Maple Old Fashioned: A Simple Fall Mocktail

One of the best flavours of fall is maple, and although you can enjoy real maple syrup all year round, there’s just something magical about the way it pairs with food from the fall harvest like apples, pumpkins and more.

It’s also a great combination with the malty caramel flavours in bourbon, including zero proof bourbon. It’s a perfect time of year to light a fire in the fireplace and sit back and relax with a bourbon or whiskey-based mocktail.

Which non-alcoholic bourbon to use in a mocktail

An old-fashioned cocktail is a booze forward drink, and if you’re a fan of this type of cocktail it’s definitely hard to replicate with non-alcoholic. However, as zero proof spirits evolve, they become more and more ‘sippable’ - the ability to drink them over ice with very little complications. The Free Spirits Bourbon has always been at the top of the list when it comes to quality in this category and they too have evolved their formula over the years.

One thing to consider when trying to replicate a cocktail with minimal ingredients is the ratio and the mouthfeel. Some non-alcoholic whiskeys are fiery and bold, but they’re also thin and viscous which doesn’t make it pleasant to drink in a recipe like a manhattan or an old fashioned. Free Spirits is one of only a few options that really add some heft or weight to a mocktail, which is what alcohol usually brings to the party and what is missing in a lot of n/a spirits.

FIND OUR LIST OF THE BEST NON-ALCOHOLIC WHISKEY HERE

Using Bitters in Mocktails

An old-fashioned cocktail or mocktail recipe calls for bitters. It’s up to you whether you use regular aromatic bitters like Angostura or use alcohol-free All The Bitters Aromatic Bitters. The volume of alcohol in regular bitters, if you use a few dashes, is approxiately 0.5% so if you add this to a recipe with two ounces of 0.5% whiskey, your ABV can rise to above 1%. Only do what you feel comfortable with in your recipe. All The Bitters bitters are all 0.0% alcohol - they do not use alcohol as a solvent in their bitters production meaning it’s truly 0.0% alcohol.

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Recipe: Maple Old Fashioned Mocktail

This recipe for a maple old fashioned is extremely easy, and once you have the good non-alcoholic spirit you can make this in under a minute.

2.5 oz Free Spirits Bourbon or other non-alcoholic whiskey bourbon
.5 oz maple syrup
4-5 dashes of bitters (alcoholic or alcohol-free)
A splash of ginger ale to top it up
Orange peel for expressing and for garnish
Maraschino cherry

Add a large cube of ice to a small rocks glass and then add the first three ingredients. Stir to combine and then top up with ginger beer. Express your orange peel over top and then add it to the lip of the glass. Garnish with the cherry.

Cheers and enjoy!