On my new meds i can't drink (i've tried small amounts and it's still not good, so i'd rather just cut it out), which sucks since i was the queen of making cool mixed cocktails. but i feel like a jackass ordering water at a bar if i go with people who are there to drink.
So, anyone know of any good non-alky drinks to order?

-S

shirley temple is the only named drink I know of.

this is off topic a bit, but has anyone (esp with bartending/waiting experience) ever heard of this:

i went with friends last night to dinner at a fondue place, and they had a full bar. when we were seated the waiter came to take our drink orders, and knowing they had a bar i asked for ginger ale, since it's a common mixer. He said "we don't have it, but we can make you one with tonic water and Coke."
How on earth would that approximate ginger ale? i mean, it doesn't have any ginger in it, for one thing...wouldn't that just be watered-down Coke with more fizz?

okay, just had to ask.

-S

I've never heard of that, but... Until a week ago I was working in a restaurant and most of our servers didn't know that we had ginger ale, because it wasn't on the soda fountain, only the bar gun. So maybe he just didn't know they had it.

i asked if the bar would have it but he said no. i even asked "then how do they make mixed drinks with ginger ale?" and he never really answered...

-S

I've worked in bars, and I've heard of it. but it sucks. if i ever want a ginger ale drink i always ask if they have a real gingerale.

sucks

I've been to plenty of bars where they make ginger ale. As a matter of fact, I can't think of any bars that actually stock ginger ale. They'll usually make it with tonic and coke and bitters.

"Make" you a ginger ale of Coke and tonic? I mean, it would be sort of the right color but that's it. That's really stupid. As for good virgin drinks, I don't know. If I'm not drinking I always just order cranberry juice, because I don't like soda. Maybe you could order a virgin Madras (cranberry juice and orange juice with the vodka omitted).

This isn't a nice drink but sometimes I'll get club soda with a lime, if you have to go somewhere social and want to look like you're drinking it looks like a gin and tonic...cept when they put it in a big plastic cup.

It's a very good fake drink to have...especially if you work in sales and they good ole boys are taking everyone out and you don't want to seem like a loser (tip I got from a coworker)

jt

i always like to get either cranberry juice or orange mixed with seltzer, nice and bubbly and again, a good fake drink if you don't feel like explaining to everyone and their mother why you aren't drinking. when i'm out with my east coast friends, i don't feel like it's anyones business why i'm not drinking. it's hard to explain religious views to drunk people.

--jessie

Grenadine seems to the the popular ingredient in many mock-tails probably because as a syrup it makes nice colorful layers and is tasty too.

Shirley Temple (7up grenadine)
Roy Rogers (coke grenadine)
Unfuzzy Navel (orange juice grenadine)

Side note - went out to a family lunch a few years ago and my 10 year old cousin ordered a Roy Rogers only to get a Tom Collins delivered to him...

hahahhaha, a tom collins to a 10 year old.

Anyway my friend's brother orders shirley temples and he says it's like a chick magnet b/c girls always think it's adorable :-P

Share with brothers and guy friends who are looking to pick up chicks :)

jt

AAA prints up a virgin drink book around the holidays. Maybe you can find a friend with a card so you can get a free copy?

Virgin margaritas are good. Essentially a slurpee.

I always order diet coke, so I'm not much help.
:-)

I always get the bartender to mix me up something similiar to what xjessiex gets. Cranberry juice, orange juice and Sprite. Yummy! And it if they don't mix it, it looks has a varigated look, dark on the bottom getting lighter towards the top.

I also occasionally get a virgin pina colada if they have a blender at the bar which is exactly the same as a regular one just no liquor.

We always mixed coke and 7-up and a splash of soda to 'simulate' ginger ale and yes this is very common. My bar carried ginger ale, but if we ran out or the CO2 died, we made "bar gingerale." Some people honestly don't notice if it is a mixer (say with bourbon).

As for virgin drinks

1. I like shirley temples
2. Easy living - a mixture of orange, cran, grapefruit and pineapple juice.
3. The challenger - cran and 7up (it gets it name from a bad shuttle reference that may offend - 7up and ocean spray)
4. If the bar makes tropical drinks - pineapple juice, cranberry, cream de coconut, and gingerale (or 7up) is very tasty.

I know there are more but I'm hungry and need dinner. I'll post more if I think of it.

m.

No suggestions, just remember to watch your drinks, even the virgin ones! (Some wacky people out there...)

You can get virgin piña coladas and daiquiris.

Cranberry and soda!

Bar ginger ale usually involves a bit of coke, club soda or tonic, and some bitters. I have gone to bars and asked for ginger ale, and when they don't have it I ask them if they can make it. That is one of my cultural tests! (Dumb, I know.)

I actually like it better than some brands of ginger ale (Vernor's anyone?) because it can be more dry. I like my ginger ale dry and not too sweet. It's good with lemon in it, and the bitters in the "made" ginger ale add that slightly sour taste.

Most ginger ale you buy today, by the way, is not even made with real ginger. It's synthetic flavoring! Bleah.

see, i love Vernors! but no one here (TX) ever has it, much less knows what it is.
i should just cart my own 6 pack in my bag or something...

-S

If I'm not drinking, I tend to have tonic water with a twist of lemon, or these mixed fruit juice drinks (J2O) which are made by britvic. Orange juice and lemonade is a good staple, because every bar has those.

I once went through a protracted period of not being able to drink cos of meds, and I had to stop drinking coke because it was wrecking my teeth! Most non-alcoholic drinks are really sugary and carbonated, so watch your intake if you like your teeth enamel on your teeth.

I also like to drink mixers without the mix, especially ginger ale or bitter lemon, or cranberry and soda. Virgin daquiris are pleasant too.

Alternatively, if you go to a cocktail bar, tell them that you're not drinking, all the non-alcoholic drinks you've tried are dull, and so you need them to make you something fabulous. I've never met a barman who could possibly turn down such a blatant challenge to their cocktail skills!

liz x

Epicurious has this site full of non-alcoholic drinks..there are mocktails, lemonaides, and all sorts of catagories to look at...
I drink, but sometimes even though everyone else is, I really don't feel like having alcohol, so it's cool to have some other choices. Alot of the epicurious recipes look like really yummy.>http://www.epicurious.com/d_drinking/d02_non_alc/quench/quenchers.html

Heres another one, it's from the UK, and the names are cool. >http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/student_life/mocktails.shtml
>http://cocktails.about.com/library/weekly/aa042998.htm

I really like pineapple juice, cranberry, and seltzer together.

Or how about a Virgin Mary? Those are nice and spicy.

Basically it seems that you could just subtract the vodka from certain cocktails and have a decent non-alcoholic drink.

i always go for the simple tonic water and lime.

One thing to be aware of is that some people (bartenders!) don't have a clue what a Shirley Temple is! I drank a lot of them when pregnant (being pregnant is a great excuse to drink them, they're yummy) and I often had bartenders look at me like I had an extra head (growing out of my shoulder not the one in my belly). I had someone at a swanky hotel bar ask me what was in it! And in Canada the Shirley Temple had orange juice in it as well.

when i tended the bar i liked these two ask fake drinks:
virgin cuba libre (coke and lime)
virgin cape cod (cranberry and lime)

they totally look like drinks, too.