Southside Sips: Fresno’s Betelgeuse (hold the alcohol)

It’s root veg season, people! Just ask our friends over at Amber Waves, Halsey Farms, Balsam Farms, Serene Green, Marilee’s Farmstand… name your fave farm, they’ve got beets in all colors and shapes.

For our purposes here, we’re going straight-up red, and so is Fresno. Sure, the East Hampton eatery is known for making great cocktails, but their drinks menu is also taking a sincere dip into the non-alcoholic category. Call them mocktails, call them cocktails without alcohol — whatever you like. But thoughtfully made drinks that kick the booze to the curb have gone far and beyond non-imbibers. Sometimes, even those who do just… don’t want to. And why should they be relegated to seltzer, seltzer, seltzer?

They shouldn’t, and at Fresno, they definitely aren’t. They were kind enough to pass their recipe for this super delicious (and, might be say, veering on the healthful side of things) Betelgeuse. Created by beverage director Quinton Burke, it combines fresh beet juice, a bit of pomegranate juice, some zesty lime juice, a hit of honey and some non-alcoholic grapefruit “liqueur.” It’s like a un-heady version of a Paloma, but with more layers of flavor in the mix.

Try one (or any of their excellent non-alcoholic cocktails) next time you visit Fresno, or… mix up a batch at home. We’re pretty sure you’ll want more than one.