Calming Herbal Nightcap Mocktail to Mix Before Bed

Whether you’re looking to replace your end-of-the-day cocktail, relax before bed, or want something new to add to your tea, this non-alcoholic mocktail syrup base will do the trick. Delicious and all-natural, take a sip of this nightcap mocktail and feel your troubles melt away.

The following is an excerpt from Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals, Volume 4 by Jill Stansbury. It has been adapted for the web.

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RECIPE: Herbal Nightcap Mocktail

The combination of coriander, jujube dates, lavender, and lemon balm has a calming effect and can improve sleep.¹

This recipe is aimed at producing a palatable syrup that can be the base of an alcohol-free drink or added to hot chamomile tea to be taken before bed.

For those who are in the habit of relying on after-work cocktails to blow off steam, prepare this drink as a “mocktail,” placing in a martini glass or wineglass and employing a fruit garnish if desired, to psychologically match the celebratory feel.

Nightcap Mocktail Syrup

Syrups rely on sugar to create a shelf-stable herbal product, as well as to thicken the liquid. Sugar is not ideal, so this recipe relies on the sweet qualities of the pectin-rich jubube dates and a bit of xylitol to reduce the sugar needed.

Because just a tablespoon or two of the syrup is used in each serving, the quantity of sucrose is minimal. Herb gardeners may want to prepare this syrup using fresh lemon balm and lavender in the summer to make good use of the bounty, and store to enjoy through the year, or to make as special gifts.

You don’t have to suffer from addictions or anxiety to enjoy this soothing beverage.

Ingredients

• 10 Coriandrum sativum whole pods, outer husk removed
• 20 Ziziphus jujuba whole dates, pitted
• 2 tablespoons Lavandula angustifolia flowers
• 2 tablespoons Melissa officinalis leaves
• 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) xylitol
• 1⁄4 teaspoon xanthan gum

Procedure

1. Place the Coriandrum pods, pitted jubube dates, and dried or fresh Lavandula and Melissa in a blender.
2. Cover with hot water and blend on high speed for several minutes.
3. Let stand for an hour or more and then strain through a jelly bag, reserving the liquid.
4. Place the xylitol, xanthan gum, and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan and dissolve over low heat. Add the strained liquid from the blended herbs and gently stir to combine.
5. Remove from the heat.
6. The xanthan gum will thicken the liquid as the mixture cools. Transfer to storage bottles.

When serving, use 1 to 2 tablespoons in the bottom of a teacup and top with chamomile tea as a nighttime beverage. Or prepare a mocktail using a wedge of lemon or lime squeezed into the glass, add a splash of grape or pomegranate juice, 1 to 2 –tablespoons of the calming syrup, and top with sparkling water.

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Notes

1. Valiollah Hajhashemi and Azadeh Safaei, “Hypnotic Effect of Coriandrum sativum, Ziziphus jujuba, Lavandula angustifolia and Melissa officinalis Extracts in Mice,” Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences 10, no. 6 (2015): 477–84, https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper /Hypnotic-effect-of-Coriandrum-sativum%2C-Ziziphus -and-Hajhashemi-Safaei/05a1faa213feda79b79f7849feed 6c254bc02a4e.

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