Looking for a yummy, Instagram-worthy cocktail that won’t leave you with a headache in the morning? The following recipes replace alcohol and sugar with herbs, spices, kombucha, and other nourishing ingredients that will boost your mood without the ill effects.
The tinctures included in the recipes below can be purchased at health food stores such as Whole Foods or from online retailers including Wood Spoon Herbs and Anima Mundi.
#1 Rosemary Relaxer
This beverage features skullcap (a plant belonging to the mint family) and rosemary, two herbs that are used to ease anxiety and promote relaxation. This is a great evening drink for people who have difficulty sleeping.
Mix the following ingredients:
6 oz. seltzer (I recommend blood orange LaCroix)
1 drop skullcap tincture
1 sprig fresh rosemary (muddled)
1 squirt lime juice
Raw honey to taste
#2 Autumn Aphrodesiac
This spicy beverage pairs ashwagandha and shatavari – two medicinal herbs known to reduce stress and promote sexual vitality – with apple cider, cinnamon, and ginger for flavor.
Mix the following ingredients:
6 oz. apple cider
1/2 drop ashwagandha tincture
1/2 drop shatavari tincture
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger (grated)
#3 Spiritual Spritzer
This enchanting beverage features cardamom to promote joy and blue lotus to enhance intuition. Be aware that blue lotus also acts as a sedative, so don’t use too much!
Mix the following ingredients:
seltzer
1/2 teaspoon happiness tincture (I recommend Anima Mundi’s Euphoria Elixir)
I teaspoon raw honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
Steep the blue lotus leaves in 2oz. hot water, covered, for five minutes and add to mixture.
#4 Tempting Tonic
This earthy beverage features hibiscus, cinnamon, and ginger for a bright flavor that is easy on the stomach. The real star of the show is damiana, an herbal aphrodisiac that is also used to treat indigestion and PMS. Damiana contains chemicals that may affect the brain and nervous system, and has been known to produce a mild “high” when inhaled.
Mix the following ingredients:
hibiscus ginger kombucha
1 drop damiana tincture
Juice from 1/4 lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Kombucha contains trace amounts of alcohol and caffeine. If you want to avoid either, steep hibiscus levees with fresh ginger.