Dig In!: Consider a Mocktail This Summer | WUWM 89.7 FM

Milwaukeeans love their cocktails, but in recent years, there has been a growing trend toward mocktails and other non-alcoholic beverages. It’s a trend that Venice Williams welcomes as an opportunity to drink healthier.

Williams is the executive director of Alice’s Garden and the Fondy Food Center, and she joins us regularly for a series we call Dig!

“Mocktails have so many wonderful benefits in the same context and settings that many people drink cocktails in. So it can still be a very social drink, without the alcohol,” Williams says. Some of those benefits include better hydration, fewer calories, more nutrients and minerals, and no hangovers.

However, it is important to realize that not all mocktails are healthy drinks and the ingredients are crucial factors that determine the nutritional value of a drink.

Williams recommends avoiding soda, corn syrup, or energy drinks because they’re high in sugar and caffeine. Instead, focus on drinks with more natural ingredients like fresh-squeezed juices, organic juices, coconut water, and kombucha. Another healthy option is to use spices to make base syrups for your mocktails from spices and herbs like cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, basil, lemon thyme, rosemary, and mint.

If you’re looking for a place to buy a mocktail, Williams recommends Boone and Crockett, Lost Whale, and HoneyBee Sage Wellness Apothecary Cafe. If you’re interested in some books that delve deeper into mocktails, Williams also recommends reading “Dry.” by Clare Liardet, “Grow Your Own Cocktails, Mocktails, Teas and Infusions” by Jodi Helmer, “Baby Proof” by Nicole Nared-Washington and “Drinking for Two” by Diana Licalzi and Kerry Benson.