# Request for cocktail recipe advice **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933 "2018-06-12T00:06:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/1 "2018-06-12T00:06:59Z")
I’m having a party on Friday, and I thought it would be fun to make these [Strawberry Granita cocktails](https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/strawberry-champagne-granita). Also it’s very hot here so something granita based sounds very good. The recipe calls for champagne, but I do have some friends coming who don’t drink or might not be drinking much, so I was wondering what I could use as a substitute for champagne for at least some batches. Would sparkling water be a fitting substitution? Any alternate cocktail recipes are welcome, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I’m not a big drinker so I don’t know a lot about cocktail recipes but am very willing to learn. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/2 "2018-06-12T01:04:35Z")
There _are_ [non-alcohlic champagnes](https://www.google.com/search?q=non-alcoholic+champagne&oq=non-alcoholic+cham&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.9666j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) out there. Can’t personally attest to the flavor, though. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/3 "2018-06-12T01:28:33Z")
For a champagne substitute, you could use Welch’s Sparkling White Grape Juice. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/4 "2018-06-12T01:31:43Z")
Gingerale. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/5 "2018-06-12T01:53:31Z")
The linked recipe is for a frozen dessert (think Italian ice), not a cocktail… Having said that, if you want to make it, Martinelli’s sparkling cider might be a reasonable substitute for the sparkling wine/champagne. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/6 "2018-06-12T02:54:55Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > There _are_ [non-alcohlic champagnes](https://www.google.com/search?q=non-alcoholic+champagne&oq=non-alcoholic+cham&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.9666j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) out there. Can’t personally attest to the flavor, though. The ones I’ve tried varied from flavorless to disgusting. None tasted like champagne. White grape juice tends to be pretty dry. I’d try mixing it 50/50 with seltzer water as a champagne substitute. Using ginger ale will introduce a flavor, ginger, that isn’t a part of the original recipe. Using straight grape juice may make your final product too “grapey.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/7 "2018-06-12T03:13:20Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The ones I’ve tried varied from flavorless to disgusting. None tasted like champagne. White grape juice tends to be pretty dry. I’d try mixing it 50/50 with seltzer water as a champagne substitute. Using ginger ale will introduce a flavor, ginger, that isn’t a part of the original recipe. Using straight grape juice may make your final product too “grapey.” True about the ginger ale introducing another flavor, but I think that flavor would work great in this recipe. My only wonder is if it freezes any differently than an alcoholic champagne and whether it would affect the texture of the final product, but I’m guessing not. My other thought, though, was whether straight ginger ale might be too sweet for the recipe, but I still think a direct substitution would probably work well. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/8 "2018-06-12T03:13:48Z")
Just remember kids: all Champagnes are sparkling wines, not all sparkling wines are champagne. Difference: COST and then some. OP, if you want to stick to a sparkling wine with alcohol to serve your guests drinks like this, please bear in mind your audience. Mostly, the booze is what they’ll be after, and the likelihood of someone you know picking out the Veuve Clicqout first batch of drinks over the Asti Spumanti ones in the second is slightly above zero. Barely. Just use cheap, slightly sweet sparkling wine for this. It’d be like if you asked which high end vodka we’d recommend for a Strawberry Daquiri. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/9 "2018-06-12T03:17:09Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Just remember kids: all Champagnes are sparkling wines, not all sparkling wines are champagne. > > Difference: COST and then some. OP, if you want to stick to a sparkling wine with alcohol to serve your guests drinks like this, please bear in mind your audience. Mostly, the booze is what they’ll be after, and the likelihood of someone you know picking out the Veuve Clicqout first batch of drinks over the Asti Spumanti ones in the second is slightly above zero. Barely. > > Just use cheap, slightly sweet sparkling wine for this. It’d be like if you asked which high end vodka we’d recommend for a Strawberry Daquiri. He didn’t ask what brand of champagne to use. He asked what to use as a non-alchoholic substitute in some for his friends who don’t drink alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/10 "2018-06-12T03:27:38Z")
Ginger ale mixes well with strawberries. Don’t get a cheap store brand. They have a twang. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/11 "2018-06-12T03:36:33Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > He didn’t ask what brand of champagne to use. > > He asked what to use as a non-alchoholic substitute in some for his friends who don’t drink alcohol. Jesus…well. You now know where this recovering alcoholic’s brain is tonight. **sheepish grin** ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/12 "2018-06-12T03:38:40Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Ginger ale mixes well with strawberries. Don’t get a cheap store brand. They have a twang. They have a what now? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/13 "2018-06-12T03:40:45Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > They have a what now? Doesn’t “twang” rhyme with “thang”? ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/14 "2018-06-12T04:59:22Z")
I’d pick the sparkling non-alcoholic cider over the ginger ale for most things where “fake champagne” was the goal. But maybe that’s no longer the goal. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/15 "2018-06-12T05:14:58Z")
‘Twang’ is a term for bitter or unpleasant tasting. It never occurred to me to be foreign. Sorry, I don’t think I made it up. I made up a word in another thread today, so maybe I did. I do believe I have heard ‘twang’ to describe country singers. It means something different for that usage. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/16 "2018-06-12T05:32:43Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > ‘Twang’ is a term for bitter or unpleasant tasting. It never occurred to me to be foreign. > Sorry, I don’t think I made it up. I made up a word in another thread today, so maybe I did. > > I do believe I have heard ‘twang’ to describe country singers. It means something different for that usage. It’s more like “It don’t mean a thang if it ain’t got that 'twang”. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/17 "2018-06-12T05:39:39Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > It’s more like “It don’t mean a thang > if it ain’t got that 'twang”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/18 "2018-06-12T22:41:25Z")
Thanks for the advice everyone. > [@zombywoof](#): > > The linked recipe is for a frozen dessert (think Italian ice), not a cocktail… > > Having said that, if you want to make it, Martinelli’s sparkling cider might be a reasonable substitute for the sparkling wine/champagne. I’ve found various granita cocktail recipes, I’d say they are somewhat between drinks and desserts, like slushies. The sparkling cider sounds like a good idea, I’ll look for that. And for anyone who doesn’t feel like drinking a dessert I’ll have enough champagne and sparkling cider they can just have that straight. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/19 "2018-06-13T01:25:47Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Thanks for the advice everyone. > > I’ve found various granita cocktail recipes, I’d say they are somewhat between drinks and desserts, like slushies. The sparkling cider sounds like a good idea, I’ll look for that. And for anyone who doesn’t feel like drinking a dessert I’ll have enough champagne and sparkling cider they can just have that straight. That sounds very nice. What time did you say? 😃 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933/20 "2018-06-13T02:23:37Z")
Root beer floats. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-for-cocktail-recipe-advice/815933.md?page=2)