Detox January Mocktails: The Bul

Cuban bul mocktail

Yes, it's Detox January, but that doesn't mean we have forsaken Cocktail Hour in the casa de Ninj.

We've just turned it into Mocktail Hour.

The first week, we drank these spicy, amazing virgin Bloody Marys (hey, if I can increase my veggie intake by drinking them, sign me up).

This week, I remembered a refreshing drink made with beer and ginger ale that we used to drink during the summer when we lived in California. And that made me remember my Detox January secret weapon from years past.

Near beer.

Now, now, stop making those ugly retching noises. Non-alcoholic beers are much improved since the 1980s; even the makers of Guinness have gotten in on the no-alcohol malt beverage game. No, they are not going to please a true beer connoisseur, but I doubt a beer connoisseur would be contemplating mixing beer with ginger ale either, so it's all good.

This mocktail is called a bul (pronounced "bool", even though we jokingly pronounce it "byool", in honor of our friend Rob who used to drink them with us and who also owns a Buell motorcycle) and is Cuban in origin. The traditional recipe is simple: combine one 12-ounce bottle of pale ale or light beer with one 12-ounce can of ginger ale, add 1.5 ounces lime juice (fresh is best but bottled works in a pinch), stir and serve. It's crazily refreshing and light, with just a hint of limey tang.

For our mocktail version, I used near beer (O'Doul's, to be specific) and diet ginger ale. Given that the ginger ale and the lime juice contain no calories, each bul is only ... wait for it ... 35 calories.

SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR.

Yes, 35-calorie mocktail hour.

I may never drink a gimlet again. Even in Retox February.

Do you have a favorite drink that I could turn into a mocktail? The Ninj wants to know.