Low-alcohol drinks continue to rise in popularity, and non alcoholic drinks are sure to see a spike in interest for Dry January, but these virgin cocktails, or mocktails, have been around for a long time. Learn about their history and how to make great non alcoholic drinks at home.
A Brief History of Mocktails
As legend has it, when Depression-era child star Shirley Temple was out with her parents, they had cherry-garnished Old Fashioneds…but without the booze.
The sweet drink that now bears her name has grenadine, some form of soda and, of course, a cherry and is probably one of the more famous mocktails around. The actual word “mocktail” may date back to the 1930s or the 1970s. But since craft cocktail bartenders started catering to liquor-avoiding patrons, it has become ubiquitous. It has not, however, always signified something you’d want to drink. As with vegan options in an omnivore-focused restaurant, mocktails can be poor guests at the bar or table, with little thought given to creativity, balance, or tempting the customer back for more.
The Evolution & Craft of Mocktails
Fortunately for the rest of us, a few fine pros are leading the way to attention-worthy, liquor-free drinks. According to Sahil Mehta, a bartender at Boston’s Estragon and Bar GoGo, “mocktails can be just as creative, just as interesting as regular cocktails.” In fact, he’s had—and made—some that had him thinking, “Why am I drinking alcohol, if things taste this good without it?”
There are two clear roads from theory to mocktail: remake a classic cocktail without the booze, or invent a brand-new nonalcoholic drink.
“Sometimes, I try to [do] a classic cocktail,” Mehta says, “but more often than not, I’m building a taste—or layers and layers of taste.” With daiquiris, Mehta points out, the rum shines through, but sugar and lime juice are just as important. They can become the base of a splendid cocktail without any liquor.
Estragon is a tapas bar. The dishes are small, but flavorful. “Most of our food has salty, sweet, spicy, bitter, and sour tastes,” Mehta says. “I try to do similar things with my mocktails, so there’s a complexity to it.”
Complexity
Taking this from the broad to the narrow, Mehta says, “I try to use complex sweeteners, and not just simple syrup. Whether it’s using things like orgeat or grenadine (not the fake red kind).” Ezra Star, the GM of Boston’s menu-free cocktail lounge, Drink, also uses orgeat in non-alcoholic drinks. “It gives a little bit of body to whatever I’m working with.”
Keep complexity in mind when it comes to sour elements too: “Use verjus, or shrubs, which have both sweetness and acidity. I almost always have three of those going at my bar,” says Mehta, “and they’re all non-alcoholic.”
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Related Reading: Everything You Need to Know About Shrubs (aka, Drinking Vinegar)
For bitterness, too, Mehta thinks beyond standard bar products. His ingredients are in many of our kitchen cabinets. “You can use something as tannin-heavy as a green tea, or something deeper: dandelion greens.”
Balance
Star says making an outstanding mocktail is about finding a good balance. An unexpected ingredient helps. “I like to put a little bit of salt in a cocktail, to round out sweetness.” Think about using soda water, which has a hint of salt.
Where salt’s concerned, Mehta would encourage you to think widely. Reach for celery salt, smoked salt, pink salt, rosemary salt, chili lime salt…components that come with inbuilt complexity. Whether you use them in the drink or on the rim of the glass, they’ll bring something unusual and surprising, making an ordinary mocktail remarkable.
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Fresh Ingredients
In contrast with cocktails, Star says making mocktails “is much more like cooking, so if you’ve got raspberries at home, muddled raspberries with syrup, salt, lemon juice, almond, and a good dash of bitters would make a really good mocktail.”
Don’t discount the salad drawer. Star suggests “taking cucumber and vinegar, and making an a la minute shrub.” Add sweetener (a flavored simply syrup, honey, agave…) and soda water for a well-rounded bubbly drink.
Swoon Zero Sugar Simple Syrup, $11.99 on Amazon
This all-natural sugar-free sweetener is made from monkfruit.
Playing with what’s at hand has entertainment value too. “It’s much more fun for people who are hanging out,” Star says, “when they see you’re picking something from your fridge and doing something unexpected.” When the unexpected is also delicious, your hostly job is done.
Bitters
If you’re okay with just a few drops of alcohol, then bitters round out a drink. Go with Angostura, or consider a craft bitter, such as Cocktail Punk or Hudson Standard. Even without that bartending staple, your mocktails can have your friends asking for recipes, as well as another round. And you can find other bitter elements, like charred herbs, grapefruit peel, and some emerging brands of nonalcoholic bitters or complex alcohol-free mixers like Seedlip, to add that balancing element.
Sanbitter Rosso Soda, $29.99 on Amazon
You can also try this nonalcoholic soda sub for Campari; one reviewer recommends mixing with orange juice for a good nonalcoholic Negroni substitute.
Mocktail Recipes
Here are some nonalcoholic drink recipes to get you started on the road to mixing your own mocktails.
Shirley Temple
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We can’t not include such a classic—but we can (and did) upgrade it so it’s worth drinking even if you’re not underage. The key is to use homemade grenadine, because the store-bought stuff can be cloying (not to mention artificially colored and full of corn syrup); our version is easy to make and tastes great, thanks to unsweetened pomegranate juice, sugar, fresh lemon juice, and a few drops of orange flower water. Combine that with club soda, some freshly squeezed citrus juice, and homemade maraschino cherries (or a high-quality store-bought option like Luxardo cherries) and you have a simple but lovely mocktail indeed. Get our Shirley Temple recipe.
Luxardo Gourmet Maraschino Cherries, 2 jars for $33.75 on Amazon
These dark, lush Italian imports are a far cry from the neon-red maraschino cherries you know from well drinks.
Consolation Prize Cucumber-Coconut Mocktail
Debby Lewis-Harrison / Cultura / Getty Images
With fresh lime juice, rich coconut milk, and complexity from honey, Smitten Kitchen’s sparkling piña colada riff is anything but a teetotaller’s consolation prize. Invest in good pineapple juice, or make your own. It’s a key component; quality will make the drink a winner. Get the Consolation Prize Cucumber-Coconut Mocktail recipe.
Lavender Cardamom Fizz
From sweetening tea to drizzling over pancakes, you’ll find plenty of purposes for this lavender cardamom simple syrup. Here, it features a sophisticated lavender cardamom fizz. The combination of egg white and club soda gives this a thick meringue. The soda also contributes a touch of salt—not enough for your guests to notice, but enough to elevate this cocktail above even its booziest competitors. Get the Lavender Cardamom Fizz recipe.
Honeydew-Basil Nojitos (Nonalcoholic Mojitos)
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Cool, green, and refreshing, this honeydew-basil nojito is jammed with fresh melon juice. Fresh lime and torn basil counter the melon’s sweetness. There’s very little sugar in this drink; if your melon’s ripe enough, then you could get away with none. Put melon balls between layers of ice for a polka-dotted style, or make it easy for yourself and garnish the drinks with melon sticks. Get the Honeydew-Basil Nojitos (Nonalcoholic Mojitos) recipe.
Strawberry Mocktail
With fresh strawberry compote, orange juice, and mint, this drink almost passes for a glass of sunrise. The compote needs cooling, so make that part an hour or more ahead. Use plenty of mint in the garnish to give this mocktail a festive look. Get the Strawberry Mocktail recipe.
Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail
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This cocktail’s visual drama comes from blackberries. The recipe calls for fresh blackberries, but unsweetened frozen berries make this a drink for all seasons. Honey and vanilla warm the fruit’s sharper notes. Strain it through mesh and a coffee filter, and your mocktail will be seed-free. Get the Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail recipe. (Try our Virgin Bramble recipe for something a bit less sweet with more herbal notes.)
Triple Citrus Kombucha Fizz with Salty Chili Sugar
Grapefruit kombucha, fresh citrus fruit, and spicy ginger beer give this mocktail its cocktail lounge elegance (and plenty of fizzy kick). A simple sugar and chili powder accented rim adds sweet-spicy-salty shocks to each sip. Get the Citrus Kombucha Mocktail recipe.
Rosy Dawn Nonalcoholic Mocktail
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The only thing this drink has in common with the Shirley Temple is grenadine. Orgeat and coconut cream contribute a lush (but liquor-free) mouthfeel, while orange, lime, and lemon juice naturally round out the sweetness of orgeat and grenadine. Toss it in a blender with ice, and you have a frosty mocktail to make a daiquiri melt with envy. Get the Rosy Dawn Nonalcoholic Mocktail recipe. (Or if you’re not in the mood for a slushy drink, try our Little Pink Pearl Mocktail recipe, pictured above, which also uses orgeat, in combination with grapefruit juice for a simple sipper that still tastes complex.)
Virgin Pimm’s Cup
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This virgin Pimm’s Cup gets its spices from fresh ginger, ginger beer, and two non-alcoholic wine infusions: red with juniper, anise, allspice, coriander, and grapefruit; white with anise, coriander, juniper, and lemon. Tea gives it a dry side. A helix of cucumber is a dramatic garnish. Nobody will mistake this drink for child’s play. Get our Virgin Pimm’s Cup recipe.
Autumn Chiller
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Mocktails move easily into autumn too. This one is ridiculously simple, but tastes divine on a chilly fall day. Just combine fresh squeezed orange juice with ginger beer and sparkling apple juice, plus some frozen cranberries for garnish and a faint hint of balancing bitterness. Get our Autumn Chiller Mocktail recipe.
Holiday Mocktails
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Take your pick of holiday party mocktails. When the Culinary Institute of America crafts nonalcoholic drinks, it’s certain they’re going to be exceptional. Here, a fresh cranberry smash has brown sugar, mint, and lime; a bubbly pomegranate mocktail has sparkling cider and a garnish of fresh pomegranate seeds; and eggnog gets ample flavor from nutmeg cloves, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Buy dark maple syrup, which has a more complex taste. You won’t miss spirits at all. Get the Holiday Mocktails recipes.
Virgin Gin and Tonic
This zero-proof take on the classic G&T involves infusing nonalcoholic white wine with juniper berries, coriander, anise seed, and lemon to mimic the botanical complexity of gin. In about three hours, you’ll be ready to mix it with a splash of tonic and a squirt of citrus. Get our Virgin Gin and Tonic recipe. (You can also use the nonalcoholic white wine infusion along with a nonalcoholic red wine infusion for a Virgin Negroni recipe.)
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