New Year’s : Clean ‘n’ Sober With a Twist

The grossest inequity in the nondrinking world may be the lack of beautiful stemware. Why do drinkers get all the elegant crystal? If not alcohol, what can you sip from a martini glass, a brandy snifter, a Champagne flute? “I gave up drinking,” says Helen K. “Why do I have to give up Waterford?”

Face it: The nondrinker’s choices are rarely as creative, labor-intensive and/or eye-catching as cocktails. While the host shaves ice for margaritas this holiday, or stirs up a pitcher of Gibsons, non-imbibers are offered clumsy tumblers of mineral water, diet Coke, coffee. Even worse: a sticky punch made for the children.

“Zero Proof” by Pamela Stovall and Richard Lalich (St. Martin’s Press: 1994; $10.95) is a handy bartender’s guide with recipes for 200 nonalcoholic drinks gathered from restaurants across America, many of which fit quite nicely into those old Pilsner, martini or hurricane glasses. The vast majority of the drinks are fruit-based and sweet, from the un-fuzzy navel (orange and lemon juice, peach nectar, and grenadine) to frozen Oreo cookie (ice cream, Oreo cookies, Hershey’s syrup), but there are also sections devoted to virgin Marys, nonalcoholic wine and nonalcoholic beers.

Rosemary-infused lemonade from the Vidalia restaurant in Washington, not too sweet, has a good, piney-cold punch (like gin, only better). Plus, you get to muddle (that’s bartender talk for “crush”) sugar and use a martini shaker without having to designate a driver. The cinnamon twist from Kaspar’s in Seattle tastes, not unpleasantly, like thinned and frappeed applesauce, but it’s a welcome change from straight Martinelli’s, and the daiquiri stem glass rimmed in raw sugar has its own satisfactions.

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For a savory, rather than sweet drink, there’s always the virgin Mary. There are probably as many variations on this drink as there are people who drink it. In The Times Test Kitchen, we tried seven different recipes from the book, then took elements that we liked best--A-1 from one recipe, a base of Clamato and V8 from another, dill seeds from a third--and concocted a rather busy virgin Mary but one praised by all our tasters for its big, interesting flavor and sneaky, compelling heat.

VIDALIA’S ROSEMARY LEMONADE

2 ounces sugar

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1/2 lemon

3 ice cubes

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

8 ounces water

1 slice lemon or fresh spring of rosemary

Crush sugar with rosemary using bartender’s muddler, back of spoon or mortar and pestle. Squeeze juice from lemon half into large shaker with ice cubes. Add lemon half, additional lemon juice, water and muddled rosemary mixture.

Shake well. Remove lemon half. Pour contents of shaker into large iced-tea or water glass. Garnish with lemon slice. Makes 1 generous serving.

KASPAR’S CINNAMON TWIST

4 ounces apple juice

3 1/2 ounces applesauce

1/2 cup ice

Raw sugar

1 wedge apple

Ground cinnamon

Place apple juice, apple sauce and ice in blender and blend well.

Place raw sugar in saucer. Moisten rim of stem glass with apple wedge. Turn glass upside-down in sugar to coat rim. Pour mixture into stemmed glass. Top with swirl of ground cinnamon. Makes 1 to 2 servings.

SPRING STREET MARY

Crushed ice

5 ounces tomato-clam juice

5 ounces vegetable cocktail juice

2 splashes Worcestershire sauce

2 splashes hot pepper sauce

1 splash steak sauce

1/4 teaspoon horseradish

2 ounces juice from dill pickles

Dash black pepper

Dash cayenne

Celery salt

Lime wedge

Lemon pepper

Dill seeds

Cornichons

Stuffed green olives

Fill shaker with crushed ice. Add tomato-clam juice, vegetable cocktail juice, Worcestershire, hot pepper sauce, steak sauce, horseradish, pickle juice, black pepper and cayenne.

Place celery salt in saucer. Moisten rim of tall glass or goblet with lime wedge. Turn glass upside-down in celery salt to coat rim. Fill glass with ice. Strain shaker contents over ice. Sprinkle with lemon pepper and dill seeds. On long skewer, arrange 2 to 3 cornichons and 1 stuffed green olive and place in glass. Makes 1 serving.