9 fantastic mocktail ideas to try when you don’t feel like drinking alcohol

It’s summer, time to quench thirst with a chilled drink as you soak up the sun. Recently, the popularity of placebo or mocktail (non-alcoholic drinks) has exploded as more women realize that they can still be hip and have fun sans-hangover! And let’s be honest, alcohol tolerance dwindles after a certain age, not calling out a number here. I, for one, have a low threshold, thanks to a sober lifestyle. So there are compelling reasons why mocktails are fashionable to luxuriate in this summer. 

Here are some of our favourite recipes we fetched off the net that will raise your guests’ eyebrows and glasses. It’s time to show off your mixology skills and bartending tool with these mocktail recipes.

Sangria Mocktail

Mocktail Ingredients (yield 6 to 8 servings)

1 cup orange juice

2 cups cranberry juice

2 cups grape juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

4 cups sparkling mineral water 

Fresh lemon, lime and orange slices

Instructions

1. Add the lemon slices, lime slices, orange slices to a large pitcher. Pour in the juices and stir well.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Just before serving, add the sparkling mineral water. Mix well.

Citrus Strawberry Mocktail 

Ingredients (yield 6 to 8 servings)

For the Strawberry Syrup

• six cup pureed strawberries 
• six cups of water
• six cup sugar

For the Mocktail

Six tablespoons strawberry syrup

Six cups of lemon or lime soda

Six teaspoons lime juice

Six tablespoon canned strawberries 

Instruction

For the Syrup

1. In a cookpot, mix strawberries, sugar and water.
2. Cook over medium heat and mix until sugar melts.
3. Pour mixture through a strainer to strain syrup from strawberries.

For the mocktail

Mix in strawberry syrup, lemon-lime soda, lime juice, and canned strawberries. Cheers!

Piña Colada Mocktail

Ingredients (yields 2 servings)

One (10-oz.) bag frozen pineapple pieces  

One cup of ice cream

One cup coconut milk 

1/2 cup pineapple juice 

Pineapple wedge and Maraschino cherry for serving

Direction

1. In a blender, blend frozen pineapple, ice cream, coconut milk, and pineapple juice. 
2. Pour into serving glasses and embellish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.

Classic Shirley Temple

Ingredients (yields 4 servings)

Juice of one lime 

Four teaspoon grenadine 

Ice

Three cups lemon-lime soda 

Maraschino cherries

Direction

1. Fill four glasses with ice. Pour soda and lime juice, then add grenadine. 
2. Serve with a maraschino cherry.

Saffron & Cardamom Mocktail 

Ingredients for syrup (yields 500 ml concentrate)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons green cardamom powder

A pinch of saffron

Direction to make the syrup

• Pour the water and sugar into a pot and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves. Then simmer for a minute.
• Remove from heat. Then add cardamom powder and saffron and cool completely.
• Pour in the lemon juice and mix.
• Strain and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Direction to make the lemonade

• Pour three tablespoons of the syrup into a serving glass. Add ice cubes and fill up the glass with cold water. 

Sparkling Rhubarb Mocktail

Ingredients (yields 6 servings) 

Five cups chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen 

Three quarter cup sugar

Three and a half cups of water

A couple of strips of lemon zest

Three leaves of fresh mint

One cup lemon juice

Two cups sparkling water

Directions

1. In a saucer, mix the rhubarb, water, sugar, mint and lemon zest. 
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the mixture from the stove and allow it to cool.
4.  Strain the syrup and press on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
5. Mix in the lemon juice and tonic and garnished with mint sprigs.

Thyme Tea Soda Mocktail

Ingredients (yields 10 servings)

For the syrup:

One or two teaspoons fresh or dried thyme 

Six bags of black tea 

One cup water

One cup + two tablespoon sugar

1/2 inch cinnamon stick (optional)

For the soda

Ice

Two tablespoons Tea Thyme syrup (see recipe below)

One tablespoon lemon juice

Cold sparkling water, as needed

Sprig of fresh thyme for garnish

Direction to make the syrup

1. Blend water and sugar in a pot and boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. 
2. Remove from heat and add in the tea bags, thyme, and cinnamon. Cover until it cools down, then strain the liquid into a jar, squeezing tea bags to extract as much syrup as possible. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Direction to make the mocktail

Place some ice in a long glass halfway. Add the syrup, lemon juice, fill the glass with sparkling water and move gently to combine. 

Mango Lemonade

Ingredients (yields 4 servings)

Two green-skinned mangoes

Four cups cold water

1/2 cup sugar

A pinch of saffron

Two tablespoons lemon juice

A pinch of teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Wash the mangoes well, then place them in a pot and cover them with water—heat on medium for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the mangoes from the pot and let them cool down. Once cool, tear open the skin to extract all the flesh. Squeeze the pit to get as much of the mango out as possible.
3. Place the mango in a blender and mix with a cup of water for 1 minute, then pour into a pitcher. Top with the remaining 3 cups of water, sugar, crumbled saffron, lemon juice, and salt. Mix well and chill.
4. Serve over ice in tall glasses.

Leche de Tigre Mocktail

Ingredients (yields 3 servings) 

One 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut

One jalapeño, seeds removed and cut

Two garlic cloves

Two cups orange juice

One cup lime juice

One teaspoon turmeric

Pinch of salt

Chili oil and mint sprigs (for serving)

Directions

In a blender Purée orange juice, lime juice, turmeric, ginger, jalapeño, and garlic until smooth. Strain the liquid into a pitcher; season with salt and serve.

Must have mocktail and home bar tools

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