Serving Up Mocktails With Jarhn Blutstein

It comes as no surprise that private mixologist Jarhn Blutstein is constantly daydreaming about new craft cocktails — the balance of acidity, a touch of sweetness and an interesting flavor, and how to best achieve it.

But what may raise eyebrows is that they’re often missing the chief ingredient: alcohol.

Mocktails, or nonalcoholic mixed drinks, have dotted bar and restaurant menus for decades, but it is only recently that they have become a staple on them — surging in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, but also due to a rise in wellness trends and sobriety awareness.

And thanks to increasing ingenuity from bartenders, nonalcoholic drinks have created a more inclusive and often healthier environment for mocktail and cocktail aficionados alike.

“It’s just something always to keep in mind when you’re entertaining, that there are people who don’t want to hit it so hard all the time, or just don’t drink in general,” Blutstein said. “It’s really nice to be thoughtful and think about everyone that you’re entertaining and having over — and that’s one way to do it, is always by offering something nonalcoholic.”

When designing a cocktail menu for her clients, Blutstein — who founded East End Mixology in 2021 after working as beverage director at Gurney’s Montauk and Gurney’s Star Island Resorts — said that some still see a mocktail as an added bonus. But for her and her husband, chef Jeremy Blutstein, it’s a way of life.

“It’s always in the forefront of my mind just because my husband doesn’t drink and he does kind of get left out sometimes when we’re at parties,” she said. “A few of my friends do think of him a lot and they’ll bring in some canned mocktail beverages when we’re coming over for dinner.

“Because I live with someone who doesn’t partake in alcohol, it’s nice to make them feel like they can have an elevated beverage, as well,” she continued, “and not just be having your traditional club soda, or just fruit juice.”

At home in Springs, the St. Agrestis Phony Negroni is a year-round staple in the couple’s refrigerator, Blutstein said, but behind her bar, whether it’s a cocktail or mocktail, she first considers seasonality and the theme of any given event. Last summer, one of her favorites was an end-of-summer party — and the theme was tomatoes.

So, she stocked up on tomatoes from Balsam Farms and dove headfirst into the challenge — going so far as to dehydrate slices for garnish.

“For the last few years, agave spirits and tequila are really the trend, and less sugar — so working with fresh juices, less additives, minimal ingredients and making them super fresh,” she said. “The margarita-style cocktail is the number-one requested when I do private parties.”

Without the alcohol component to balance it out, the biggest challenge in blueprinting a new mocktail is to avoid making it too sugary, Blutstein said, which is a common trap.

“A lot of the times, pre five, 10 years ago, a mocktail was just fruit punch — whatever juices the bartender had behind the bar, like pineapple, orange, cranberry,” she said. “They’d mix that up for someone who was pregnant or chose not to drink, and it’s just like this sugar bomb. That’s not really the palate, especially the American palate, anymore.”

At Mavericks in Montauk, where Jeremy Blutstein is partner and executive chef, his wife crafted two mocktails for the menu — the Basic Beach, which is a sparkling watermelon and mint drink made with Yuzu Lime Fever Tree Soda, and Pour Decisions, also known as a cucumber lime Rickey.

For private summer parties, Blutstein’s watermelon fresca — comprising fresh watermelon juice, elderflower cordial, club soda and mint — is a crowd favorite, she said. She also leans on Lyre’s nonalcoholic spirits to make an Aperol spritz-style mocktail or negroni. The reddish Aperitif Rosso is perfect for this, she said, mixed with grapefruit club soda and regular club soda, poured into a wine glass and topped with a dehydrated orange.

“Everybody loves spritzes. They’re so pretty,” she said. “It feels a little more fun for the Hamptons when everyone is drinking a spritz.”

Dehydrated garnishes are an easy way to elevate any beverage, too, Blutstein said, and she does it right at home. “Even when I’m just entertaining in my house, I have girlfriends over or people for dinner, I throw my dehydrated garnishes into my drinks and they’re like, ‘Wow!’” she said with a laugh.

Edible flowers are also a colorful alternative — she picks them by hand from Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett and loves the pansies she gets from Balsam Farms — as well as custom cubes from Next Level Ice Company in Southampton. The Rosé Rock fits a wine glass, while the tall and slim Queen Spear is perfect in a highball glass. And they can be custom stamped, as well, with logos, initials and more.

“Putting those into the regular cocktails and mocktails just adds that extra visual beautiful aspect that you’re like, ‘Wow, it looks great and it tastes great,’” Blutstein said of the garnishes, “and I feel like I can enjoy myself in a social setting a little bit more and not be like concerned that I’m just having a sugar bomb and everyone else is having a really fun, spirited cocktail.”

After all, at the end of an evening out, it isn’t uncommon for Blutstein to have a nonalcoholic negroni herself, she said.

“That way I’m not overdoing it,” she said. “It’s not just for the people who don’t drink, but maybe to help pace your night a little bit more since, you know, summer nights can be long out here.”