I recently noticed the book, “New Mocktails Bible” by Editors of Fox Chapel Publishing and decided to read and review it for you. Hopefully, this book will find its way into many mixologists’ libraries of drinks. I drink wine, beer, and alcohol-based cocktails, but sometimes I am with other people that don’t for various reasons, such as diabetics, athletes in training, designated drivers, pregnant people, people who have medication interactions with alcohol, and certain religions. When I check through the list of drinks at restaurants for my friends, the drinks are usually sweet soda pop, water, sweet iced tea (in Canada), or sweet mocktails. Most of these drinks are not good for diabetics, and I’ve seen many of them opting for a glass of water as I have a glass of wine. Before I review this book, I would like to share some background information with you about diabetes, sugar, and alcohol-free spirits.
Diabetes, Alcohol, and Sugar
According to Statistics Canada in 2021, 7.3% of Canadians, 2,372,700 people are diabetic. The largest age group with diabetes is 50-64 years which covers 10.1%, 762,800 people. These people tend to have more money being further along in their careers or are retired and can afford to eat out in restaurants and enjoy a drink with their meal. There is a market then for restaurants to offer no/low-sugar mocktails on their menus.
It has been estimated that 90% of diabetes cases among Canadian adults are type 2, which is a metabolic disorder that can be caused by lifestyle and sometimes is hereditary. Between 2003–2004 and 2013–2014, there was a relative increase in diabetes diagnoses of 37.3% (canada.ca).
How can diabetes affect your body? According to Diabetes Canada, annually, people living with diabetes account for:
- 30 percent of strokes,
- 40 percent of heart attacks,
- 50 percent of kidney failure requiring dialysis and
- 70 percent of non-traumatic amputations in Canada each year.
Drinking alcohol reduces your body’s ability to recover when blood sugar levels are dropping, hypoglycemia. Usually, the liver stores extra glucose which is released back into the blood when needed, such as when blood sugar levels drop. But alcohol stands in the way of the liver’s ability to do this effectively (www.diabetes.org.uk).
High blood sugar, hyperglycemia, can cause health problems that require emergency care, including a diabetic coma. Hyperglycemia that lasts, even if it’s not severe, can lead to health problems that affect the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart (mayoclinic.org).
Diet soda pop is not much better than sugar-sweetened drinks for diabetics. “Research by the American Diabetes Association found a consistent link between diet drinks and diabetes. Participants who drank it daily had a 67% higher chance of type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar levels, belly fat, and metabolic syndrome…In 2018, researchers discovered that artificial sweeteners contribute to diabetes and obesity more than most people think. They affect your blood glucose and blood vessels in a way that only harms your insulin.” (https://www.healthygem.com/) Stevia is actually one natural sweetener that does not affect diabetics’ blood sugar levels. You can purchase stevia as liquid drops to sweeten a mocktail.
Checking Local Restaurants for Mocktails
Checking a few Vancouver restaurant chains’ drinks lists online, there are very few mocktails. One restaurant chain offers a mocktail using ginger, one lemonade, and one iced tea. Another restaurant chain only has two mocktails that use ginger beer or ginger, which is OK if you like the taste of ginger. I was happy to see that Earls Kitchen + Bar does offer five mocktails that use different ingredients to give diners five different tastes. Congratulations.
If you do go to a restaurant that offers mocktails but has sugar added, you can always ask if the mocktail can be made with no sweetener or half sweetener. Some mocktails are pre-mixed so this is not possible, but many mocktails can be custom-made. Watch out though for the other ingredients in the mocktail, such as lemon and lime. If they are all tart, you may have a drink that is not pleasant to drink.
Alcohol-Free Spirits
There are some alcohol-free spirits you can purchase that are flavoured with herbs and botanicals so that you get a flavourful drink that has the feel of an alcohol-based drink.
Sheringham Distillery on Vancouver Island released a non-alcoholic gin called Lumette! Sobrii is a distiller in Ontario that makes alcohol-free gin and tequila. Calgary’s Sexy AF Spirits makes 6 different flavoured alcohol-free and sugar-free beverages named Dutch Juniper, AperTease, Triple Sexy, Amar-oh, Friski Whiski, and Spiced Yum. They also sell a mocktail book that uses their beverages. Solbrü from Manitoba makes four elixirs from adaptogenic mushrooms plus herbs and spices. Restore (Reishi mushrooms, roasted dandelion root, orange, and cardamom) has a rich, smokey flavour. Inspire (Lion’s Mane mushroom, chamomile, and lavender), and Elevate (Cordyceps mushrooms, organic apple cider vinegar, organic sugars, organic spices, and organic lemon verbena, plus more). As all these drinks are not alcohol-based there should be no issue sending them across provincial borders.
You can also find alcohol-free sparkling wines, which can be enjoyed on their own, or made into a cocktail. BC Liquor stores sell Bottega Zero Rosé from Italy. I also recently discovered a BC winery making a 1% alcohol sparkling wine. ONES+, a 1% wine made with BC grapes with no added sugars or chemicals.
A Review of the New Mocktails Bible
The New Mocktails Bible offers 250 different alcohol-free drinks that are far from boring. There are alcohol-free whisky sours, bellinis, martinis, daiquiris, and much more to choose from. There are pictures of each mocktail so you know what it will look like and what kind of glass you should use. In general, all cocktails are made from some non-alcohol-based spirit combined with a sweet and a tart or bitter ingredient, put on ice. Embellishments can be muddled fruits, citrus rinds, mint or other herbs, and much more. Some of the mocktails in their list omit the non-alcohol-based spirits, so if you only have fruits and juices at home, there is still something you can make. I noted at least 40 mocktails that do not add sugar, just use the sweetness in purchased fruit juice or freshly squeezed fruit. There is likely a drink in their list of mocktails that everyone can enjoy.
The book provides a few recipes for “shrubs” which can be made to flavour your mocktail. Most have a proportion of 1 cup fruit, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup vinegar and either sit together in a container for 24-48 hrs in the fridge, or you can make a version that heats the mixture and simmers before straining and cooling it. This is not ideal for diabetics, but if sugar is not your issue, you can try making a shrub. You may consider buying powdered stevia and using it as a substitute for the sugar in a shrub. I have not yet tried doing this. If you try it, please let me know how it worked for you.
If you are a coffee or tea drinker after a meal, the book contains 44 recipes ranging from Thai iced coffee to Mexican mocha to hot orange spiced tea. The book also has 44 recipes for dessert drinks: Smoothies, milkshakes, coolers, lassies and much more.
The book will be released to the public, on January 4, 2023. Too bad it misses the Christmas holidays, but many people do celebrate Dry January so this book can help you mix tasty drinks at that time. The book is listed for pre-order at Amazon.ca.
Concluding Thoughts
Offering a wider range of mocktails should be widely available at Canadian restaurants to accommodate the number of diabetics that enjoy going out for a meal, as well as for people who are not drinking for other reasons. We now have Dry January and Sober October. Sugar and alcohol can adversely affect a diabetic’s blood sugar level. Restaurants can help diabetics stay healthy while they enjoy their meals. The New Mocktails Bible offers 250 mocktails which can be a guide to help restaurants make exciting drinks. I hope this article helps bring a wider range of non-alcoholic or low/no sugar drinks to diabetics and others in restaurants.
