The Best Mocktail Recipes for Dry January and Beyond

• By WineBottleMag
• January 2, 2025
• Dry January Mocktail Recipes
• With 0 comments

The drink of the moment? It’s quite possibly a non-alcoholic one. 

As the sober-curious movement continues to grow, bartenders are upping their NA game and cocktail fans are looking for excellent flavors that don’t come with a hangover. 

These days, it’s easy to find alcohol-free examples of popular drinks such as the Bloody Mary, Negroni and even espresso martini. Plus, the rise of concoctions like the Sleepy Girl Mocktail—a TikTok viral mixture of cherry juice and soda that imbibers swear cures their insomnia—show that these mixes are officially part of the culture. 

The non-alcoholic space shows no sign of slowing, either. In 2024, more than 40% of Americans said they were trying to drink less, which is up from 34% in 2023.

As with many of their boozier cousins, the best mocktail recipes have balanced flavor profiles that make alcohol or the absence thereof beside the point. 

While many of the recipes you’ll find at top bars and restaurants can include expensive ingredients as well as complicated infusions and techniques, it is possible to whip up an excellent NA cocktail that doesn’t take all day or cost a fortune to make. 

A wave of non-alcoholic mixers like Avec and Fresh Victor feature balanced blends of fruits, vegetables and aromatics designed to be served spiked, over ice or straight from the can or bottle. And options for non-alcoholic spirits abound, such as Seedlip, Lyre’s, Three Spirit and Proteau. For a more expansive list, check out this list of the best NA spirits, handpicked by experts.

But, if you’re looking for more guidance and inspiration, grab a glass and fix one of the recipes below.

The Best Non-Alcoholic Espresso Martini Recipe

Despite the widespread popularity of espresso martinis, and the drink’s seemingly endless capacity for reinvention, cocktail menus rarely include non-alcoholic espresso martini recipes. This NA espresso martini comes together quickly and can be multiplied to serve a crowd. 

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. NA white rum or spiced spirit alternative, such as Seedlip Spice 94
• 1.5 oz. brewed espresso or dark-roast coffee, cooled to room temperature
• 1 oz. rich brown simple syrup*
• Three espresso or coffee beans, to garnish (optional)

Directions

Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds to aerate the drink. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass and garnish with espresso or coffee beans.

*Rich Brown Simple Syrup

To make the rich brown simple syrup, bring ¾ cup of water to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1½ cups of light or dark brown sugar and stir continuously until sugar crystals dissolve. Remove from heat and cool before use. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one month.

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The Non-Alcoholic Smoky Paloma Recipe

Crisp and citrusy, with a peppery bite, this agave alternative comes recommended by Chris Marshall, founder of Austin-based Sans Bar. “You get an approximation of the traditional spirit’s profile with an opportunity to build really fresh and nuanced zero-proof cocktails,” he says. 

Ingredients

• Dried sage
• 2 ounces Lyre’s Agave Blanco
• 3 ounces grapefruit juice
• ¾ ounce fresh lime juice
• ½ ounce sage simple syrup*
• Grapefruit wedge, for garnish

Directions

Smoke-treat a chilled rocks glass by lightly burning dried sage and putting the glass facedown over the smoke. In a shaker, combine remaining ingredients with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with grapefruit wedge.

*How to Make Sage Simple Syrup

In a saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add 2 bunches fresh sage and steep, simmering, for 15–20 minutes. Strain out sage, then simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Refrigerated, keeps about 2 weeks.

The Detox Recipe

From the now-shuttered Requin in Fairfax, Virginia comes this crisp vegetal concoction that gets its refreshing salinity from dashes of sea salt. The key to the Detox is to juice your own celery and pineapple. If you don’t have a juicer, use a food processor to blend your produce and then push through a cheesecloth or fine-meshed strainer before adding the other ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce fresh pineapple juice
• 1 ounce fresh celery juice
• ¾ ounce lime juice
• ½ ounce agave syrup (2 parts agave nectar, 1 part hot water)
• 2 dashes sea salt
• Celery frond and/or pineapple leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine all ingredients except optional garnish. Shake well, and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Add garnish if using.

The Ginger Snap Recipe

Whether you make your own ginger beer or pick up a few bottles at the supermarket, its spicy kick is crucial in the Ginger Snap. The mocktail was created by Christi Brunner for The Brick, a low-key bar in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce pear syrup, like Monin
• ½ ounce lime juice
• 5 ounces ginger beer
• Orange wheel and cherry, for garnish

Directions

In a Collins glass, mix together pear syrup and lime juice. Add ice, and top with ginger beer. To garnish, spear orange slice and cherry with a toothpick.

The Ms. Jackson Mocktail Recipe

To make the blackberry puree in this non-alcoholic cocktail, you can either blend a pint of blackberries in a food processor and push the results through a cheesecloth or fine-mesh sieve, or buy a jarred variety. Either way, your Ms. Jackson mocktail will be bright and balanced.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces fresh lemonade
• ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
• ¾ ounce simple syrup (equal parts water/sugar, heated to dissolve)
• 1 teaspoon blackberry puree

Directions

Combine your first three ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with blackberry puree.

The Non-Alcoholic Bloody Mary Recipe

This batched drink is perfect for days when some or all your household would prefer a non-alcoholic Bloody Mary. Those who want a spirited pour can simply add their favorite vodka, gin or other liquor accordingly. In this recipe, yuzu juice adds citrusy punch, but freshly squeezed limes will work in a pinch.

Ingredients

• 1 liter fresh tomato juice
• 1 fresh watermelon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne powder
• 4 ounces yuzu (or lime) juice
• 1 ounce white balsamic vinegar

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate for 2 hours. To serve, pour into long glasses over ice. Makes 25 servings.

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The Faux-groni Recipe

To make a satisfying non-alcoholic Negroni, the flavors of Campari were the hardest to replicate, according to Jessica King, who created this cocktail for Brother Wolf in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her solution? San Pelligrino’s Sanbitter, a red soda sold online or in Italian food shops.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Seedlip Spice 94
• 1 ounce Versin non-alcoholic vermouth
• 1 ounce San Pellegrino Sanbitter
• 2 dashes orange oil
• Orange wheel for garnish

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice and stir. Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass and garnish with an orange wheel.

The Slithy Recipe

Pu-erh tea complements pandan, lime juice and coconut in this striking non-alcoholic cocktail from Allegory in Washington D.C. Bar Director Deke Dunne describes its flavors as a cross between a daiquiri and Thai-inspired Pina Colada.

To make the pandan syrup, infuse simple syrup with a few drops of pandan extract. Salt solution is similar to simple syrup; Dunne’s preferred ratio is nine parts salt to one part water.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce brewed and chilled Pu’erh Tea
• 1 ounce coconut water
• ¾ ounce pandan simple syrup
• ¼ ounce Coco Lopez cream of coconut
• ¼ ounce coconut milk
• ½ ounce lime juice
• 2 drops salt solution

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a cocktail tin and shake to combine. Double strain into a stemmed glass.

The Spice Breeze Recipe

At Bar Chrystie, a cocktail lounge in Manhattan’s Public Hotel, bartenders garnish this mocktail with a toasted cinnamon stick. Whether you have or break out the kitchen torch for the same effect is up to you; either way, this drink has balanced notes of spices and citrus.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ ounces Seedlip
• 1 ½ ounces coconut water
• ½ ounce vanilla syrup
• ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
• Toasted cinnamon stick for garnish (optional)

Directions

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake to combine. Strain over two ice cubes in a cocktail glass, and then add garnish, if using.

The Cucumber Mint Lemonade Recipe

Fresh lemon juice is worth the squeeze in this bright and bracing non-alcoholic drink from Le Farfalle, an Italian-accented restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.

Ingredients

• 3 slices cucumber, plus 1 leaf for garnish
• 5 or 6 mint leaves, plus 1 leaf for garnish
• 1½ ounces fresh lemon juice
• 1 ounce simple syrup

Directions

In a cocktail shaker, use a muddler or spoon to press the mint and cucumbers. Add remaining ingredients (except garnish), 1 ounce of water and ice. Shake well, and strain into a rocks glass, over fresh ice. To garnish, pierce a cucumber slice with the stem of a mint sprig and place atop the drink.

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More Non-Alcoholic Drinks Coverage

• The best non-alcoholic wine and spirits to give.
• Stocking up your NA home bar? Head to one of these non-alcoholic bottles shops.
• A satisfying non-alcoholic martini is possible.
• Meet hop water, the NA answer to beer.
• Can a sommelier be sober?
• Is alcohol the new tobacco?

The post The Best Mocktail Recipes for Dry January and Beyond appeared first on Wine Enthusiast.

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