Alcohol Free Entertaining: Come for Mocktails by Patsy Bickerstaff and Bill Seay is a wonderful book which shows how to prepare non-alcoholic beverages for year round events including holidays, festivals, spring breaks, birthdays and graduations. The presentation is addressed to constituencies of people who must stay alert at all times; such as, physicians, pilots, traffic controllers, operators of heavy vehicles in a host of professions too numerous to list.
The authors provide novices with a delineation of the basic equipment consisting of a glass pitcher, cocktail shaker, electric blender, bar spoon, bottle opener, piercing can opener, measurement glass, measuring spoons, ice scoop, garnish spears, stirrers and straws. There are a plethora of mineral waters and club sodas such as Mountain Valley, Evian, Poland Spring, Perrier, Calistoga and Schweppes, just to name a few.
The book provides important flavorings to substitute for alcohol. Examples of the classic non-alcoholic flavorings are angostura bitters, grenadine syrup, creme de menthe, rum, anise, mint, vanilla and fresh fruits. The authors provide important champagne substitutes such as apple juice, ginger ale, cranberry juice, white grape juice and de-alcoholized wine.
Since most middle eastern people don't consume alcohol in great quantities, abdug is a nutritious standby. The drink consists of plain water, yogurt and dry mints. A Saratoga can be made with lemon juice, superfine sugar, Angostura bitters and effervescent mineral water. Russian tea can be made with water, cinnamon, clives, sugar, stripped orange peels and a spice/water mixture.
Alcohol Free Entertaining is an important work for people everywhere who entertain. The ultimate objective of the book is to satisfy the taste buds while returning people to their homes sober. The authors' presentation accomplishes this most difficult goal for readers everywhere. The book is an important resource which is easy to read, very affordable and written for a wide constituency of readers.
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