Almond-Fennel Cooler

Like an old-fashioned soda-fountain drink, this mocktail relies on a delicious small-batch syrup. Its creator is Jennifer Colliau, a mixologist at San Francisco's Slanted Door restaurant and an artisanal syrup maker who also owns Small Hand Foods, which sells classic ingredients for pre-Prohibition era cocktails.

"Growing up in Northern California, I loved the smell of wild fennel that grows along so many roads and waterways," Colliau says. That memory inspired this anise-accented drink, made with a fennel-infused simple syrup. For the orgeat, she advises using one made from almonds, not just extract. "True almond-based syrups add a satisfying richness."

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