The Only Spirit-Free Drink You Need This Season

Bartender Julia Momose, a Williams Sonoma Chefs’ Collective member and Food and Wine magazine’s Best New Mixologist of 2016, describes how she came up with this festive spirit-free drink that’s the perfect nonalcoholic sparkler to serve at a holiday party: “I wanted to create a zero-proof cocktail that could be prepped for ahead of time and easily assembled. The color of the drink will slowly change as the ruby-red ice melts, and it can always be refreshed with another splash of chai tea or sparkling cider. For a low-proof option, feel free to swap out the nonalcoholic cider for your favorite spiked apple cider.” For the nonalcoholic version, Julia likes to use Duche de Longueville French Sparkling Non-Alcoholic Cider.

Ruby Spice Highball

Ingredients

• 3 cups (24 fl. oz./750 ml) pomegranate juice
• 3 cups (24 fl. oz./750 ml) cranberry juice
• 3 cups (24 fl. oz./750 ml) unsweetened chai tea, chilled
• 1 bottle (750 ml) nonalcoholic sparkling apple cider
• 8 thin lemon slices

Directions

1. Using the pomegranate juice, fill 2 ice cube trays. Freeze until solid, then transfer the cubes to a sealable plastic bag and return to the freezer. Repeat with the cranberry juice to make more ice cubes. Store them in a separate plastic bag in the freezer.

2. To serve, fill a highball glass with ice, alternating a plain ice cube, a cranberry ice cube and a pomegranate ice cube, until the glass is full. Fill the glass halfway with the chilled chai tea. Fill the rest of the glass with sparkling cider. Garnish with a lemon slice and serve immediately. Makes about 8 drinks.