More Than 300 Students Turn Out for AU Law School’s Zero-Proof Cocktail Event
November 21, 2023
From left to right: Associate Dean of Student Affairs David Jaffe, Professor Angi Porter, guest judge Gigi Arandid, Professor Christine Farley, and Dean Roger Fairfax.
Given the popularity of its first “Cocktails With a Twist” last February, American University Washington College of Law brought back its mocktail reception on November 17, featuring nonalcoholic beverages designed and prepared by faculty and staff.
The event, which provides students an opportunity to interact socially in an alcohol-free environment, attracted more than 300 people, a strong indicator of the student body’s continuing interest in sober socialization.
“We want to remind students that you don’t have to be drinking to have a good time,” said David Jaffe, associate dean of student affairs. “People choose not to drink for all kinds of reasons, not just sobriety. Some individuals are in training, where the consumption of alcohol would be counterintuitive, and we have individuals who are in remission from cancer, where the consumption of alcohol can cause complications. It’s also the end of November, and we want students to relax … before they head into final exams.”
The mixologists at the event were composed mostly of law school faculty, with Gigi Arandid, owner of Binge Bar, the District’s first entirely nonalcoholic bar, serving as celebrity judge.
Snagging the top prize was the mocktail The Remedy (scroll down for recipe) by professors Christine Farley and Angi Porter. Farley and Porter also poured their Contort Cocktail, a mock margarita so called because the former is a contracts professor, while the latter teaches torts.
Professors Jamie Abrams, Elizabeth Beske, and David Snyder served Res Spritza Loquitor, which they hinted would carry the drinker away to an imagined beach in the Italian Riviera. Professors Janie Chuang and Brandon Weiss leaned into local seasonal moods with their drink, Apple Jus Cogens, an apple cider-based beverage with a mock rum kick that, since neither professor drinks alcohol, was internet-researched and taste-tested by their partners. Their beverage may have split its vote with Dark & Stormy: A Climactic Rum-ination, produced by professors Lewis Grossman and Thomas Williams and sharing a similar list of ingredients.
Informal polling found popular support for Tequila Mockingbird, a spicy zero-proof Bloody Mary carefully crafted by career counselor Jae Bang along with professors Paul Figley and Ira Robbins, who said he couldn’t enjoy his own drink on account of its sizzle.
Attractive Nuisance, mixed by advisors Sarah Peck, Dominic Del Corso, and Michael Levine, was this writer’s personal pick. The mock whiskey mule’s ginger beer base played nicely with the drink’s smokey, zero-proof whiskey for a simple but satisfying beverage.
A live singer, nattily dressed in a dark suit with a lavender pocket square, regaled attendees with a broad range of popular tunes, leading groups of students to dance or, during a rendition of Sweet Caroline, join in with choral responses and pumped fists. The vocalist was later revealed to be Keith Pierce, the school’s director of strategic communications and marketing. Pierce volunteered his services entertaining students, though Jaffe said he wasn’t aware that Pierce was such an accomplished performer.
The Remedy
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. zero-proof gin alternative
- 2 oz. spiced apple cider
- 1 ½ oz. ginger beer
- 1 oz. lemon juice
- nutmeg
- rosemary sprig
Steps
- Add zero-proof gin, cider, and lemon juice to a shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled.
- Pour mixture over ginger beer in a rocks glass with fresh ice.
- Garnish with a sprig of freshly cut rosemary and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
