Thanksgiving mocktails

November 26, 2024 11:17 AM

Really, the title tells it all. Share some good mocktail recipes for Thanksgiving. I'm willing to do a fair amount of prep and some specialty shopping in a major city. I usually like old fashioned and other whiskey drinks, but overall, the family tastes vary.
posted by advicepig to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

7-Up is making their own Shirley Temple in a can now, and I've been trying to find it so I can do a 50/50 blend with plain seltzer and a lime garnish
posted by knile at 11:19 AM on November 26 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I just did:
Seedlip Grove 42
Lime shrub
Angostura bitters
Amarena cherry for garnish

I eyeballed quantities. I feel like cranberry juice would have been a good addition, and sparkling cranberry juice would be festive.
posted by lapis at 11:27 AM on November 26 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Lime juice and a dash of bitters in ginger ale is excellent.
I also make pink grapefruit squash up with tonic and bitters - not sure if this would work with fruit juice (since I understand the US doesn't have fruit squash) but might be worth a try!
posted by quacks like a duck at 11:35 AM on November 26 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Wilderton botanical spirits are extremely good in mocktails. Add lemon soda (or sparkling cranberry) for something sweeter, or tonic for less sweet. Add a little bit of shrub if you want tart.
posted by supercres at 12:07 PM on November 26 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I’ve been enjoying violet syrup for its colour and taste. I’ve made a variation on the Aviator with elderflower, lime or lemon and violet (the Novitiate? The Inviolate?) which is lovely. Might try it with crushed juniper too - violet is lovely with bitter herbal flavours

Monin make a orange spritz syrup which is great with tonic and lots of sliced orange.
posted by tardigrade at 12:14 PM on November 26 [2 favorites]

psst... if you candy some cranberries and put them on a little swizzle stick it will make any beverage festive for the holiday, even for children and the inveterate diet coke or die drinkers.
posted by phunniemee at 12:26 PM on November 26 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Cranberry Juice (not cocktail, the extremely sour expensive stuff in the glass jar) and lemoncello lacroix (about 1 part juice to 3 parts lacroix but mix to taste) is the most delicious mocktail I've managed to make so far.

It takes like bright sour cherry pie filling but better and is surprisingly complex and is a beautiful red and cranberries makes it seasonally appropriate. Freeze some fancy ice cubes with a few fresh cranberries and little lemon slices in them to add "show"
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 12:58 PM on November 26 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Apple cider, still or sparking, Ritual or other non-alcoholic bourbon, candied ginger garnish. Some of those candied cranberries would be nice too.

For more ginger taste, mix the cider with ginger beer.
posted by BibiRose at 1:05 PM on November 26 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My secret weapon for mocktails is Sanbitter. Hard but possible to find in my city, if expensive. I like it more than any specialty NA spirit, and it comes in teeny little bottles so it's easy to keep in stock without going bad. I tend to use the white more but the red is good too.

Mine this Thanksgiving will be something like 1 part lemon juice, 1 part homemade grenadine, 2 parts sanbitter, soda water to top (basically an NA pomegranate tom collins, a pom collins if you will). Definitely adjust ratios to taste, but iirc I tend to replace booze in a recipe with it 1:1.
posted by davidest at 1:34 PM on November 26 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I really love margarita mix and tonic water (tonic, not seltzer, the good bitter stuff) for a faux rita. Sour mix and tonic is good too.

It's not really a mocktail, but I enjoy bitters and coke when I can find NA bitters. Complex, tasty, easy. Read the labels carefully, while some folks who drink NA can do bitters with that touch of alcohol in it (and arguably, no one is going to get tipsy off of it), a lot of us can't.

Martinelli and OJ for mimosas. :)
posted by joycehealy at 1:55 PM on November 26 [2 favorites]

Best answer: One thing I've done jn the past is brew very strong chai then mixed with reduced apple cider (like simmer a cup until it's reduced by half and gotten very concentrated and topped up with seltzer

I also love a Wildertons and tonic with lime.
posted by brookeb at 5:44 PM on November 26 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Make this and omit the gin: Pomegranate rosemary gin fizz
posted by capricorn at 7:52 PM on November 26 [1 favorite]

Best answer: i recently did 2 parts brewed black tea, 1 part fresh lime juice, 1 part simple syrup with some bitters. I'm still workshopping the name but for now I am calling it a Boston Tea Party.
posted by mmascolino at 8:24 PM on November 26 [1 favorite]

Best answer: There are four commercial items that I've really enjoyed in this past year (I just crossed one year without alcohol, and before then I referred to my self as a cocktail snob). Are any of these accessible to you?

1. Botivo. It's great iced with sparkling water, but the manufacturer also lists all manner of recipes. Bright, sharp, and intensely herbal, it makes an excellent spritz or tonic. Cider vinegar forms the base of its flavor pyramid, but that shouldn't dissuare you. I think it really imitates the powerful "throat hit" of a booze-forward cocktail. That's a difficult itch to scratch in the mocktail universe.

2. Jin Jin. Sweet-sour-umami richness, wonderful diluted with a bit of water. Has some cola-reminiscent undertones and you can play with it in recipes accordingly. Makes a really nice play on an old fashioned.

3. Dr. Zero Zero Amarno. The flavor profile really puts a smile on my face (I used to make weekly trips to Bar 821 in San Francisco for their extravagant selection of amaro). I love it neat so much that I haven't tried it in any cocktails.

4. Sanbitter, Crodino, etc. (mentioned above). All wonderful on the rocks, as a soda or tonic, in spritzes (the clear Sanbitter Bianco plus NA white wine plus soda is spectacular).

My mouth is watering.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 4:14 AM on November 27 [3 favorites]

I saw a recipe for a cranberry sangria that looks good. You could use white grape juice instead of wine.
posted by theora55 at 9:53 AM on November 27