Cocktails with Aloe juice
Aloe juice is a processed liquid from the inner-leaf gel of aloe vera, a mild, faintly vegetal mixer.
How it's used
Its slight body is the point: it lengthens a drink and softens the spirit without adding much sugar. It suits light drinks with cucumber, melon or citrus.
Substitutes for Aloe juice
Another aloe juice
Swaps in at the same measure, as long as the label says decolorized or inner leaf.
Aloe drinks with pulp
Sweetened soft drinks, so cut any syrup and strain out the gel cubes.
Lengthens the drink the same way, with a faint sweetness and none of the aloe's texture.
Cucumber juice with water
Gives the green freshness but no body.
Whole-leaf aloe juice
Not a substitute: unless decolorized it carries a laxative compound.
Storage
Refrigerate once opened and go by the label: some bottled aloe juices keep for weeks, fresh juice only a few days. Cloudiness or a sour smell means it has gone.
