The good: these sounds delicious, the photography is great, and the basics (what you need in your bar etc.) were solid and helpful.

The bad: this book relied on a brand names not only in the sodas, which was expected, but also in some of the other ingredients, which was frustrating and made it feel like a marketing tool. In addition, the recipes relied heavily on the flavors of the branded items, so they are not easily replaceable with other brands.

I'm not posting this online because it is a more negative review.

This is a good book for those of us looking to avoid or reduce alcohol consumption and are sick of drinking childish drinks and plain old water. There are many creative ideas in this book that contain surprising combinations of flavors that I am excited to try. The photography is beautiful as well. The book starts off with some basic education on mixology for beginners. Recipes range from simple two ingredient drinks to fancy/more complex selections that should satisfy most readers. I did have one disappointment, however. The vast majority of recipes contain DRY branded ingredients and other specialty branded items. There are very few drinks I could mix with ingredients on hand, leaving me a little less inspired by the time I made it to the end of the book.

The drink recipes in this book are so unique and well developed that I doubt you will miss the alcohol. The layout and illustrations make everything feel very accessible and easy to make. I appreciated that very few recipes called for an alcohol-substitute (i.e. zero proof alcohol such as Ritual) and instead focused on just making a good tasting cocktail.

5/5 stars

Genre: Cooking and Mixology

Description:

The Ultimate Guide to NA Drinking and Mocktail Mixology!

After establishing themselves as the leaders in innovative, ready-to-drink, sophisticated non-alcoholic beverages in 2005, DRY has been on a mission to elevate social drinking for everyone.

DRY knows a thing or two about flavor and an enjoyable drinking experience with their unique flavors like Lavender, Cucumber, Ginger, and more, but why end there? Their groundbreaking flavors are now the inspiration for sophisticated mocktail recipes that will leave even the most particular cocktail connoisseur asking for more.

The Guide to Zero-Proof Cocktails is the go-to cocktail recipe book for anyone who is looking to drink less, cut it out altogether, or simply wants to shake it up a bit. Become a mixology master as you get the lowdown on tools, glassware, and mixology terms, as well as the science of flavor.
Each chapter is thoughtfully laid out from the simplest mocktail recipe to the most complex mocktail for an easy, learn as you go feel that anyone can follow.

Authored by Sharelle Klaus & Kira Bottles of Dry Soda Company, The Guide to Zero-Proof Cocktails also features contributions by mixologists Bridgett Bottles, Megan Fitzpatrick, Erik Hakkinen, Amanda Reed, & Jermaine Whitehead. It is illustrated throughout with stunning photographs by Joska Borbely, and was designed by him and Annie Brule.

Pros:

Forward and tasting notes:

I'm not going to lie I wasn't so sure about a dry (virgin) drink mixology book but I am so thankful I got this one. The reasoning behind its creation (so that pregnant people can participate and so that others can be mindful of their drinking) is inclusive and thoughtful. I usually skip over the portion of the book that explains why it was made and go straight for the recipes but I actually got sucked into the forward and the reasoning.

The authors take the time to educate the readers on the different flavor notes, tools, temperatures, and even glasses. As someone who has spent hours curating an at-home bar for hosting, I can't stress enough how important that information is to having a successful at-home bar experience.

Recipes:

- The syrup recipes are a perfect mix of normal and inventive.
- The drink recipes are also a great mix between classic and creative.
- The recipes are straightforward and very easy to follow.
- The pictures make the reader crave the drink.


Cons:

- Many of the recipes do require Shrubs which can be hard to find, but is pretty easy to make, however, the book does not provide a recipe. I will provide one below:

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-fruit-shrub-syrup-174072#post-recipe-9516

Would I recommend it?

Yes!

I love the initial guide that explains the five flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and savory and how to best blend and balance the flavors. The color graphics are stunning and enticing. The rationale behind DRY is enlightening and encouraging to know there is a movement of others who appreciate being dry. The definitions make sense of all the mixology language and simplify it for all novice readers. Necessary tools and equipment are shown through pictures as well as descriptions, which is very helpful. Easy to follow recipes inspire confidence to try new concoctions. I want to sponsor a weekend where I try each and every recipe! The best part is that it is family friendly and it is something we can all do together. I am thankful for this wonderful dry guide that goes out of the boundaries of water or soda and offers colors, flavor and texture.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

Thank you to NetGalley, Chatwin publisher, and the authors for the ARC of The Guide to Zero-Proof Cocktails in return for my honest review.

Beautiful photographs and amazing non-alcoholic "'cocktails" for all occasions. Sharelle and Kira dive deep into flavor profiles explanations and very interesting ingredients to make visually stunning drinks.

This book would be the perfect book to have in your collection for all entertaining needs to get ideas for a special beverage for your non-drinking guests for all holidays and occasions.

The Guide to Zero-Proof cocktails is exactly what you expect it to be. It is full of recipes for zero proof cocktails. It is beautifully photographed. The recipes are actually interesting and bring in flavors I would not have thought of myself. Overall a strong contender in the niche.

I was really looking forward to this book, because I love the concept. I love making fun drinks, and often make myself fun coffee and tea drinks. Although I'm not necessarily strictly abstinent, I haven't been drinking recently, and I would love to be able to make cocktails without the alcohol. What I like about cocktails is the taste and the experience, not the alcohol itself, and I'm far too cheap to purchase several types of alcohol that I rarely drink just to make cocktails.

That being said, I was very disappointed when I actually got into the recipes, which made it clear that this book is clearly just a marketing strategy for DRY products. With the exception of "recipes" like "mix club soda with simple syrup" (which I don't need a recipe for), the entire book only contains one or two recipes that does not call for a DRY product, or another name brand product that the authors likely get commissions from. I like to make things by hand, from things I can get easily from the grocery store; buying 5-6 varieties of DRY products plus "zero-proof liquor" that I don't even know if I like is not something that I'm interested in.

That being said, those who don't mind the marketing aspect will likely enjoy the book. The photos are gorgeous, and the drinks certainly sound like they would taste good. If I have time, I might work on making a DRY-free version of these drinks using my own knowledge of simple syrup, shrubs, etc. Some of the flavor combinations certainly seem promising, and the information about flavor profiles, cocktail making supplies, and different glass types is interesting and could be useful.

On the whole, I definitely love the concept of making mocktails cool, not just for kids but for adults who choose not to drink. However, I was disappointed that the book seems to be primarily aimed at people willing to purchase their products; it's the book version of an Instagram influencer's feed. That being said, there could be some use in getting flavor profile inspirations, and learning more about cocktail making.

Love the concept. The book includes a diverse set of cocktail recipes that I will enjoy testing out. As someone who has recently stopped drinking alcohol for allergy reasons, I'm impressed with the variety of options that exist. I do wish there was a little more play with the ingredients outside of fruit, herbs, and sparkling waters, but I'm not even sure if that's possible with non-alcoholic cocktails. Overall love the book!

I got an eARC of this book and didn’t realize when I’d initially picked it up that it was created by and for a company, DRY Botanical Bubbly, which makes a sparkling drink meant to be an alcohol substitute.

I loved the name (I hate the word mocktail) and liked the organization of the book - divided into Salty, Sweet, Sour, Bitter, and Spicy, though it seemed like they kind of stretched the categories a bit sometimes. The front matter was informative and I learned a bit about what goes in to making a good drink, though I think that’s largely due to the fact that I knew literally nothing about cocktails previously.

The recipes seem clear and straightforward if you already know basic cocktail-making terms, like muddling (which I personally did not). The pictures and ideas here definitely made me excited for the pandemic to end and to try out making zero-proof cocktails....just maybe not with this book. It read like a giant advertisement for the company and its partnered companies, like a classy version of those free cookbooks they give out in the grocery store where every ingredient starts with a brand name. Sometimes reading a recipe I wondered why the soda was necessary (cucumber bubbly in a Bloody Mary?) and whether they just added it in to serve as marketing. I wasn’t too excited to track down the specific supplies, and I don’t know what’s in them to be able to approximate them myself, so I didn’t end up trying any recipes, but I’ll update this review if I do.

The Guide to Zero-Proof Cocktails is a book for people who are interested in making mocktails at home. This is in my wheelhouse as I love drinking cocktails, but I am not a big alcohol person.

Sharelle Klaus and Kira Bottles do a great job at explaining the basics, giving a list of equipment and supplies that one should have on hand to mix up these delicious drinks. They talk about the different flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, savory and spicy) and what kind of foods/spices/etc are usually in these categories, The last part of the book has recipes divided by these flavor categories.

The photography is professional and elegant and made the drinks look very inviting. I can’t wait to get some supplies and try these out.

I enjoyed this book!

This cookbook is SO COOL. I honestly drink really weak cocktails and most of the time it's just because I want to drink something more interesting than water. This cookbook is the perfect for that gap in between. The photos were perfect, it explains stocking your bar with glassware and supplies and it has a ton of yummy sounding and looking cookbook!

Gorgeous book full of gorgeous photos. The author first shares her journey and her reasons for making mock-tails. She then has a vivid and beautiful explanation on flavors, along with a cheat sheet of which flavors meld well together. There’s good information on tools and mixology. Be warned though. The recipes in this book uses DRY Soda Co. which I have never heard of and have never seen, however I was able to find the blood orange in a store further away from me and I am now a new fan. Overall a beautiful recipe book of zero-proof cocktails that are a fun and exciting way to replace cocktails full of alcohol.

The intro sold me on this book, where the author talked about founding her nonalcoholic drink company when she was a mom of 4 young kids who frequently abstained from alcohol because she was pregnant, nursing, or not in the right place for alcohol. So many others don't want alcoholic drinks for one reason or another but don't want to just drink soda or overly sweet, boring "virgin" drinks. She talked about combining flavors and creating drinks designed to pair with various foods just the way wines and cocktails are, which I love the idea of.

But once I got into the recipes themselves, I was really disappointed. The majority of them call for her products as a base (sometimes club soda can be used instead, but then you have a one-note base) and she also calls for a lot of purchased specialty syrups and such.

I make most of my drinks from scratch, alcoholic and non. It is not difficult and the results are inexpensive and delicious. I know most people these days buy everything but I expected to at least have the option of including homemade recipes for basics beyond simple syrup. I don't want to have to buy a non-alcoholic purchased drink to make a non-alcoholic homemade drink. It reminds me of that trend in the 90's of cake box cake cookbooks, where you buy a junky boxed cake mix and then follow a complicated recipe to make it "elevated."

There are color photos to accompany the drinks and they do look nice. No nutritional information is provided and I have no idea what the calorie counts or sugar counts are of her product so I don't know if any of the recipes are suitable for diabetics and those on keto diets (most are obviously not, but it's hard to tell with some). It will also not be suitable for paleo folks or Whole 30 folks. Others with special dietary needs will likely find it accommodating.

This will be a wonderful book for some, even though it wasn't a good fit for me.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

This is perfect for those who want to get into or enjoy cocktails but can't or chose not to have alcohol. It has a lot of old favourites and also some new and innovative recipes. It is a beautiful book which is also informative. This is a perfect gift!

Everyone loves a refreshing beverage, especially those that are beautiful and sophisticated. Not everyone wants one with alcohol. Sharelle Klaus, founder of DRY, shares her secrets of providing adult beverages that anyone can enjoy (using her company's products).

This is a very thorough book of mixology. Klaus gives details of which flavors balance and complement each other, a glossary, tools of the trade and more - all accompanied by beautiful photographs. I have already added this title to my wishlist!

As someone trying to cut back on alcohol, I've been finding it difficult to find similar joy in non-alcoholic drinks. This book is simply a lifesaver - it showed me exactly what to do to get a kick out of a virgin drink. Focusing on not only on flavor, but also glassware, serving and garnish, this book is genuinely brilliant for any drinker trying to cut back.

The recipes are unique in allowing you to actually feel like you're holding a fancy drink, not just juice or soda, which is what I used to make. The drawback is that you do need to have access to certain rare ingredients for some of them, such as different types of molasses, tamarind and various syrups, but nothing you can't replace. For instance, in every place this calls for a special dry Botanical Bubbly, I tried any flavored sparkling water and it worked.

Finally, I like the layout of this book, with lots of beautiful photographs showing you exactly what to do. Now I'm ready to impress my guests, and honestly myself too.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very aesthetically pleasing photos of different cocktails. I also appreciated that it describes different type of sensory experiences you can have while drink. Also recipes seem very easy to follow!