My Likka Pantry (The likkas)

Written By Vanity Gee

After bae and I completed our move from New York to St. Louis during the COVIDiest May the world has ever seen, I was far too excited to begin stocking our new pantry with all of my favorite libations. My mom gifted us with a fancy mezcal; Costco provided us with a smooth and budget-friendly bourbon, and we had a few liqueurs that made it back with us as well.

As the Universe would have it, exactly one month after our move, I found out that a sperm and an egg had a one night stand, and subsequently f***ed up all of my drank plans for the next 9-11 months. (I did not drink for the first few months while I breastfed my firstborn.)

In a bid to keep my hours happy during quarantine with a restless toddler, a restless husband, and a dog with unforgivable B.O. , I splurged on a few sets of nonalcoholic spirits.

Seedlip

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As I mentioned before, I indulged in exquisite virgin cocktails at Nitecap in Manhattan during my first pregnancy. The base of many of their drinks was a nonalcoholic spirit called Seedlip. The spirits come in three palates: Garden 108, Grove 42, and Spice 94.

Garden 108 is herbal, with notes of peas and other earthy tones; Grove 42 lends itself well to citrus beverages and is itself a citrus base; and Spice 94, my favorite, has notes of clove, and is described as “aromatic.”

Each of these spirits tastes quite lovely over ice with a splash of tonic, and maybe one mixer (e.g. ginger beer, or a squeeze of grapefruit or lemon).

Lyre’s

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Lyre’s spirits come in several varieties, and unlike Seedlip, are meant to be a substitute for their alcoholic counterparts (or to sub some ingredients in a low-alcohol cocktail). When deciding what to purchase, I looked for the combination of ingredients that would provide versions of drinks l loved the most, but also allowed a good variety of other drinks I might want to try.

  • Dry London Spirit (Gin)

  • American Malt (Bourbon)

  • Italian Orange (Campari)

  • Aperitif Rosso (Sweet Vermouth)

  • Dry Aperitif (Dry Vermouth)

  • Dark Cane Spirit (Dark Rum)

  • White Cane Spirit (White Rum)

Excepting the gin and tonic recipe, everything I have made with Lyre’s has turned into fine NA (non alcoholic) cocktails. The Negronis and Mai Tais have been particularly delicious.

Where is a good place to start?

If you are on a budget, like most of us are, and want to start simple, I highly recommend Seedlip; these spirits are great to keep around even if you are consuming alcohol, and allow for lots of experimentation with mixology if you’re curious enough. They are sugar-free (no artificial sweeteners either) and very low calorie. Lyre’s is also great, but you have to purchase more than three bottles if you really want to get a good variety of NA cocktails on rotation in your home (and they contain sugar).

Of course the NA world is huge, so experiment with other brands and spirits, and let me know what you find!

Vanity Gee

Vanity is many things, but mostly a bundle of thoughts, feelings and matching facial expressions. She is a multi-instrumentalist, adult beverage connoisseur, writer, and bibliophile. Vanity is an arts administrator, advocate for young people, music educator, and production manager, but most importantly, is a loving friend, daughter, sister, and wife. She studied music, economics, and education, and has a few degrees to match. Vanity is an alumna of the Harvard of the Midwest, the Home of the Badgers, and that very old and very erudite university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Though the library is pretty much the only place Vanity truly feels at home, her roots go back to Southern Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. She is currently searching for the best fish and shrimp plate New York has to offer.

 

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My Likka Pantry (The Syrups + )