Although I didn’t observe Dry January myself, I absolutely respect the game, just as I understand that the liver wants what it wants (and doesn’t what it doesn’t). I’m also always nosy about what drinks my friends order, even if they’re teetotal. So at West Seattle’s Lady Jaye last month, when my NA pal was raving about their tasty mango shrub, I did something I normally wouldn’t. I took a peek at the mocktails. Er, fauxtails. Foxtails. Whatever we’re calling them now.
One drink had three things I love and one I’d never even heard of. The Live and Let Dry consists of Three Spirit Livener, Lyre’s Amaretti, lime, ginger, and Casamara Club Alta. I’m an old friend and lover of the Casamara pantheon, so that was enough by itself to make the sale, frankly. But what in the fuck is Three Spirit Livener? Plus ginger AND amaretti? “If you want, I can add gin to it,” bartender Nick consoled me as he put the drink together. “It’s really good both ways.” Tempting, but I had him hold off. Let’s taste it in its purest form first.
If you don’t know the Casamara Club line of botanical sodas, they’re all very leafy and horticultural-flavored, like drinking trees. These alcohol-free takes on amari-based cocktails come in six different flaves, and while there’s one that tastes exactly like the smell of the hand soap in my mom’s bathroom, the Alta soda is fuckin’ elite. Inspired by the Negroni cocktail, it’s made of chinotto—a bitter orange that grows along the Calabrian coast—as well as allspice berries, mandarin, lemon, clove, anise, juniper, and orris root, which is the root of the Dalmatian iris. Warm spice, sharp citrus. It’s like piney Christmas lemonade.
Then there’s a drop of virgin amaretto from UK-based Lyre’s, which styles their booze-free version as “amaretti,” after the cookie. It’s peachy-vanilla, toasty and nutty, kind of marzipan-tastical. Lyre’s is less sweet than the boozy stuff, too (and it’s lovely over ice cream, by the way).
Finally, the dark horse: the Livener by Three Spirit. Its base is the dried leaves of the ilex guayusa, a caffeinated tree that grows in the Amazon rainforest; a strong guayusa tea is served at South American convivencias (social gatherings) as a pick-me-up. To this, Three Spirit adds watermelon, pomegranate, and schisandra berries, which are distantly related to star anise. This elixir also packs some heat, from both ginger and cayenne, and astringent tartness from hibiscus extract. They add extra caffeine to it, too, and a little punch of apple cider vinegar. It’s super complex and bright and reminds me a little bit of those fruit teas from boba shops, but with chili and extra herbs, and without the big sugary slap in the face.
Lady Jaye owner Sara Rosales says she was eager to work with this stuff specifically for its mood-enhancing ingredients. “In theory,” she says, “this cocktail actually makes you feel revived!” Damn, it’s like the opposite of a cocktail—in more ways than one.
The effect is at once delicious and fascinating. In the end, I drank up the whole glass before I remembered to ask Nick to add gin, then came back later to try the ginned-up version. Both ways are fabulous, of course. I’ll try it with bourbon next time.
Meg van Huygen
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