What to use instead of non-alcoholic whiskey alternative
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Standing in for the oak, vanilla and burn of whiskey
In an old fashioned the spirit carries barrel flavour, sweetness and a warm sting, and there are only bitters and sugar in the glass to hide behind.
Strong black tea steeped with a vanilla podNo alcohol
2 oz strong tea, steeped 10 min with 1 split vanilla pod per 500 ml
Tannin and vanilla land close to bourbon. No heat, so the drink reads softer and needs less sugar than the original.
Cold brew coffee with demerara syrupNo alcohol
1 1/2 oz cold brew + 1/2 oz demerara syrup per 2 oz whiskey
Roasty and bitter in the same slot and much darker in the glass. It reads as coffee by about the third sip.
Roasted barley tea with a drop of vanillaNo alcohol
2 oz brewed barley tea + 2 drops vanilla extract per 2 oz whiskey
Grain and toast with no tannin, so the drink is rounder and thinner. The closest thing to a malt note.
Strong rooibos with maple syrupNo alcohol
1 1/2 oz strong rooibos + 1/2 oz maple syrup per 2 oz whiskey
Woody and sweet with a red cast. It suits a whiskey sour and falls apart in a manhattan.
What doesn't work: Apple or grape juice on its own. Both are sweet and fruity with no tannin, oak or bitterness, so an old fashioned tastes like spiced juice and the bitters sit on top with nothing to grip.
Getting the heat that alcohol provides
Ethanol sets off heat receptors on the tongue, and without it a whiskey drink tastes flat and sweet however well the flavour has been copied.
Fresh ginger juiceNo alcohol
1/4 tsp per 2 oz drink
A genuine burn at the back of the throat. Ginger flavour rides along with it, which suits a julep or a sour.
A trace of cayenne stirred into the syrupNo alcohol
1/16 tsp cayenne per 1 oz syrup
Heat with almost no flavour attached, which is exactly the missing piece. Overshoot by a little and the drink is undrinkable.
Extra tannin from strong tea or verjusNo alcohol
1/2 oz strong black tea or 1/4 oz verjus per drink
Dries the mouth so the drink stops reading as sweet. It fixes the flatness without adding any warmth.
What doesn't work: More bitters to supply the burn. They turn the drink medicinal long before they add any warmth, and most bitters are alcoholic anyway, which defeats the point.
Zero-proof whiskeys are water, flavouring and often glycerine. Chill the glass hard, because they taste thin at room temperature.