(Hard) Liquor-free libations

Don't worry—beer, wine and sake cocktails can still get you blotto

When a tree falls in the woods and no one's around to hear it, does it make a sound? Can a cocktail still be a cocktail sans liquor? Such are our life's critical existential questions. Though some cocktail purists (or die-hard drunkards) would blanche at incorporating anything short of 80-proof into their happy hours, bartenders these days are more frequently concocting offbeat libations with beer, wine, port, sake and soju for a gentler kick. The focus is on weird and wonderful flavors, not sobriety-smashing. A strange concept, sure, but one our taste buds mightily endorse. —Joshua M. Bernstein

Pictured: The Little Owl's Maria Cholana