice
1dash orange bitters
5pc Basil leaves
Fill with tonic