Easy drink recipes, alcohol optional, to make to keep calm

Since October 7, I’ve barely had a drink. My weekly posts before Shabbat, wherein I make and post a cocktail, have mostly been about water and its role in the Jewish tradition around mourning, as it feels odd to be drinking alcohol right now.

And I know that I’m not the only one.

Drinking has always had a restorative element to it. We drink to hydrate as well as to celebrate, and lately it’s been difficult to celebrate. I know this personally. Having had a birthday more than two weeks into the war, when I invited a few friends over for drinks and an American-style cake it was more a somber affair with fewer people than I normally have.

And there’s the issue of safety, namely that drinking too much to soothe our raw nerves could leave us ill-prepared should the sirens go off, tripping over ourselves to reach our shelters in time.

In this week’s column, I’m going to share easy recipes for drinks with an alcoholic option, as well as general tips for drinking responsibly, which will hopefully leave all of us a bit calmer, a bit healthier, and even raise our spirits just a bit.

Honey, lemon, and ginger ‘tea’

It’s not just wartime, it’s also approaching wintertime, which means supporting both our emotional and physical health. Alcohol has always been featured in medicine, dating back thousands of years. 

There are many traditional remedies to keep us healthy during the darker and wetter months, some more scientifically proven than others. Few ingredients feature as prominently in such remedies as honey, lemon, and ginger, with all three ingredients containing antibacterial properties that are perfect for staving off any airborne bugs.

As opposed to adding each ingredient individually to hot water, why not combine all three for both hot and cold beverages?

This is a recipe that can be found across different cultures in Europe and Asia, is easy to prepare, and amplifies each ingredient’s properties. Sounds like a great remedy for times like these.

The amount you make is up to you, as is the jar in which you choose to store it. I normally make enough to fill a liter jar at least halfway.

• Honey, at least 500 ml.
• 2-3 lemons, washed well
• Fresh ginger, skin on or off
• Fresh turmeric root (optional)
• Sterile jar, preferably a mason jar

Slice the lemons into thin discs, and the ginger and (optional) turmeric into coin-sized discs.

Pour enough honey to cover the bottom of the mason jar. Alternate filling the jar with the lemon and ginger/turmeric slices, ensuring they all lie flat. Cover with honey, pouring slowly and tapping down any pieces that rise, until all the slices are covered.

Close the lid, and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Carefully open the jar every 12 hours to release any accumulated gas.

After 24 hours, and when most of the honey has thinned out, refrigerate the jar and use both the honey and sliced lemons and ginger/turmeric as desired. The mixture will keep for at least a month when refrigerated. 

Add a spoonful or two to a cup of hot water, including the lemon and ginger slices which are entirely edible, or to a tall glass of cold soda water. It can also be added to almost any beverage, including many of the recipes in this column. 

Calm down with chamomile

Chamomile tea is a popular home remedy for insomnia and anxiety. Its light taste is integral to its healing powers. Made from dried flowers, it infuses quickly in both cold and hot water, which makes it a great option on hot days.

Since the war began, I’ve been drinking at least a liter of cold-brew chamomile iced tea every day. It hydrates and helps me to keep my cool. Adding lavender enhances its benefits even further. Lavender, known for its calming scent, is used in many cosmetics and baby products. The same can be said for its use in seasoning like the French Herbes de Provence. Drinks containing lavender are full of flavor and calming.

Chamomile & Lavender Iced Tea 

Makes 1 liter; 5-6 servings.

• 5 chamomile tea bags, paper tags removed
• Dried lavender (available at health food stores)
• Cheesecloth, tea filter, tea strainer, or fine sieve
• 1-liter carafe

Add chamomile tea bags to an empty carafe. Fill a tea strainer, filter, or cheesecloth with 2-3 tablespoons of dried lavender and add to the carafe*. Fill the carafe with water, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. Serve chilled.

*If you don’t have a strainer, filter, or cheesecloth, add the dried lavender to the carafe as is and use a sieve when serving. 

CTFD 

Adapted from Winter Cocktails by María del Mar Sacasa.

If/when you’re ready to start hosting again, this big-batch cocktail uses chamomile as both the mixer and the flavoring as one of its main ingredients. This is a permanent fixture at my parties and gatherings, and I think it will be at yours, too.

Makes 12-15 servings.

• 1 bottle gin (750 ml.) infused with chamomile and pear*
• 2 cups chamomile iced tea**
• 1-2 cups honey syrup***
• Cava, or another brut sparkling wine
• Fresh lemon

*For the infused gin: Combine 1 bottle gin with 5 chamomile tea bags and 1-2 sliced fresh pears. Let sit in the refrigerator, 2-5 days.

**For the chamomile iced tea: Either brew chamomile tea with hot water or use the recipe above.

***For the honey syrup: Mix equal parts honey and water in a saucepan, heat on medium-low until honey has completely dissolved into the water. Let cool to room temperature. Chill to store.

Mix gin, tea, and honey syrup in a large serving bowl. Add lemon to taste and ice (preferably large cubes so as not to dilute the drink) and stir to combine. Add Cava. Gently stir, and serve.

Red means calm

Hibiscus plants can be found throughout Israel as an ornamental shrub. Their dried crimson flowers are also found throughout the country in spice and health food stores. Originating as a beverage in West Africa and spreading across cultures around the equator, the outer sections of the flower are steeped in water and served hot or cold. The resulting beverage is bracingly tart and is used as a natural remedy for high blood pressure. 

Like the recipe above for chamomile iced tea, this cold-brew method requires no cooking or waiting for anything to cool down before refrigerating and serving.

Hibiscus Iced Tea 

Makes 1 liter; 5-6 servings.

• Dried hibiscus, available at spice stores (loose) and health stores (pre-packaged).

Add a generous handful of dried hibiscus to a 1-liter pitcher. Add cold or room temperature water, cover, and refrigerate for 8-12 hours.

If the resulting tea is too tart for your taste, dilute it with water, ice, and/or a spoonful of the honey mixture in a glass before serving.

The tea also makes a great mixer for drinks: Add 60 ml. of your choice of alcohol, a spoonful of the honey mixture, a splash or two of soda or tonic water, and top with the tea and ice.

Electrolytes

If all the above sounds too laborious or just too much, make sure that you’re drinking more than just water to stay hydrated.

Why? There’s a reason that eating watermelon with feta is so popular around the Mediterranean and why our palates desire a combination of sweet & salty: electrolytes. 

Water is a main component of our bodies, and that water contains ions of several elements that are essential for general performance. When we sweat, be it from exercise or heat or stress, both water and those electrolytes are lost – which makes drinking plain water less efficient when we need to hydrate.

Electrolytes are easily replenished when we add a pinch of salt and sugar to a glass of water – our bodies turn them into energy and ions. Drinks like Gatorade and Powerade, readily available throughout Israel, are marketed to replenish but are often too heavy on the sugar and less on the salt – exactly the opposite of what our thirsty bodies need.

Supplements like rehydration capsules, tablets, and powders offer an efficient means to staying hydrated and healthy, without additional sugar, and are readily available over the counter in pharmacies. SupHerb makes a salt capsule that contains four kinds of essential salts, to be taken with a few glasses of water for maximum effect. Naveh Pharma has a line of magnesium supplements that are marketed for the same purpose – try their strawberry-flavored ElectroRice powder, which comes in individual packets to be mixed with water. 

Pacing yourself with alcohol

If the above drinks are lacking in strength, it’s OK to reach for your favorite alcoholic beverage. Humans have been using alcohol as medicine for millennia, and their health benefits are enshrined as much in their names (the French term eau de vie and the Gaelic whisky both translate to “water of life”) and folk remedies as they are in science: An article in Forbes magazine points to the health benefits of whisky, from cancer-preventing antioxidants to a lowered risk of dementia and heart disease. It even states that its low sugar and gluten levels are, potentially, suitable for diabetics and celiac sufferers.

Red wine is found to have similar health benefits, according to findings from the National Institute of Health, but in both cases the key is to drink in moderation to derive health benefits beyond intoxication – i.e., no more than six servings per week.

Additionally, it’s important to know what’s more likely to cause a hangover when drinking. If the medical advice to have a glass of water with every ounce of imbibed alcohol is too much to down, look to your drink’s ingredients to avoid overdrinking. Carbonation will make you feel the effects of alcohol faster, be it sparkling wine or in a mixer. Added sugar, be it in mixers and/or syrups, will increase your chance of a hangover, as your body is already working overtime to digest the sugars in alcohol.

Drink up, and stay strong. ■

Originally from Washington, DC, the writer is a self-taught mixologist and founder of Sheik It Up, an edutainment initiative to promote a better understanding of Israel and the Middle East. He is also the founder of Hayyati, a cross-cultural communications consultancy for small businesses, and civic initiative The Here & There Club. He lives in Tel Aviv and can be reached at jay@hayyati.com.