How To Make Craft Mocktails Like A Pro At Home
Try My Simple Two-Step Process. 👇
I just passed my two-year anniversary of being alcohol-free, so let’s talk about mocktails. 🍹
Creating fun & fresh mocktails at home has been an activity I look forward to similarly as some enjoy pouring a glass of wine after a long day. Now, there’s no shame in your game if you still enjoy alcohol on occasion, but these “health drinks” have been my favorite swap when I chose to ditch alcohol. Since I started my sober journey, I’m now mentally clear, physically feel fucking great, and I get to use my natural plant solutions to boost my wellness.
So if you want to learn how to make craft mocktails like a pro in the comfort of your own home, continue reading. 👀
It’s a simple two-step, A + B recipe that’s going to blow your mind. Are you a visual learner? You can watch me go over this process here!
Step A = Base
With any drink, you need something to build off of. In the past, when drinking mocktails, maybe a Vodka Club, Moscow Mule, or the like, the synonymous element is the carbonation. When we start with a base that contains fizz, we’re already putting ourselves one step ahead of the game! Here are some of my favorite base options:
Club Soda
Flavored Sparkling Water — My favs are Waterloo or Bubly
Health “Soda’s” — A unique opportunity with a mocktail is to transform it into a fun, health drink. For this, I love to use an Apple Cider Vinegar based “soda” called Poppi! This acts as a prebiotic for gut health, but it still tastes delicious. Poppi’s are low in sugar and if you want a “soda” that tastes more traditional, check out OliPop. Their flavors are very similar to traditional soda brands.
Kombucha — My absolute favorite is the Synergy Trilogy blend. The fermentation of Kombucha emulates the hoppiness that you’d get with a traditional IPA.
If you don’t love carbonation, these are the other bases I totally recommend! ↓
Fresh Juice — I love to use homemade Apple Cider! Check out my recipe in this blog.
Infused Water — Cucumber is such a bold flavor and doesn’t take a lot. One cucumber would be perfect for 64 ounces of water. You can also use citrus, bruised herbs, or even mudde some fruit! Let sit to fully infuse for 12 - 24 hours.
Allllright, now that we’ve mastered our A element, it’s time to move on to Step B.
P.S. If you want to grab my free mocktail guide head to the bottom of this page and sign up for my email list. 📧
Step B = Fresh
In addition to your base, something fresh adds that “craft” flare that really levels your mocktail TF up. Here are some of my favorite fresh elements that are super easy to have on hand at all times:
Fresh Herbs — Mint, sage, basil, and thyme are my go-tos. Depending on what type of climate you live in, these herbs can typically last for a good part of the year. If you live in a climate where you can’t grow herbs, check out your local market where the selection for fresh herbs is normally pretty great.
When using herbs, you’ll want to wake them up to stimulate the oils in the plant. You can do this by slapping it on your hand or across the counter top. Be gentle enough so you don’t tear the herb apart. Once the herb becomes more fragrant you know you’re ready!
Leafier herbs like sage, basil, or mint are best used when muddled or even added to the blender to make a potent cordial of sorts!
Fresh Citrus — You make not know, but the peels of citrus have intense flavor that are a great addition to your mocktail. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog on how to peel and flame a citrus! 👀🍊
Muddled Fruits — Cucumber and berries are my favorite fruits to muddle but beware of chunk of fruit in your drink! To avoid this, consider straining your drink before adding it to the final glass or pop in a fun straw to avoid chewing your mocktail. 😉
Fresh Pressed Juice — Your local market might have these in plastic bottles or glass jars, but you can find all kinds of fresh juices from standalone fruits and veggies to delicious blends.
Hot tip: When making a mocktail at night, I opt for Tart Cherry Juice as this naturally contains melatonin which can help with sleep. 🍒
Instead of using those 99¢ lemon and lime squeeze bottles your grandma used to keep in the door of the fridge, I love to keep Santa Cruz fresh lemon and lime juice on hand. These can get pricey, but the good thing is, you don’t need too much!
⚠️ Warning: Some of the following items are traditional & some aren’t, but they will really level up your mocktail.
Fresh Elderberry Elixir — This adds some deep warmth to your mocktail with intense layered flavors so you don’t have to work very hard to get that craft mocktail experience.
You can save 15% on your All Things Elderberry Elixir with code ALANA15
Bitters — This adds a grounded and earthy flavor! Check out bitters for digestion to level up your gut health.
Extracts — There are tons of different flavors you can use with extracts. Try using a vanilla extract with a strawberry sparkling water… yum! 🍓
Non-Alcoholic Spirits — Totally not a must have, but I do love to keep these on hand. Seedlip is the brand I tend to reach for. This is essentially the distilled essence of all the fresh elements I mentioned above in one easy to use bottle.
Essential Oils — This is one of the last elements I want to talk about for adding depth and layers of flavor to your mocktail. But last is not least! These babies pack a punch. 👊 So I know you’re wondering, are essential oils safe to ingest? If the bottle has a clear nutrition label / supplement fact, you can rest assured that they are safe to ingest. Since there is so much uncertainty around EO’s, I have done deep research on the brand I felt comfortable promoting and partnering with. When I chose to partner with dōTERRA, it was because of their clean sourcing, third-party testing, and their determination to work with farmers to find the best and most natural place to find each oil. Because of this, dōTERRA EO’s are free of fillers and synthetics which automatically makes you feel better about ingesting them. If you want to get your hands on some EO’s for your next mocktail, a drop or two will do and you can find them here.
Base + Fresh = Craft Mocktails Like A Pro At Home. 🍹✨
There you have it! We have our base and options with or without carbonation, plus we covered a multitude of options to add as your fresh element. In an upcoming blog, I’ll share about how to actually put Step A and Step B together in an easy, weeknight mocktail 101 format.
FYI: You can get your hands on my favorite plant-based, natural essential oils here! I love using all citrus oils 🍊🍋 Any oil that has a nutrition label on the bottle is safe to ingest.
