Mocktail: Volstead Act

I've got another lovely, vibrantly orange mocktail for you this week, courtesy of a secret ingredient - turmeric. I know I basically just posted a recipe made with turmeric, but throwing that little bit into my fennel syrup made me really want to experiment with putting this interesting ingredient front and center. I'm a little skeptical on all the supposed health benefits of turmeric, but I'm 100% in agreement that it tastes pretty fantastic in a cocktail. So while I was working on this tasty mix of pineapple, lime, ginger, and club soda, I went ahead and tossed in a whole quarter teaspoon. And it really makes an otherwise ordinary drink extraordinary.

I'm calling this non-alcoholic concoction the Volstead Act in honor of the bill that started Prohibition in the United States. It's an intensely tasty drink - tropical and refreshing, with spice and savoriness from the turmeric. Add a little rum and you'd have a positively dreamy cocktail.

This is the first recipe I've made with my fancy-schmancy new juicer from the folks at Simple Utensils, so I had to show it off a bit. I thought I was doing just fine squeezing citrus by hand or using my simple plastic reamer (not sure what you call the type, but it looks a bit like these), but now I'm not sure how I went so long without getting a proper hinged juicer. It's so much cleaner and easier! And I am all about that these days.

Volstead Act

2 oz. pineapple juice
3/4 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. ginger syrup*
1/4 tsp. turmeric
2 oz. club soda

Combine all ingredients except club soda in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with club soda and stir briefly. Garnish with pineapple leaves and dried pineapple slices.

*For ginger syrup, peel and slice a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger and add it to a saucepan with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Lower heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and let the syrup steep as it cools. Once it's cool, fine-strain it to remove the ginger.