Don't Sacrifice Flavor With These Low-ABV Cocktails

As we take off the heavy layers of clothing in the transition from winter to spring, many people also swap strong, whisky-heavy drinks for lighter ones you can sip all day. Hard seltzers and clear spirit-based Highballs aren’t your only options, though. Whisky cocktails can also be low in alcohol by volume (ABV)—and still be satisfyingly complex. The trick is to use whisky as an accent, rather than a base.

“With lower-ABV cocktails, you have even more room to play with different ingredients you wouldn’t normally use,” says Sophie Snyder, corporate beverage director for Whiskey Neat in Fort Lauderdale. Think vermouth, sherry, fortified wine, amari, liqueurs, and aperitifs. Add about half the whisky you typically would use, and top it off with refreshing bubbles, like club soda, ginger beer, or sparkling wine. But don’t throw your entire liquor cabinet into a shaker. “Ensure the flavors are mingling with one another, creating another thing all unto itself,” says Joel Lee Kulp, bar manager of Brooklyn’s The Richardson. Your drink shouldn’t just taste like bourbon and sherry in a glass, for example.

Although there’s no industry standard for what makes a cocktail low alcohol by volume, the following cocktails will help you lay low this season.

Walking on Sunshine

Created by Dee Ann Quinones, beverage consultant, DWD Designs, Los Angeles
St-Germain and lemon keep things bright, while ginger beer plays up bourbon’s spice in this refreshing drink.

• ¾ oz. Kin Brown bourbon (or other 80-proof bourbon)
• ½ oz. St-Germain
• ¾ oz. lemon juice
• 4 dashes plum bitters
• 4-5 oz. ginger beer
• Wild pansy for garnish

Combine bourbon, St-Germain, lemon juice, and bitters in a wine goblet or Collins glass. Add ice cubes. Top with ginger beer and stir to incorporate. Garnish with pansy.

Double Duty

Created by Joel Lee Kulp, bar manager, The Richardson, Brooklyn
Pimm’s No. 1 adds a sweet fruitiness to light blended scotch, and soda water and sparkling wine make this spritz super refreshing.

• 1 oz. Duncan Taylor Politician (or other light-bodied blended scotch)
• 1 oz. Pimm’s No. 1
• 3-4 dashes saline solution (recipe below)
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• ½ oz. lemon juice
• 1 oz. soda water
• 1 oz. sparkling wine
• Cucumber ribbon and orange twist for garnish

Add all ingredients except soda water and sparkling wine to a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 5-10 seconds. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with soda water and sparkling wine. Garnish with cucumber ribbon and orange twist.

Saline Solution

• 2¾ oz. warm water
• 1 heaping tablespoon salt

Combine water and salt in a jar and shake until salt is dissolved. Let cool, then transfer to a dropper bottle. Keep refrigerated for up to one month.

Thistle Italy

Created by Nick Farrell, spirits director, Show of Hands, Washington, D.C.
This cocktail is a symphony of well-balanced flavors. “Cynar and strawberries go incredibly well together, and the salt cuts through a little of the amaro’s bitterness, while the peppercorn adds a touch of spice that mimics some of the heat lost from the whisky’s lower alcohol content,” Farrell says.

• ½ oz. Wilderness Trail Bottled in Bond rye (or other bonded rye whiskey)
• 2 strawberries, quartered
• Small pinch kosher salt
• 10 pink peppercorns
• 2 oz. Cynar 33 proof
• ½ oz. Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino
• 6 drops absinthe
• Halved strawberry for garnish

In a mixing glass, muddle strawberries, salt, pink peppercorns, and rye. Add ice and remaining ingredients. Stir for 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with strawberry on the glass rim.

Toki Iced Tea

Created by Svetlana Altarrasy, head bartender, Casa Sensei, Fort Lauderdale
“This drink is very light, refreshing, and a little fizzy. The mint and cardamom add a dimension of freshness and spice, balancing out the citrus and hints of vanilla and ginger from the whisky,” Altarrasy says.

• 1 oz. Suntory Toki (or other blended Japanese whisky)
• 1 oz. limoncello
• 1½ oz. brewed green tea (cooled)
• ½ oz. lemon juice
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• 3 dashes cardamom bitters
• 1½ oz. soda water
• Lemon wheel and large mint sprig for garnish

Add all ingredients except soda water to a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 5 to 7 seconds. Strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice and top with soda. Garnish with lemon wheel and mint sprig.