NA Penicillin

A zero-proof riff on the modern classic Penicillin — NA whiskey, honey-ginger syrup, and fresh lemon for a complex, layered mocktail.

The NA Penicillin is a non-alcoholic adaptation of Sam Ross's landmark 2005 cocktail created at Milk & Honey on Eldridge Street in New York City — one of the most celebrated modern cocktail creations and one of the fastest recipes to achieve classic status in the documented history of the craft cocktail movement. Ross built the Penicillin on a split-base of blended Scotch and Islay single malt Scotch (for the smoky float), combined with fresh lemon juice, honey-ginger syrup, and the candied ginger garnish that is now considered essential to the drink's identity. The combination of sweetness from honey, spice from ginger, acid from lemon, and smoke from Islay Scotch created a sour of unusual complexity whose four flavor registers — sweet, spicy, tart, smoky — are each distinct and each essential. The non-alcoholic version gained significant traction from the mid-2020s onward as NA whiskey alternatives improved sufficiently to provide the grain and barrel notes that the Scotch contributes, and as smoked salt, smoked tea, or NA Scotch alternatives began to approximate the Islay float's role. The honey-ginger syrup and lemon juice elements translate perfectly without modification, as do the format's proportions. The NA Penicillin appears on the menus of dedicated non-alcoholic cocktail bars and is regularly cited as one of the most satisfying NA adaptations of a contemporary classic.