Cocktails with Aloe juice
Aloe juice is a processed liquid from the inner-leaf gel of aloe vera, a mild, faintly vegetal mixer.
Substitutes for Aloe juice
Coconut water lengthens the same way with more sweetness and no texture. Cucumber juice cut with water gives the vegetal freshness and none of the gel. Plain water does the lengthening and admits nothing else.
Often confused with
Whole-leaf aloe juice
Made from the whole leaf, and it turns bitter unless it has been decolorized and filtered. The label says "purified" or "aloin-free" when it has — take the unfiltered kind and the bitterness carries straight into the drink.
Aloe drinks with pulp
Sweetened drinks with gel cubes suspended in them, closer to a soft drink than an ingredient; they bring their own sugar and need counting.
Storage
Refrigerated once opened and used within a few days, because it is a low-acid, low-sugar liquid with very little to defend it. Cloudiness or a sour smell means it has gone.
