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I’ve gone through various phases of my life where I chose not to drink for one reason or another. All in all, I walked away with two life lessons I want to share here. The first is, when a friend, (or stranger for that matter), refuses a drink, let it go, don’t be nosy about it, and offer them something just as wonderfully delicious to drink. The second lesson is that it is really difficult to find something that is as wonderfully delicious to drink.

The world is full of too many overly sugary, fruit juice based, and frankly boring mocktails. We need more drinks that offer the complexity, culinary interest, and deliciousness of a creative craft cocktail, sans alcohol.

That is where my “Gin Tea” recipe comes in. This “tea” can be used as a one-to-one replacement in really any cocktail. I chose to focus on a gin flavor profile because vodka is so neutral, it would be very difficult to replicate without the alcohol. Gin, on the other hand is full of flavors and complexity.

For this recipe you can follow it just as I have presented it, or you can get creative and adjust it to your own taste. If you are not a fan of the Juniper (pine) flavor, then add more citrus peel or add some cucumber. If you love the earthiness of the cardamom and coriander, add more and reduce the citrus. You can’t mess this up and every version I have tried so far has been delicious.

You can find most of the spices at any grocery store spice isle. The exception might be the cardamom seeds. Usually, if you can find them at all, the seeds are still in the pods. Ideally all you want is the seeds. So, if this is the case you can buy cardamom seeds HERE on Amazon. But rest assured, cardamom or no cardamom, your “Gin Tea” will still be delicious.

For the citrus, I like to use a smaller, darker fleshes orange, if I can find it. They have more concentrated and sweeter flavor. Most recently I used a Cara Cara navel orange from our organic grocery store, and it was perfect.

Tip: Crush the seeds until they crack open or break into a few pieces, but avoid crushing them into a fine powder. You can use a mortar and pestle, but I am less gentle. I put all the seeds in a plastic sack and use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to gently crush the seeds until they break into smaller pieces.