Mocktail Summer

Mocktails for summer

With more mocktail recipes and alcohol-free brands than ever, let’s explore the options.

There is a growing trend around the “sober curious” or “California sober” where people are limiting their intake of alcohol or skipping it all together, with Gen Z particularly mindful of their alcohol, consuming on average 20 percent less than millennials.

Now I love wine, and tequila, and some other particular cocktails in season, but as I age I have cut back as well, putting a larger emphasis on my overall health. Luckily there are more options then ever, from recipes to brands - some good, and some not, but here are some ideas I have rounded up and I will update my thoughts on the brands as I work my way through some personal testing. There are plenty of non-alcoholic spirits, canned mocktails, beer, and wine - but I cannot bring myself to taste the latter. (Wine is wine, and I will not be replacing it! So on that note, try Avaline’s wonderful organic wines)

All of the below are very much up to personal taste - they are not supposed to be exactly like the alcoholic classics, and should be experimented with to meet your taste expectations.

Shop the (nearly) full list here

BRANDS

Some nonalcoholic drinks are faux versions of alcoholic spirits, like gin or tequila, which can be helpful when you want that summer taste of a G&T or margarita. As I have not tried them all, I checked out recent taste test reviews from the New York Times and Food & Wine, while adding in a few of my own These were some of the top picks that did not necessarily mimic, but held their own in terms of complexity and uniqueness.

MIXED CANNED DRINKS / MOCKTAILS

Recess Zero Proof Craft Mocktails: Mojitos, margarita, and more
Seedlip trio: grove, garden, and spice - good with soda
Herbaceous spirits Pentire Adrift: dry, clear spirit, good with tonic
Aplós Calme and Aplós Arise: also good with a little seltzer and lemon
Wildfred’s non-alcoholic bittersweet aperitif

Ghia: Mediterranean-inspired aperitivos
Figlia Fiore: Fruity, spiced, and good with soda
Three Spirit Livener: watermelon and ginger notes
St. Agrestis Phony Negroni
Ritual Zero-Proof Rum + Gin
Monday zero alcohol gin
Optimist Botanicals Smokey Spirit
Spiritless Kentucky non-alcoholic bourbon
Curious Elixir No. 2: Good to mix margarita style
Cut Above zero alcohol Mezcal
Dr. Zero bitter cocktail
Roots Divino Aperitif Bianco vermouth
Lyre’s coffee ‘liqueur’ style
BEER: Athletic Brewing Company or Go Brewing Non-Alcoholic Beer

*While not actually mocktails, there has been a huge rise in gut-healthy, soda alternative drink brands like Poppi, Olipop, Mayawell, and a host of kombucha brands like Rowdy Mermaid and Liquid Remedy

CELEBRITY

It’s not just the celebrity tequila brands taking over the market, but the many non-alcoholic options too. For example, the following offer canned mocktails and non-alcoholic drink brands:

Mingle Mocktails by Bethenny Frankel (who previously created ‘Skinny Girl’ cocktail line) - available in both bottles and cans
Mix oloshe Lychee Martini by Zayn Malik
De Soi from Katie Perry: “A range of non-alcoholic apéritifs” - try the De Soi Très Rosé
Betty Buzz by Blake Lively (her husband Ryan Reynolds used to own the gin brand ‘Aviation’) - I categorize these more as sodas, but they sell them as mixers
Kin Euphorics by Jen Batchelor & Bella Hadid
Almave from Lewis Hamilton: “A non-alcoholic spirit distilled from Blue Agave, perfect for sipping or mixing. The first non-alcoholic Blue Agave spirit made in Jalisco, Mexico”
BEER: Ted Segers Non-Alcoholic Beer by Dax Shephard