To those of you who read my blog- I know, I’ve already written about Raduno, but some things require more attention.  Which is why when Bo Bennett, General Manager and resident mocktail wizard at Raduno asked me to taste-test what he was creating for summer I had to say,” Yes”.   If you haven’t had a mocktail at Raduno, what makes their drinks so special is the care that goes into the combining of ingredients.   It all starts with the base of each drink, freshly juiced fruits, veggies, and herbs.  All that lusciousness is then added to cocktail mixers that dance together on your tongue in joyous harmony.  Bo’s absolute passion for the garden and combining the freshest of flavors are the key to what makes me come back for more.

The Summer Mocktail menu will still contain the standards – the Cucumber Limonata, which up to now has been my favorite and the For your health (an incredibly close second).  Both drinks are for sure fabulously tasty.  The freshly juiced cucumber and lemon flavors are light and slightly effervescent.  The For Your Health is also delicious with its herby essence and floral finish.  But I was there to taste the new kid on the block, the Cherry Basil Tonic.  To begin, it is a beautiful drink served in a cut-glass rocks glass garnished with fresh basil and lemon slice.  It resembles a sunrise with a pink hue settled at the bottom of the glass that graduates up into translucence.  Bo used Pink House Alchemy dark cherry grenadine with fresh basil as a base and finished with tonic water to create something that at first sip brought me back to the days of sitting on Columbus avenue in NYC people watching and sipping on vodka tonics.  My mouth immediately started to water from the astringent tonic flavor.  The underlying hint of cherry and basil flavors round out the drink perfectly.  This mocktail is a definite go-to summer sipper.

If you’re wondering why the encore at Raduno my answer is this; menus change and I want to keep you up-to-date with what’s out there.  True to my mission of “discovering the best mocktails in Little Rock and beyond”, I have reported on what I’ve found.  Which is also why I am repeating myself, there are very few mocktail offerings in Little Rock.  This leads me to my new mission: A Mocktail for Every Menu.

Read about it in my next installment on mocktailmo.blog