Five Easy Mocktail Recipes

When I stopped drinking halfway through my junior year of college, I was worried about how I would sustain my social life in a world that seemed to revolve around drinking culture. None of my friends at that point were sober, and suddenly I was thrust into a world where I was the only one standing awkwardly at the end of a dance floor, overthinking every interaction. Frat parties and nights at the club with wasted friends became tedious, until I began to find new things to appreciate.

As it turned out, one of those things to appreciate was the secret and exciting world of mocktails. From the very first sip of my very first mocktail, I was hooked. Essentially indistinguishable visually from a normal cocktail, virgin drinks taste better and still possess the complexity of flavor that many of my favorite alcoholic beverages had. Plus, there's the added benefit of being able to drive home after having three or four of them in a single night.

So, without further ado, let's get to some easy, enjoyable non-alcoholic recipes to try by yourself or with friends. Let's face it; most cocktails taste better without alcohol anyways.

1. The Virgin Mojito

Ingredients:

-half of a lime, cut into four wedges (squeeze the juice from all wedges but one, using the last to garnish the side of the glass)

-ten to fifteen fresh mint leaves, freshly torn or crushed in a mortar and pestle

-sparkling water, ginger ale, or club soda depending on your preference

-simple syrup (either honey or elderflower flavored)

-ice for crispness (for that added flare, you can freeze a few mint leaves in your ice cubes to add to the color and complexity of your drink)

-optional: sugar and tajin for the rim of your glass

Method:

1. Dip the rim of a glass in water, and then dip it again in the mixture of sugar and tajin, if you are so inclined. This adds a bit of spice and color to your citrus beverage.

2. Crush or tear mint leaves up and scatter them at the bottom of the glass.

3. Next add a bed of ice (the amount is up to you).

4. Squeeze the juice from three of your lime wedges over the ice, using the last to garnish the edge of the glass.

5. Add your base of sparkling water/ ginger ale/ club soda.

6. Add simple syrup to taste, and stir well.

2. The Virgin Seabreeze

Ingredients

-cranberry juice

-grapefruit juice

-lime juice (if using a fresh lime, hold one quarter back to garnish)

-club soda, sparkling water, or ginger ale, depending on your preference

-ice for crispness

-sugar and lime zest for rim

Method:

1. Dip the rim of a glass in water, and then dip it again in the mixture of sugar and lime zest, if you are so inclined. This adds a bit of tartness and color to your beverage.

2. In a shaker, mix cranberry, grapefruit and lime juice with the soda base of your choice.

3. Add ice to your already rimmed glass, and pour your mixture over the top.

4. Garnish with lime quarter or candied lime, if you have it.

3. The Hound of God

Ingredients:

-Ghia (a wonderful non-alcoholic apéritif described as "packed with only pure, natural extracts. Potent plants. Heady herbals. Blithe botanicals. Everything inside our bottle was picked because of its completely natural ability to soothe and to stimulate. Each glass promises to kick up the energy and calm down the mind.")

-a single orange peel, or a slice of candied orange for decoration

-grapefruit juice

-Fentiman's Wild English Elderflower Soda, to taste

-ice for crispness (a single, large cube or sphere lends this beverage a certain aesthetic quality)

Method:

1. Chill glass for five minutes to give it a frosted quality.

2. Add your single, large iced cube or sphere in the center.

3. Mix Ghia, Elderflower soda, and grapefruit juice in a shaker and pour over the ice.

4. Garnish with orange peel.

4. Venusian Paradise Mocktail

Ingredients:

-Fentiman's Rose Lemonade

-Lemon juice

-a splash of pomegranate juice

-a handful of pomegrante seeds and edible rose petals to garnish

-ice for crispness (for that added flare, you can freeze a few rose petals and pomegranate seeds in your ice cubes to add to the color and complexity of your drink)

Method:

1. Chill glass for five minutes to achieve a frosted quality.

2. At the bottom of the glass, scatter edible rose petals. Top with lemon juice for tartness.

3. Add a bed of ice. Splash your pomegranate juice on top of the ice.

4. Top with a base of rose lemonade.

5. Optional: You can serve the drink like this for a stratified quality, with the pomegranate juice bleeding up into the light pink of the lemonade, or you can mix it for an even, slightly less dramatic hue.

6. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top to garnish.

5. The Virgin Negroni

Ingredients

-1/2 ounce blood orange bitters

-a splash of simple syrup

-Ghia (a wonderful non-alcoholic apéritif described as "packed with only pure, natural extracts. Potent plants. Heady herbals. Blithe botanicals. Everything inside our bottle was picked because of its completely natural ability to soothe and to stimulate. Each glass promises to kick up the energy and calm down the mind.")

-Blutul Rosso Non-Alchoholic Vermouth (billed as being, "made from alcohol-free red wine and a red grape must, sup­ple­men­ted with a high-qua­li­ty herbal extract to make a great alcohol-free vermouth. The taste is fruity, slightly sweet and plea­sant­ly bitter because of the worm­wood-like herbs that com­ple­ment this drink. A great mixer to create your favorite mocktail.")

-splash of grapefruit juice

-orange peel or candied orange for garnish

Method:

1. Mix or stir all ingredients together.

2. Strain over a fresh glass or tumbler filled with ice, stirring once more to ensure the beverage is adequately chilled.

3. Garnish with orange peel or candied orange.