EP 30 Meet Derick Santiago: Mocktail Wiz

I am thrilled to welcome Derick Santiago of Mocktail Wiz to the podcast! 

Derick is a certified mixologist based in Southern California. He created Mocktail Wiz, an Instagram page and website dedicated to craft mocktails, non-alcoholic cocktail recipes, and mindful mixology techniques. He has worked as a mocktail recipe designer, photographer, and video creator with leading brands in the non-alcoholic beverage industry.

With his last drink on June 4th, 2022, Derek embarked on a new journey, and now, over a year later, he commemorated the anniversary of his Mocktail Wiz on Instagram.

Derick's Mocktail Wiz account on Instagram is a treasure trove of mocktail recipes, tips for navigating bars without an alcohol menu, and the heartwarming story of his mixology certification journey with A Bar Above.

Derick's transformation extends beyond his personal life and spills over into his social circles, where he's found a global community of like-minded individuals. He reveals how his transition from alcohol to mocktails led to deeper, meaningful connections and improved his social skills. Derick walks us through his Hibiscus Sunrise mocktail creation, which he presented for his final mixology exam.

Derick can be found on TikTok, Instagram & Facebook 

Thanks to Giesen 0% Wines for being our exclusive non-alcoholic wine sponsor!

Connect with Deb on Instagram: @Mocktail.Mom

• Grab a guide to help when dining out: Ordering Out Made Easy
• Join my wonderful membership community, Thriving Alcohol-Free: Mocktail Mom Membership
• Website: MocktailMom.com
• Celebrate your Authentic Freedom

You are loved. Big Time Cheers!

Transcript

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 0:01

Welcome, friends, and welcome to the Thriving Alcohol Free podcast. I'm your host, deb, otherwise known as Mocktail Mom, a retired wine drinker that finally got sick and tired of spinning on Life's Broken Record called Detox to Retox. Let this podcast be an encouragement to you. If alcohol is maybe a form of self-care for you or you find yourself dragging through the day waiting to pour another glass, I am excited to share with you the fun of discovering new things to drink when you aren't drinking and the joy of waking up each day without a hangover. It is an honor to serve as your sober, fun guide, so sit back and relax or keep doing whatever it is you're doing. This show is produced for you with love from the great state of Kentucky. Thanks so much for being here and big time cheers. Hey friends, it's Deb. Welcome to Thriving Alcohol Free.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 0:51

I am so excited I feel like I always say that, but I'm really so excited today because we have a Mocktail Rockstar in the house. Today I have Derek joining me in the studio. He is Mocktail. The Mocktail is no Mocktail is. That's your Instagram handle. Mocktail is on Instagram, so if you're not following him, please follow along. He makes the most delicious, sophisticated non-alcoholic drinks Mocktails, and I'm so excited to talk to you and get to know you. So how are you, derek?

Derick Santiago : 1:16

I'm doing good. Thank you so much, deb. It gave Mocktail. Mom, I can't believe I'm talking to you.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 1:22

Oh, I'm so happy to meet you. I'm so happy to meet you. It has been so fun to watch you just soar and shine and make so many fun drinks, and I can't wait to talk about your journey. I want to hear about your story about becoming alcohol free or being on an alcohol free journey, and how you enjoy sharing in the space that sound okay, yeah, yeah, and actually this is a special day for me and I'm so glad we're having this.

Derick Santiago : 1:48

This is actually the one year anniversary of Mocktail Viz.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 1:52

Oh, is it really. Yeah yeah, oh, happy one year birthday. Happy birthday to Mocktail.

Derick Santiago : 1:59

Viz. Yeah, yeah, thanks so much. But yeah, in terms of my alcohol free journey, I started a little bit over a month before I started Mocktail Viz, so my alcohol free date is June 4th. Okay, sorry, I'm going to repeat that. Okay, it's June 6th, actually June 6th, yeah, yeah, so this is my one year anniversary. And then, after a few like a month, a month and a little bit I started Mocktail Viz on.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 2:30

Instagram Mocktail Viz on Instagram and what inspired you to start sharing on Instagram.

Derick Santiago : 2:36

Yeah, so I guess I'll start with my sobriety journey. I didn't actually drink when I was in the Philippines. I grew up in the Philippines, born and raised there.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 2:46

Really.

Derick Santiago : 2:47

And then I moved to the United States in 2013. When I didn't really drink back home, it was just not a thing in my family, my mom didn't drink. And then, when I moved to the US, I was exposed to happy hours and I needed to train myself.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 3:02

Welcome to America. Yeah, it's like. I mean, how old were you when you came? How old were you?

Derick Santiago : 3:09

I was 26, 26 when I moved over, and so I had to kind of train myself to do happy hours, and I didn't know what to drink, so I had to learn that and then, you know, it started there. My exposure to alcohol is training for happy hours.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 3:27

I love that training for happy hours. Who?

Derick Santiago : 3:29

knew, yeah, I know. And then suddenly it started. I know exactly where it started, where I started using alcohol to kind of shut my mind out. I was assigned to a project. I do consulting. I'm a project manager for cloud technology. Oh really, I was assigned to this project and at the time I was young, I feel like the role was two levels above my level, and so I was just so stressed out and that's when I discovered that alcohol will actually shut your mind up, like I couldn't sleep. But when I drink wine straight to sleep and that was, I think, 10 years ago when I found that that, you know, alcohol helps shut my mind out, and so that's when it started. But I didn't really have any problem, or it wasn't really evident at that point To me. At that point alcohol just works so when I need it and I wasn't really dependent on it yet at that point.

Derick Santiago : 4:37

And so I think the moment when I started being dependent on it was after my mom passed away.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 4:47

So my mom passed away in 2020.

Derick Santiago : 4:49

Thank you, and it was a big, big blow, not just to me, but to my whole family. We were very close to my mom and that's when I couldn't moderate anymore, because I moderated before that for fitness purposes. Like I didn't want to waste the effort that I put in the gym and so I was moderating. But after my mom passed away, that's when things I went through. I think the technical term is effort, the effort, yeah yeah.

Derick Santiago : 5:24

Like my mom, I lost my mom, so that's fine, I'm just going to drink and you know I put limits for myself, but at that point I'm like you know what I deserve, this, and just to numb the grief, and that's so that happened. That went on for a couple of years, until 2022. Okay, and my mom's death anniversary is actually June 4th and the days leading up, or months leading up to that date are, I think, the hardest, especially around that time it's her birthday, is May 14, mother's day, and then death anniversary is just so hard. So I dread. I dread that moment every single year. But I think I've had enough of the anxiety and I think I was a little depressed. So June 4th was the death anniversary in 2022 and I had my last drink. That was a Saturday. I had my last drink on Sunday because it was all the weekend, yeah, so Monday was that's June 6th is when I started. You know what? Maybe I'll just go back to moderation, because now the big day is over, I'll just go back to moderation.

Derick Santiago : 6:47

And then that's when I discovered the book this Naked Mind. Really, and that's what helped me with my alcohol free journey. At first I was not believing that this will work, because I've heard people saying that oh, I read this book and I stopped drinking easy. I didn't believe that, but I just listened to it. And next thing you know, it was I survived. The Monday, and then Tuesday was a designated drinking day. That's part of my moderation effort. I follow you. Tuesday is date night, so I'm going to go drink, but I decided not to drink that Tuesday, and that meant a lot, though, and I didn't drink that day because I proved to myself that, oh, I can do this, I can do this, so I'll just skip drinking today. And the next thing you know, it was the weekend, and I do meal preps on the weekend, saturday.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 7:45

Do you yeah?

Derick Santiago : 7:46

And that's when I cook. And when I cook, I drink. And that's when the mocktail started.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 7:52

Really. So you were like okay, what can I do? What can I drink instead of so, were you a mixologist before? Like, were you making cocktails at home? Were you a bartender?

Derick Santiago : 8:02

I was not a bartender, but I took a mixology class. I lived in London for a little bit before Really, and I took a class there and that's what started it for me, and so I started mixing drinks for friends and family and I've been really into mixology. When that happened that was in 2016. Okay, so, yeah, I have a love for mixology.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 8:26

Mixology, yeah, and now to bring that to your alcohol-free journey. So that first weekend is when you start, when you were meal prepping, that's when you started making mocktails, is that right? Yeah, really, do you remember the first mocktail that you made, or the first one that got you excited?

Derick Santiago : 8:40

Yeah, actually, I think I commented on one of your videos because it was Spicy Mark, oh, which was the same one I made.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 8:47

Yeah, yes, okay. So we both had a Spicy Mark was the life-changing mocktail?

Derick Santiago : 8:52

Yes, Because I needed something, and this is common for the mocktails that I make in my Instagram. So I want my mocktails to have a kick, like something that, so you don't just guzzle it down.

Derick Santiago : 9:05

So, either it's spicy or it's bitter, like there's something in it. That's what I'm looking for. I love it. And so, yeah, that first weekend I was like I made it through to Saturday. Good for you, I'm not going to drink, but I need something. And so, and that's when I started, just Spicy Mark, no alcohol alternatives, just jalapeno, pineapple juice, the chili lime salt rim, yep.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 9:36

That's like the chili lime salt.

Derick Santiago : 9:38

Exactly, and that's great because, like the moment you try to like take a sip, you smell it also and then the first hit. So to me I was like that scratch the it, the itch, and but I kept it to myself. I just, you know, do I just continue doing this? So whenever I need a drink, I'll just do like a mocktail, and Spicy Mark's were go to in the beginning, love it. And then one weekend and this is in early July I I tried to create a reel on Instagram of me making a mocktail. Yeah, back then I didn't know like I've always done video editing before, but I've never used Instagram for that use, so I tried. I'm like what, what's this reels thing? That kids, these- days.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 10:25

What are the kids use? Yeah, the kids and the grandmoms.

Derick Santiago : 10:27

Yeah, yeah I dabbled in it and then, and then, so normal you know I don't have a lot of followers on my personal account Normal. And then the second one that I made it was a cucumber, elderflower or fresh or something like that Okay, and my sister said it's blowing up. You have like 5,000 views. And then I looked at it and there was like a lot of likes, et cetera.

Derick Santiago : 10:55

Great yeah. And so I was like, oh, people are into this, and so, like I discovered that I can convert my mixology into mocktail mixology and I just thought, maybe if I can share that with with people, that they would they, it could help them. You know, scratch the itch, because it did for me Same, and so that's when I started a separate account for mocktail wiz and Okay. And now we're a year in. It can't believe it.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 11:22

Okay, happy birthday to mocktail wiz. Thank you, I'm so happy that we're talking today. We didn't plan this, that it was going to be on this. You know I wanted to talk to you. I was like, okay, we have to talk during dry July. You know so many things. People are interested in mocktails obviously all the time, but especially like during these kind of special dry months and stuff. So, okay, now I'm like what was I going to ask you? I was going to ask you, okay. So when you first okay, so you made that spicy margarita without any alcohol free spirits, did you know there were alcohol free spirits that existed? Did you know about? Like I feel like I'm in this wonderland now, like I had no idea all the stuff existed, you know, a couple years ago.

Derick Santiago : 11:57

Yeah, I know of liars at the time because. I dabbled in dry January before Okay, but I discovered ritual tequila alternative for my local total wine and the the market the. The mocktail that I did without the alcohol alternative was good enough. You know, it's spicy, it's yummy.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 12:19

Yeah.

Derick Santiago : 12:20

But when I discovered that the ritual tequila and I added it, it added that smokiness and a little bit of agave flavors and I was like mind blown. Oh, I love it and it's also a little spicy, so it worked really well with the spicy marg. So that's when I discovered the wonderful world of spirit alternatives.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 12:41

Thank you. So many good things, yes, so many good things. Is there when you go to a restaurant? If there's not a mocktail on the menu, what do you like to ask the bartender to make?

Derick Santiago : 12:48

you, I might go to it. I know bartenders hate this.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 12:53

I want to hear. Yes, I want to hear. What is it, derek? Mojito A version mojito, yeah, okay, and how do you?

Derick Santiago : 13:00

have a make it so just simple syrup, lime and muddled mint, and then, some club soda.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 13:08

Okay, I was. I don't know if you like use Sprite or you ask them to use club soda or yeah, I know some people do. Sprite If they like. Maybe don't have some? Well, they'll obviously have simple syrup, but if they don't, use simple syrup, I guess that's great yeah, and are you able? To grow mint Like I have mint growing like crazy in my house right now.

Derick Santiago : 13:22

I don't. I'm jealous of you.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 13:24

Well, I kill everything, so that's a miracle. There's a miracle happening here.

Derick Santiago : 13:28

I'm the same, my basil, my basil is thriving, but Okay.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 13:31

Okay, my basil's dying. That's interesting. Okay, I'll send you some mint. You can send me some basil.

Derick Santiago : 13:37

Yeah, I would love that.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 13:38

We'll do a, we'll do an herb swap. Yeah, yeah. That would be kind of fun we could do like a seed, like swap seeds or whatever. Yeah, very fun. Okay, so what has been the best part about starting Mocktail Wiz and sharing on Instagram what's been fun for you?

Derick Santiago : 13:54

That I found my people.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 13:56

Oh. I feel the same way, and that's very special.

Derick Santiago : 13:58

I'm getting goosebumps.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 13:59

Oh.

Derick Santiago : 14:00

It's special because it's been a year and I'm talking to you. I'm able to connect to people from all over the world Same, yeah, because of Mocktail Wiz, and that's something I didn't expect to happen. Yeah, and I am my personality. I'm very shy. I know my partner would say that's not true, but it's. You know, I'm an introvert, so it kind of takes me a little bit to get going. Yeah, but it's funny how, the moment I went alcohol free, I became more outgoing when I thought before that alcohol would help loosen me up and be more confident, but actually I found that I'm more outgoing being alcohol free and also finding genuine connections that I actually remember, yeah. So, yeah, that's the one thing that my favorite part about Mocktail Wiz is that I found my people. I'm able to talk to people like you over the internet. Same, and also sometimes initially also, when I know some, something happened with the Instagram algorithm that I was getting a lot of views in the beginning and then it stopped, and so I was like, oh yeah, welcome to Instagram.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 15:13

Oh yeah, oh yeah, it's crazy town.

Derick Santiago : 15:17

It's crazy town, yeah. And then I stopped caring about that because I'm like this is not why I'm doing this, good, good for you. And I get reminded of why I'm doing this when they get messages from people saying that they've been looking for alternatives or I have my daughter sweating coming up and we're looking for recipes, or people just saying things that you know, somehow the Mocktails that I'm making have helped them, that this is why I'm doing it. That's right. And just again, finding that community people.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 15:49

That's right.

Derick Santiago : 15:50

And what I love about Silver ID is no matter how many days you have when you post it, people are cheering you on.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 15:57

Yeah, it's so true, it's so special. I totally agree. I totally agree and I like what you said too about because I think yet, like the algorithm or whatever, all that can really mess with your head. So it's like, forget all of that. You literally just I don't think you like I do. We all have to put our blinders on and the reason we're posting, the reason I'm sharing or the reason you're sharing, is to encourage others. There's good things to drink, the fund's not over, you know, and that's why we're doing this. And it's like to put those blinders on, keep out that noise of like comparing or whatever. It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. You know that is just stealing our joy of doing what we're doing.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 16:36

It's just stealing our joy, it's robbing it and it is so fun when we just forget it and we go. This is why I'm doing it For that one person who messages you to say your mocktails are making a difference. They are they are.

Derick Santiago : 16:49

Yeah, thank you. And sometimes it's awareness, too, that you know that, oh, I didn't know that tequila alternatives existed, and this has helped me, no matter what their journey is. Maybe it's for fitness purposes, or they're pregnant and like things I didn't know, but that you know. People have reached out to me like where were you when I was pregnant? Or I don't drink for religious reasons, and so this is helpful. So things that I didn't expect. I was just sharing recipes that I like. So, yeah, that's one of the things that I. That's my favorite. It's the community, yeah.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 17:24

It's the community and I love like it's just people, like there's just like you said, like you can post any you know. People are there to encourage, people are there to cheer. We're there to cheer each other on, not tearing each other down. It's just about, you know, encouraging one another on whatever our sober journeys are. Everybody has, you know, different programs, different whatever you know, different relationships with alcohol, but just cheering one another on. Yeah, it is a beautiful place, it is a beautiful place yeah.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 17:49

It's pretty rough, but the sober Graham, I think, is still pretty good. Yeah, okay, so you had taken a mixology class. Now you have. You done more mixology classes since then?

Derick Santiago : 18:00

Yeah, I actually just got my certification, oh okay, I'm a certified mixologist now, nice Congratulations, thank you, it's as via a bar above. I don't know if you've heard of them.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 18:11

They're awesome. Yeah, they are.

Derick Santiago : 18:13

Yes, the tools are great, but then they also have this, these courses, and one of them is a mixology certification that I took and finished because I want to learn more and, yeah, and it's good too for alcohol free people because it's online, so you can use your alternatives and they're not surrounded by because my my okay, is it really hard?

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 18:35

Is it hard class? I wasn't very good in school, like no it's very easy.

Derick Santiago : 18:38

Can I do this? Yeah, it's very easy. Yeah, Okay, so it's like like a beginner someone who's just wanting to learn could, could start, okay yeah. Okay, so it's a video format and then there's a quiz at the end of each, at each section, and then at the end you have an exam and then kind of like a practical assignment, where you build your own mocktail or cocktail. I just turned it into a mocktail and then submit it for review and then, if they like it, then you get the certificate.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 19:10

Oh, that's so cool. Okay, so like, the final exam is a drink.

Derick Santiago : 19:15

Yes, there is a written exam, and then you also need to submit a drink.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 19:19

What was the drink? Can you share what the drink was that you made?

Derick Santiago : 19:22

I'll be posting it later today actually.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 19:24

Oh, okay, for your birthday, for the Mocktail's birthday, yeah, exactly, okay, let's hear it.

Derick Santiago : 19:27

Here it's called a hibiscus sunrise, okay. So what I did was I infused a gen alternative with hibiscus tea for about an hour, so it has this nice floral flavor that goes well with the gin botanicals, okay. And then the color also is striking, pretty. And then I added lemon juice and ginger syrup for that bite, okay. And then a little bit of egg white, so it's a sour, oh. So it's pretty. It's well balanced, I think.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 19:57

Love it.

Derick Santiago : 19:58

Just delicious.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 19:59

I thought the fun would be over and I thought there was nothing good to drink if I wasn't pouring Chardonnay every evening. Maybe that's you. Maybe you're thinking the fun is over. Maybe you're thinking what on earth will I drink if I'm not drinking?

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 20:12

So join me and the members of Thriving Alcohol Free with Mocktail Mom. We are a community of like-minded women supporting one another. Not a sober program, just a place to connect and have a good time, to make some new friends that you can drink with. We have weekly happy half hours. We have daily connections, touch points where you can be supported wherever you are on your alcohol free journey. There is no shame, whether it's day one or day 1000 or you're just sober, curious and you want to see what would this be like if I wasn't drinking? What options are there? So join us at ThrivingAlcoholFreecom it's the direct website or you can go to MocktailMomcom and just click on membership and I'd love to share with you some more details, or reach out and we would love to be of support to you.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 20:56

Big time shares. What are your drinks? Your drinks are so pretty. They are so I mean your garnishes. Like you could just have a whole catalog of garnishes. You know I'll make a drink. I don't remember to put a garnish on you know whatever, but all I know is I'm not drinking and I'm having a good time you know.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 21:18

But, yes, okay, so that sounds like a delicious drink. I love that, even with like the. Before I became alcohol free, I think my first whiskey sour was maybe like a year ago, so probably a year or so into my alcohol free journey was the first time I had a sour and they are so good. But the sound of it like if you're not familiar, like why would you put egg white in a drink? But it's delicious.

Derick Santiago : 21:42

It is. It really adds to the texture. It has, like this velvety smooth finish. Initially too, I was like this is for a raw egg white yeah, scrambled eggs in my drink. Yeah, a tip that I would share is that if you're doing a sour and there's a citrus component to it usually so a lemon or a lime spray a little bit of the oil on top of the foam so that you don't smell the egg.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 22:09

Spray a little bit of the oil.

Derick Santiago : 22:11

Okay so Sadia, so you make the whole drink.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 22:13

Oh, spray a little bit of the peel.

Derick Santiago : 22:16

So you kind of like twist the peel on top of it so that the oil from the peel goes into the foam. So, that kind of masks. The egg smell.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 22:26

Okay, so it doesn't smell like you're at Denny's while you're drinking your mocktail.

Derick Santiago : 22:31

Yeah, so you get the citrus flavors, citrus aroma, instead of the egg white smell.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 22:37

Okay. So maybe take like the lemon peel and twist it a little bit and let those oils kind of squirt onto the drink. Is that the right way to describe it? Okay for everybody who's not watching us they're just listening. Yeah, yeah, Okay, that's a great tip. What other do you like? Some top tips for somebody maybe who's just starting to make mocktails?

Derick Santiago : 22:55

Yeah, have fun with it, yeah, same. And like, you're already breaking the rules of mixology because this we're not using alcohol, so you know you're already breaking the main ingredient, so might as well just have fun with it. And you know what you can do. And I think when I come up with my own recipe, if you have a favorite recipe, a classic cocktail recipe, you can just switch one ingredient and it will turn into another thing. A lot of the classics were born like that. True, you know. Switch, you know in a I can't think of an example, but you know switch the main, I'll turn the main spirit into something else and it turns into a new cocktail.

Derick Santiago : 23:39

But yeah, just have fun with it. Don't be scared, because I guess you're already breaking the rules by not putting real alcohol in it. That's the spicy marg recipe that we I made when I first started. It's just jalapenos, pineapple juice, lime juice and the chili lime salt. You know, switch pineapple juice for maybe watermelon juice and watermelon with tahin. That's really good.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 24:09

So good so good.

Derick Santiago : 24:11

Or cucumber juice. If you have a juicer, that will work too. Oh, yeah, yeah, you have a juicer. I do, yeah, a small one, okay.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 24:17

Okay, Okay. How about ice cubes? Do you use ice cubes Like, just from like like? I have a you know refrigerator with the ice cube maker on the door, or whatever. That's typical.

Derick Santiago : 24:25

I don't have a fancy ice maker, so I used to just use the ones from the refrigerator, just for ease of use and I think for home, for home mixology, that's good, that's good enough, that's what's available, and we want it to be easy. Now, when you're trying to start to dabble into making it look fancy, there are clear ice makers, which I didn't know how that works before, but I guess you need the ice to be insulated and then it has a hole so that the impurities go to the bottom. Interesting, so that it becomes clear. But so now that I have a mold for clear ice, it just looks so good it looks pretty, doesn't it look pretty?

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 25:07

We got one of those. My husband had like a gift card to a bourbon shop here, because we're in Kentucky so it's bourbon everywhere. But um, and he was like, what do you want me to get? And I'm like, why don't you want any bourbon? So he got me this like ice mold thing and we've used it in the like it's the big, huge ball, you know, or yeah, that you put in like for you know just whisk or something. And um, it's so beautiful. I never like. I was like, why would you have one of these ice ice things? It's really fun to have and it's so pretty to have that clean, clear ice like clear. Yeah, it's fun to party too.

Derick Santiago : 25:39

We've had a Cinco de Mayo this year. We had some alcohol free friends over also. So these are our people, right. People would appreciate not having alcohol and I wowed them with clear ice and I was like it's nothing special, it's just a mold.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 25:56

but they were like oh amazing. But okay, now I will say I left the mold in the freezer for like three days, which then I could, we couldn't get the thing out. So I guess you're really supposed to like put it in there for a certain amount of time, take it out. You can't just leave it in there like forever, yeah.

Derick Santiago : 26:11

I did find a brand where I forgot that it's in the freezer, but this brand you can take it out pretty easily. Oh really.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 26:20

Even like days later.

Derick Santiago : 26:22

Yeah, like I forgot it for three days. That's what I need. Yeah, I'll send you, because I forget everything. Yeah.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 26:29

Yeah, do you make? Okay, so I recently made garnishes. So we had like some old limes and lemons, you know, they just weren't looking beautiful or whatever. So we chopped those, sliced them up, put them on a baking sheet with some parchment paper, we put them in the oven for, like I want to say it was like four hours on 200. So it was like, but they got, I of course forgot, so I left them in there. They were like way crispy. But do you make? Do you make some of those kind of garnishes or what's your garnish inspiration?

Derick Santiago : 26:56

The dehydrated ones. I bought some from a shop before and they kind of last long.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 27:02

Yeah, they're pretty.

Derick Santiago : 27:03

I still have some of them, but I saw your video and I've been wanting to do it and bake it, but it was just like four hours.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 27:11

I will forget that, yours don't look much better than mine. I can't wait to see yours, but yeah.

Derick Santiago : 27:16

I haven't tried it, but I'm wanting to because I'm about to run out. But I like to keep those handy, the dehydrated ones, because they don't, they're just there, they. You can just grab them. Sometimes you don't have lemons Sometimes you don't have limes and also in California citrus. I'm in Orange County. You would think that it's cheap here.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 27:37

But because we're a lot of.

Derick Santiago : 27:38

Oh yeah, lemons and limes, limes especially. They're very expensive.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 27:43

So yeah, by sparingly. Everything's expensive. Yeah, I was at the grocery store. I think I had five things. It was like $60. I'm like what is going on, Like what has happened, you know, like the grapes, she's like $7 and something. I'm like what? Okay, kids, we're not eating grapes. No one is having grapes in this house ever again. I love it.

Derick Santiago : 28:03

Yeah, everything is expensive, everything is expensive.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 28:06

Okay, let's see. I just want to make sure. Okay, Do you have? I feel bad even asking like, do you have a favorite? Do you have an alcoholic, like beer or alcohol free wine, or like maybe some of your favorites? You don't have to say because we have. I feel like both of us, we have a lot of favorites.

Derick Santiago : 28:20

Yeah, we have a lot of favorites, but what got me started with, when I was like that first week of moderation that I was telling you about, was athletic brewing, easy IPA Okay, because I was an IPA guy, that's my beer choice. So what I did before to make it more fun and exciting was I had leftover clementines Okay. I sliced those up into wheels like the circles and put them in the freezer Okay, and then whenever I would crack open a can of athletic brewing hazy IPA, I would put the frozen clementine to make it a little bit more colder and also to have a little bit of orange flavor into it.

Derick Santiago : 29:01

I love that. Yeah, so that's my favorite, but also high-nit and zero, just because it's so easy.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 29:07

Easy, yeah, it's everywhere, can find it everywhere. It's good, yeah, and you can find it. I feel like that way with like Giesen, like their 70-year block. I feel like I can find it like a total wine or Whole Foods or online, but yeah, like even Heineken. I mean, it's in restaurants, you know, which is wonderful, yeah, yeah. How about the wines? Do you like the?

Derick Santiago : 29:28

alcohol-free wines or not so much so. I used to be a red wine drinker. I was a white wine drinker, but I recently found Naughty Rouge Excellent. What was the best one that I? Because the red wine is really hard to make, just because the texture there's no bubbles to hide, you know to hide with, but Naughty Rouge it's good. I don't know if you've heard of Ariel Yep, they have it in my Total Wine.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 29:57

I was going to say it's a Total Wine. Yeah, I've had it from Total Wine. Yeah, I like that.

Derick Santiago : 30:00

I think I might have a bottle here, that's a very nice, it's a good one and it's only like seven or eight dollars. It's not expensive at all, I only have one bottle in my house. And then for the sparkling wines I like Free the sparkling Brut and Rosé. Their sparkling Brut is really nice. Yeah, I know people sometimes say it's too sugary, but it tastes really close to the real thing I would say I think so.

Derick Santiago : 30:30

And also it's just available in grocery stores and in Albertsons and Rolps, so that's my go-to for the sparkling wine.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 30:37

It's nice to have some go-tos, some ones that you know like, okay, I can count on. For me it helps me surf the urge, helps me like, okay, you were saying you would drink when you were cooking or when you're meal prepping, and for me I was drinking when I was microwaving dinner for my family. We couldn't be more different, derek. I love it. But life is good and we are sober and we are very grateful.

Derick Santiago : 31:04

Yes, yeah, and I like that too about being sober is if I don't drink in a day, that's already an achievement, a huge win. Yeah, it is a huge win.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 31:15

Yeah, okay, and I'm so excited I saw that you have a mocktail book coming out, so it's coming out just in time for Dry January 2024, which is very exciting. Yes, so, yes, okay. So tell me about writing your book and then, before we close, I want people to know where to find your book and where to find you.

Derick Santiago : 31:33

Yeah, thank you for letting me share about that. I just announced it last Sunday. Congratulations, yeah, thank you. I still can't believe it's actually happening. The book is called the Mocktail Club and it's a collection of 75 recipes.

Derick Santiago : 31:50

The good thing about this book and this was my one question to the publisher before I said yes is can I use my spirit alternatives? Great. I've seen mocktail recipe books where they don't use the alternatives and to me, if I can't use those, I don't think I can do it because I feel like the rise of alcohol, alternatives really make a difference in mocktails now Totally. So we can make mocktails of the past the thing of the past and kind of reclaim the word mocktail by using these alternatives, because that's how I think how you can get really close to the real thing is by using those.

Derick Santiago : 32:27

So the book will have recipes that are specific, that are using one alternative at a time. So there's a section for Virginia, for Tequila, for Rum, whiskey. There's also a wine section, and then there's also a section for where you don't need anything, just regular ingredients, and I made sure that they're easy to follow and that you can buy the ingredients from your grocery stores or online. So that's that was my goal was to make it easy, because it doesn't need to be complicated. We want easy, delicious mocktail recipes.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 33:03

Yep, simple, good, yeah, yeah, and reclaiming although, what you said reclaiming mocktails, reclaiming the word mocktails, yeah, cause people think, oh, shirley Temple, oh, it's just juice, you know, but yeah, I love that, yeah, yeah. I think, yeah, one, one post at a time. You and I are reclaiming the word mocktails. Yes, that's why I really like your handle Mocktail Mom.

Derick Santiago : 33:24

I'm like, yeah, we want to reclaim this word because you know, it doesn't have to mean juices anymore. You can be very creative and, you know, give it the same level of care that you would in a cocktail.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 33:37

Yeah, yeah, and your, your mocktails are very elevated. Elevated but at the same time not complicated. You know they're not. It's not like oh okay, I have to have a mixology degree to understand this like an accessible ingredients, things you can find in a grocery store, which is so important. Yeah, I mean, not everybody wants to become a mixologist. They just maybe want something that tastes delicious. Yeah, it looks pretty, yep, but it's helping them maybe not have alcohol, whether it's for that night or for a challenge or for a lifetime.

Derick Santiago : 34:04

So yeah, the Mocktail Club is going to be released. They said spring of 2024. But if you pre-order, it's actually out to for pre-orders. Now you can pre-order from Amazon, barnes, noble and other websites.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 34:19

So I'm really excited.

Derick Santiago : 34:20

Congratulations, I'm so happy for you, I'm so sending you a copy.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 34:23

Yes, when will I get my copy?

Derick Santiago : 34:25

I want a signed copy please. Yeah, as soon as I get some copies they'll.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 34:30

They'll send you some copies. They will, yeah Good, oh my gosh, I'm very excited. I'm so happy for you. Happy birthday to Mocktail Wiz and congratulations to you on a year plus alcohol free. Thank you, I know your mom is so proud of you. Thank you, my congratulations.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 34:47

Your Mocktail mom is proud of you. Your mom, oh, that's your mom. Oh, I know she's so proud of you and I've lost both of my parents as well and it is very hard to you know we're both adults, right, and I mean I'm 51 and you know careers and stuff, and it's like we still need our moms. Yes, and so your mom did a wonderful job raising you and I'm just so, so grateful to have you as a friend and an encourager in the Instagram sober community.

Derick Santiago : 35:16

So thank you, and thank you for saying that Mocktail mom is proud of you. That means a lot to me. Thank you, deb, I appreciate it.

Deb Podlogar | Mocktail Mom : 35:24

Big time cheers to you, derek. Really, really, really happy to have you here today. This was a really special episode, so thank you so much for sharing your journey. Yeah, thank you so much. Big time cheers to you for tuning in to the Thriving Alcohol Free Podcast. I hope you will take something from today's episode and make one small change that will help you to thrive and have fun in life without alcohol. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, host about it on social, send up a flare or leave a rating and a review. I am cheering for you as you discover the world of non-alcoholic drinks and as you journey towards authentic freedom. See you in the next episode.