Day Drinking ─ 50 Cocktails for a Mellow Buzz

Which of these situations would not be greatly improved by a delicious cocktail? A wedding or baby shower. A leisurely catch-up with a friend. Family reunion, complete with games. Long, idle afternoon at the beach, or the unexpected excitement of a snow day. Obviously the answer is none, which may be why the newest trend in drinking is the low-alcohol cocktail, that perfect quaff when you want to have a drink—or two or three—but not get drunk.

Using wine, beer, sake, hard cider, vermouth, sherry, along with liqueurs like St-Germain and bitter aperitifs like Campari and Aperol, these fifty festive sippers are mouthwateringly delicious, while providing the mellowest of buzzes. Here’s the World’s Best Pimm’s Cup. The classic Champagne Cocktail and updated variations. A Vermouth Julep, Sakura Martini, Jerez Toddy. Or instead of a mimosa for brunch, the Django Reinhardt. There are warming Irish coffees and thirst-quenching Micheladas, the popular Mexican beer mixer, plus signature drinks from some of the world’s best craft cocktail bartenders, including Fresh Thinking, a cold-brew coffee cocktail; Law Abiding Citizen, a nutty Amontillado sherry drink; the Warm Embrace, aka autumn in a mug. And a handful of alcohol-free cocktails, too, like Nuts in a Vice, which tastes like a carbonated Creamsicle.

With its breezy ’70s design vibe and the tone to match, it’s the book that celebrates what even occasional tipplers know—there’s nothing like a drink in the daytime to make you feel like you’re on vacation. And that’s before the alcohol kicks in.