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Make great drinks for everyone with these mocktail recipes

These drinks don't need alcohol to be a delicious celebration of summer

By Georgina Torbet Published July 4, 2024

Shirley Temple mocktail — nonzyimran / Pixabay

Not everyone fancies drinking alcohol, but almost everyone enjoys a tasty and beautifully served drink. If you’re looking for options for your non-drinking friends or if you simply need a day off after over-indulging, try out these mocktail recipes for a fruity, delicious, and booze-free drink to end a busy day.

Pineapple mocktail

This recipe from Southern Living includes juicy pineapple for a taste of summer, plus mint for freshness and lime juice for zing.

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You muddle a handful of mint leaves in a cocktail shaker, then add pineapple juice, lime juice, and vanilla and pineapple syrups to the shaker. No particular measurements here, but go easy on the syrups as these tend to be extremely sweet.

You can also add the white of a large egg to the shaker, to create a beautiful foam that sits on top of the drink. If you’re going for a vegan option, or you don’t fancy consuming raw egg, you can use aquafaba instead.

Shake well with plenty of ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Limonchello Spritz mocktail

Here’s a zesty and refreshing option from The Mindful Mocktail, which is simple and easy to make but has plenty of flavor for those who love their lemonade. It uses non-alcoholic prosecco, as non-alcoholic wine options are getting better and better and are more commonly available. If you can’t find this, however, no worries — you can use lemon flavored sparkling water instead.

You start by peeling five lemons, and add this peel to a jar along with an equal amount of sugar by weight. Stir and add the lid, then leave to sit for a day to create a lemon oil. Strain this off and use it for your mocktail by adding a shot of lemon oil to a glass of non-alcoholic prosecco with plenty of ice. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and garnish with a sprig of thyme.

Blueberry Rosemary Crush

This recipe is fruity and light, from The Fizzy Pheasant. It calls for rosemary syrup (made by heating water, sugar, and rosemary in a pan until the sugar dissolves, then allowing to cool before straining) and fresh fruits.

Start by muddling a handful of blueberries in a shaker, then add 25 ml of rosemary syrup, 25 ml lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of honey. Shake with ice and strain into collins glasses full of ice, then top up with soda water and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Georgina Torbet

Former Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Food & Drink

Blue Bottle just proved California can grow world-class coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee just dropped a super rare California-grown coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee

Coffee has always had its origins story – Ethiopia, Colombia, Panama. But California was never part of that conversation, until now. Coffee leader, Blue Bottle, has just launched the California Frinj San Diego Gesha, a washed Gesha grown in San Diego and Santa Barbara counties in partnership with Frinj Coffee, the pioneering network behind California's emerging coffee movement. Gesha is widely regarded as one of the most prized varietals in specialty coffee, known for its delicate floral complexity and fruit-forward character – and this one delivers jasmine, peach, and strawberry in a cup.

Up until now, many coffee brands would shy away from growing specialty-grade coffee in California, as it requires years of experimentation and innovation. For the past two decades, Jay Ruskey, founder of Frinj Coffee, has helped pioneer California coffee product through continual experimentation with innovative growing practices, coffee varieties, and post-harvest processing. Now, this exciting new launch finally reflects that work. Cherries from two California farms were processed at Frinj's wet mill in Ventura, using carefully controlled fermentation to result in an exceptionally clean cup of coffee. This new variety showcases the signature floral aromatics and bright fruit character of the Gesha variety.

Food & Drink

Dark rums for whiskey fans

These rums are a great choice for whiskey drinkers

rum bottles

There’s no disputing the appeal of whisk(e)y. Whether it's single malt Scotch whisky, bourbon, rye whiskey, Irish whiskey, or others. There’s something special about this barrel-aged spirit. But it’s not the only aged spirit, and if you’re limiting your sipping to this style, you’re missing out on some other special, flavorful spirit. Especially dark rum.

I’ve spent years imbibing the various forms of whiskey. But every now and then, I branch out and pour myself a glass of dark rum instead. Unsurprisingly, the two spirits have some of the same aromas and flavors. Since both are matured in wood barrels, they impart flavors like caramel, vanilla, dried fruits, and oak (among others). If you don’t already, you should branch out and add dark rum to your aged spirits rotation.

Food & Drink

Gins so good you’ll want to drink them neat

You might want to at least sip these gins before mixing with them

Tanqueray No 10

Gin is one of the only spirits that you see on a shelf, and regardless of the quality, you assume you’re going to take it home and mix it with other ingredients to make a cocktail. To many, the thought of drinking gin neat never even occurs to them. Even if they enjoy the juniper, floral, and botanical aromas and flavors of their favorite gin, they still prefer to mix it with other ingredients to make it more palatable.

But it also shouldn’t surprise you that some people enjoy drinking their gin neat or at least prefer a gin that they could drink neat if they chose to do so. Personally, I am one of those people. I enjoy gin so much that I try my best not to mask its flavors with overpowering ingredients. Sure, I like a good Gin & Tonic from time to time. But it’s definitely going to be heavier on gin than tonic if you know what I mean.