All the depth and bitter character of an old fashioned, but without the alcohol, for those of us brave enough to try dry January

Yes, the ingredients list is a bit on the long side, but the recipe itself is really very simple indeed. The aim here is to recreate the depth of flavour you get in a traditional old fashioned without resorting to using alcohol. If you can’t get hold of hops, a small pinch of gentian root makes a decent substitute – you can get hold of that in healthfood shops. And if you don’t use either, simply double the amount of orange peel to compensate. As for the bitters, yes, both do contain some alcohol (Angostura, for example, is all of 44.7% abv), but they’re used in such negligible amounts, they add no significant alcohol content, much as many everyday foods do, from bananas to soy sauce.

Serves 1

For the premix (makes 10 servings)

470ml hot water

20g hops – optional (see introduction)

2½ tsp cayenne pepper

9 cloves

4 cinnamon sticks, cracked

2 twists orange peel (or 4 twists if not using hops)

20g loose lapsang souchong tea leaves

140g light muscovado sugar

5ml orange bitters

9ml Angostura bitters

For the drink (per serve)

35ml old fashioned premix (see above)

35ml water

1 orange twist, to garnish

To make the premix, put the first seven ingredients in a pan and leave to steep for 30 minutes. Strain into a clean jug, then add the sugar and bitters, and stir to dissolve. Fine-strain through muslin, J-cloth or a coffee filter into a sterilised jar and store in the fridge, where it’ll keep for up to two weeks.

To serve, pour the premix and water into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with an orange twist.

• Sam Dagger, group bar manager, Blacklock, London

• This article was edited on 21 January 2020, to clarify the alcohol content in the bitters.