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When Carla Lorenzo was pregnant, she grew bored of the non-alcoholic options on offer. There was only so much juice and soda she could drink. “It sometimes made me feel left out,” she says. And as the corporate beverage director for restaurant group Noble 33, she wanted to provide her patrons with more inclusive mocktails.

Noble 33 is behind the chic new restaurant Casa Madera at 1 Hotel Toronto, which serves up Mexican- and Mediterranean-inspired dishes — and boasts an assortment of Lorenzo’s virgin and low-proof cocktails. “The challenge when creating zero-proof cocktails is developing a drink that’s balanced and elevated without the taste of alcohol. While I have years of experience creating cocktails and homing in on what makes a perfect drink, it wasn’t until recently that we began seeing a surge in demand for non-alcoholic options,” she says.

“Working with a nearly blank slate, I was pushed outside of my comfort zone, but took it in stride because I was excited to explore new techniques and flavours.”

Some of the delicious ingredients in her non-alcoholic beverages at Casa Madera include the aloe and purple corn of the Origenes, and the prickly pear and epazote herb that enlivens the Estrillita. Lorenzo loves making agave cocktails, and one of her standouts is the pretty, booze-free La Fuente. “I wanted to make a cocktail that was fresh, light, and reminded you of being on vacation by the ocean.”

Looking for a little escape? Here, Lorenzo shares the recipe.

1. Combine blue spirulina with agave syrup; stir

1. Boil water, cinnamon sticks and anise pods

2. Slowly add cane sugar until fully dissolved. Let simmer for 30 minutes

3. Let cool, then strain out cinnamon and star anise

1. Combine Seedlip Grove, coconut water, lime juice, 1/2 oz blue spirulina agave syrup and 1/2 oz spiced demerara syrup in small tin

2. Shake and double-strain into glass

(Meet the Parkdale couple creating a virgin cocktail empire with Temperance Tonics.)

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