Hot Drops | Patreon Exclusive (Patreon)

One of the missing links in low and no-alcohol beverages is the sensation from alcohol, the burn or heat as it is often called. Back in the early 1800s, a product nicknamed Hot Drops was added to root beer to give it some kick. Hot Drops was actually No.6 Rheumatic Drops which was a simple mixture of myrrh, cayenne pepper and alcohol and was dosed at a low level, usually a teaspoon to give a drink some bite.  In this video I will show you how to make the original formula for Hot Drops and in future videos I will be adding it some root beer recipes to see whether it makes an improvement.

Obviously, adding a small amount of alcohol can make this drink non-alcoholic, but a teaspoon in a 12 oz (355 mL) beverage gives an abv of 0.73% which is non-alcoholic in most of Europe, but not so in North America. The solution to this is to use more hot pepper powder (twice the amount, so 4.4 grams) and then dose the Hot Drops at 1/2 teaspoon. This gives an ABV of 0.36, which is considered non-alcoholic.