Drink Lightly: A Lighter Take on Serious Cocktails, with 100+ Recipes for Low- and No-Alcohol Drinks

Award-winning bartender Natasha David isn't interested in cocktails that overwhelm. Low- or no-alcohol drinks can be part of long, charming interludes of sociability, without the risk of punishing consequences for those who indulge multiple times.

Her headnotes reinforce the idea of gregarious enjoyment. Each offers a whimsical “best enjoyed when'' suggestion: her manzanilla sherry-based Smiley Smile is best enjoyed when “reminiscing on your party girl/boy/people days while wearing a towel turban and watching your nail polish dry.” The Mexican lager-based Get It Done is best enjoyed when “licking drippy juices of whatever delicious sandwich is your favorite from the side of your hand.”

Many drinks call for homemade components like pomegranate grenadine or Thai basil blanc vermouth (recipes provided), but each chapter also ends with an “Easy-Peasy” section—simple drinks that only require two different bottles and a garnish. Alcohol-free drinks get their own chapter, with no stinting on flavor.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.