Stirred Alcohol-Free Negroni with Juniper Tea & Bitter Grapefruit Cordial

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A zero-proof Negroni built the way a good bar builds one: three separate components, each made from scratch, then stirred cold over one big cube and finished with an expressed orange peel. A juniper-coriander steep stands in for gin, a grapefruit-and-roasted-dandelion cordial does the bitter red work, and a spiced grape-and-black-tea reduction plays sweet vermouth. Salt, citric acid and tannin give it the grip that alcohol normally provides, so it drinks bracing and adult rather than like fruit punch. All three keep for two weeks in the fridge, so one afternoon of steeping gets you a month of aperitivo hour.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tbsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, cracked
• 2 green cardamom pods, cracked
• 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
• 3 strips grapefruit peel (no pith)
• 2 strips lemon peel (no pith)
• 1 small sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 1/2 cup water
• 2 bags roasted dandelion root or chicory tea
• 2 tbsp dried hibiscus flowers
• 1 ruby red grapefruit (zested in wide strips, then juiced)
• 2 strips grapefruit pith (thin slices of the white layer)
• 2 strips orange peel
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp citric acid (or 1 tsp fresh lemon juice)
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional, for alcohol-like warmth)

• 1 cup unsweetened red or Concord grape juice
• 1/2 cup strong brewed black tea, hot
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar
• 3 strips orange peel
• 2 fresh sage leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 star anise pod
• 1 whole clove
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 2 oz juniper botanical tea, chilled
• 1 1/2 oz spiced grape vermouth, chilled
• 1 oz bitter grapefruit cordial, chilled
• 1 large clear ice cube (2-inch)
• 1 wide strip orange peel, for expressing

Instructions

1. Make the juniper tea first: bring the 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, then let it sit off heat for 2 minutes to drop to about 190°F. Add the crushed juniper, coriander, cardamom, peppercorns, grapefruit and lemon peels, rosemary and pinch of salt. Cover and steep exactly 20 minutes — longer turns it soapy and resinous.
2. Strain the juniper tea through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean jar, pressing lightly on the solids. You should have about 1 1/4 cups. Cool, then refrigerate.
3. Start the cordial: combine the 1/2 cup water, dandelion root tea bags, hibiscus, grapefruit peel strips, the 2 thin slices of grapefruit pith and the orange peel in a small saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low and steep 8 minutes at a lazy bubble.
4. Pull the pan off the heat, cover, and steep 10 minutes more. Squeeze and discard the tea bags, then strain out the solids and return the deep-red liquid to the pan.
5. Juice the zested grapefruit — you want about 1/2 cup. Add the sugar to the warm tea base and stir over low heat just until fully dissolved, about 1 minute; do not boil. Off heat, stir in the grapefruit juice, citric acid, salt and optional cayenne. Taste: it should be aggressively bitter-sweet, like a bar amaro. Cool and refrigerate in a jar (about 1 cup).
6. Make the vermouth: combine the grape juice, hot black tea, demerara sugar, orange peel, sage, thyme, star anise and clove in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low and cook 10 minutes, until reduced to roughly 1 1/4 cups and slightly syrupy at the edges.
7. Off heat, cover and steep 20 minutes, then strain. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and pinch of salt — the vinegar is what keeps it from tasting like juice. Cool and refrigerate.
8. Chill all three components at least 2 hours, or overnight. Freeze large 2-inch ice cubes at the same time and put your rocks glasses in the freezer for 15 minutes before serving.
9. To build one drink: combine 2 oz juniper tea, 1 1/2 oz spiced grape vermouth and 1 oz bitter grapefruit cordial in a mixing glass filled two-thirds with regular ice. Stir smoothly with a bar spoon for 30 seconds, until the outside of the glass frosts.
10. Strain into the chilled rocks glass over one large cube. Twist a wide strip of orange peel skin-side down over the surface to express the oils, rub it around the rim, and drop it in. Serve immediately, while the dilution is still tight.
11. For a batch of four, stir 8 oz juniper tea, 6 oz vermouth and 4 oz cordial with 2 oz cold water in a pitcher, chill 30 minutes, then pour 4 1/2 oz over each big cube and garnish.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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