Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.(Photo: No More Cafe)
Between Dry January and Sober October, the hunt for non-alcoholic spirits and so-called mocktails has pervaded much of the bartending world over the past few years.
Nowhere is this shift in habits more apparent than at No More Cafe. Opened in April 2024, the self-proclaimed "zero-proof cocktail bar" has the vibe of a brightly lit alchemist's shop. Bottles of herbs, spices, compounds and tinctures line the walls, wafting through the air with thick aromas of juniper and citrus pith. This is because — unlike other boozeless bars in the city — everything is made in-house.
We sat down with founder Rodrigo Nogueira to understand what makes the concept tick.
Nogueira, a career chef and bartender, is quick to remind us that mocktails are ubiquitous in the modern mixology scene. From the dive bar to the Bib Gourmand hideaway, it feels like everyone is fleshing out their non-alcoholic offerings. More often than not, this means buying a variety of tequila, gin and whiskey alternatives that can be stirred into boozeless, dubiously recreated twists on the margarita, Negroni, Old Fashioned and what have you.
None of these cocktail names are found on the No More Cafe menu. Instead, the list includes whimsical concoctions like the "Agave Phantom" and "Olive Mirage," on-the-nose nods to fan-favorite drinks left with enough wiggle room to occupy their own lanes.
Nogueira spends hours, sometimes days, developing his recipes from scratch. Botanicals are toasted with a blowtorch and combined with a medley of vinegars and caramels. A bubbling circulator slow cooks the cheese cloth-wrapped ingredients for much of the afternoon. Even the bitters are made by hand.
The tireless work prods at an obvious question — who exactly is paying $14 for a non-alcoholic drink? And perhaps more importantly, why?
Location is everything for a venue that's as much concept as it is cocktail. Tucked away on 13th Street and 1st Ave, No More Cafe finds itself smack dab in the middle of Manhattan's trendy East Village. Walk around the corner, and you'll stumble upon one of the city's hottest thrift store strips, a go-to locale for youngsters fond of pairing bleached jean jackets with '80s throwback sweatpants. A few blocks south of that is St. Marks Place, a Frankenstein mishmash of bars, eateries and smokeshops that feed directly into the nearby New York University's nightlife scene. Union Square, Stuyvesant Square and Tompkins Square Park are all minutes away. If anyone's going to be drinking mocktails, there's a good chance they already live within a stone's throw of No More Cafe.
If you're interested in taking a peek behind the scenes, find our full interview with Rodrigo Nogueira below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciVUaNPOy4E
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