As Smooth As Ice: Chocolate Peppermint Mocktail
/
When I was in my 20s, some relatives came from Finland and brought us a gift of a bottle of Mintuu. It’s a peculiarly Finnish peppermint spirit that tastes icy cold, like you’ve just come into a chalet after skating on an open lake all afternoon. I thought it would be fun to replicate the idea of this in a non-alcoholic cocktail. And of course, I had to use vintage Iittala glassware!
A good pick for non-alcoholic vodka in Canada
A key ingredient to this non-alcoholic cocktail is non-alcoholic vodka. There are currently only three or four non-alcoholic vodkas on the market and only two that really stand up to a cocktail. The non-alcoholic vodka in this recipe is called Arkay. It’s branding is awful and the bottle looks legitimately like a cheap 60 of vodka, but it burns like the real thing and doesn’t ruin a mocktail.
It’s not a difficult cocktail to make, but does require a bit of prep. This isn’t a good recipe to try and batch for a crowd, but you can make two drinks from the chocolate emulsion if needed.
Ingredients
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp water
1 scant tsp peppermint extract
1.5 oz Arkay non-alcoholic vodka
2 oz half and half
½ oz simple syrup
Preparation
In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and water until it’s combined into an emulsion.
In a cocktail shaker add 1 tbsp of the chocolate emulsion, peppermint extract, non-alcoholic vodka, half & half and simple syrup.
Shake vigorously for 15 seconds, to ensure the half and half has thinned and blended into the other ingredients.
Strain into a fresh glass with ice.
Garnish with an After Eight chocolate stick.
