By Lenah Helmke | Photography by Kimberly Halverson
Looking for a post-holiday reset? Enter nonalcoholic of which taste like the real thing, but don’t leave you groggy the next day. The pressure to drink at social gatherings is real, but mocktails allow you to sip something delicious. Or if you’re trying to lower your alcohol intake, an NA drink is also perfect for swapping in after your favorite glass of wine.
When Nitro Beverage Lounge crafted its drink menu, it devoted just as much attention to the mocktails as the cocktails, ensuring every guest has something exciting to sip.
“We want to make sure we are creating something absolutely delicious and something that’s complementary to the menu we have,” says Courtney McCarty, owner of Nitro Beverage Lounge. “So … we focus on … common flavors [in our mocktails] that we would [also] use in our cocktail program.”
McCarty explains that in The Woodsman mocktail, bartenders use lapsang tea to impart the flavor of mezcal, a smoky tequila. This technique of providing adjacent flavors is used across the menu and intentional to create an inclusive drinking environment.
“We want you to have the exact same experience coming through the doors as anybody else would,” McCarty says. “We will never ask questions — we will always provide options.”
Besides Nitro, these other area bars also offer great mocktail menus to try on your next night out. (Note: mocktail menus often change seasonally, so the options below were available at press time.)
Nitro Beverage Lounge
Mocktails include the refreshing Rose Spritz (rose essence, lemon and soda), Arbol Bloom (pomegranate, hibiscus, chili arbol and lime) and I’d Rather Be On The Beach (pistachio creme, banana, lemon, honey, coconut milk and banana leaf). thenitrolounge.com
Eno Vino, Downtown and West Side
With “vino” in the name, wine is a big focus here, but mocktails are also available. The downtown location whips up the honey ginger lemon spritz, apple cinnamon mule, pal-no-ma, strawberry nada-rita and Lietz’s Einz Zwei NA Sparkling Rosé. The West Side location offers fruit-centric drinks, including the berries mojito, blueberry basil crush and passion spritz. enovinodowntown.com, enovinowest.com
Great Dane Pub & Brewing
Most of its mocktails use Ritual’s Zero Proof spirits, including its NA tequila (in the dark cherry margarita and the nada-paloma) and NA agave spirit alternative (in the very cherry mockarita). greatdanepub.com
Merchant Madison
Always on the forefront of tantalizing cocktail and mocktail offerings, Merchant’s libations change often, and the mocktail menu is crafted just as thoughtfully as the cocktail listings. merchantmadison.com
Gates & Brovi
For a riff on common cocktails (made nonalcoholic, of course) find the NA paloma, NA margarita, NA gin and tonic, and a virgin bloody mary. Bonus: its extensive menu means you can pair your libation with a delicious meal. gatesandbrovi.com
Oz by Oz
This eclectic gathering spot and cozy cocktail lounge has the most creative mocktail monikers, including the Juniper Lake, Ghost Banisher and Junior Teenage FBI Fan. ozbyozmadison.com
