The Mezcal Bee (left) and the Bourbon Blueberry Smash (right).

The waitress shared this small menu of Spirit Free Cocktails for us to peruse. This is a far more expansive and impressive list of n.a. options than most other restaurants we’ve visited.

The Lavender Collins (left) and the Maple Old Fashioned (right).

For my birthday, we made the scenic drive to one of my favorite restaurants: Shore on Longboat Key. We have many happy memories here, dining with out-of-town friends, toasting celebrations and achievements, and quiet lunches staring out at the pale blue-green waters of Sarasota Bay.

We noticed pretty quickly the new dinner menu had a quick note to “ask about our new spirit-free cocktails”. Our waitress was kind enough to let us take a photo of a small notecard she had in her apron. I was delighted to see a wide variety of options made using some of my go-to brands such as Monday, Ritual, and Spiritfree Kentucky 74.

All of the drinks on the new “spirit-free cocktails” list are $14 – quite comparable to prices for traditional cocktails on their menu.

We started with the Mezcal Bee and the Bourbon Blueberry Smash. The Mezcal Bee was quite strong and sour, but still enjoyable for my bitter palate. The Bourbon Blueberry Smash was sweet and mellow, but still gave you that feel of a handcrafted cocktail. For our second round, I ordered the Lavender Collins (which was not served in a collins glass for some reason?) but was lovely. If you like lavender, this is the one to get. My husband ordered the Maple Old Fashioned, and he admitted it was missing something, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. I think it needed a smoked glass or a little punch of n.a. bitters, but that’s just me.

Overall, I think this is a great lineup, and definitely worth a taste if you’re in town. I give major kudos to Shore for diving head-first and leading the way in offering n.a. options; particularly given our smaller market. This experience gave me hope that more restaurants are taking notice and making changes.