Juicy Cocktails in New York

New York has always been a city to set the trends rather than follow them, and the inhabitants of the city seem to be on a natural health kick right now.
The fashion for juicing has been around for a while, but lately, this seems to be extending to the cocktails which are served in the Big Apple.

A growing number of restaurants are sourcing their ingredients locally, to ensure that they are as fresh as possible. This has now become true for cocktail ingredients. The LCL Bar & Kitchen has a number of fresh juices on the menu, as well as a variety of alcoholic versions, for juice fans who like to party. The cocktails have been affectionately referred to as juicetails.

LCL’s signature juicetail is the Green Dream Cocktail which is a combination of vodka, organic cucumber and lemon juice. The bar’s mixologist believes that he has simply responded to a cultural trend for juice and alcohol. Drinkers would prefer to drink a cocktail made with freshly pressed juice, instead of soda, believing there to be a health benefit associated with their drink.

Health experts have cautioned those who choose the cocktails for dietary reasons. They say that the benefits of the juice are outweighed by the negative effects of the alcohol. They worry that people will drink more of the cocktails because they think they are good for them, and this will lead to them drinking excessively.

Tom Macy, from the Clover Club, denies that the cocktails are made for health reasons. He believes that the cocktail has been evolving for a while now, and recently mixologists have had to become more inventive with their recipes. The club’s Green Giant Cocktail was not made to help anyone on their juice diet; it is just a quirky new cocktail, made with gin and sugar syrup.

The Rouge Tomato, also based in New York, has made its name on only sourcing organic, biodynamic and natural products for all its food and cocktail recipes. It has its own in-house juice bar, and also produces its own wines and rums. It has a list of many juicetails, but one that stands out the most is the Spring Pea Mojito. Made with lavender rum, spring pea puree, lime, yuzu syrup and elderflower syrup, the drink is one of the restaurant’s best sellers.

The trend actually started quietly in 2012, when the Wayland invented its Garden Variety Margarita. The drink was made with tequila, ginger and kale puree, and lime. Hotel Americano followed soon afterwards with its Detox Bellini.

It seems that getting your five-a-day just got that bit easier.