This post is part of my 12 Days of Christmas campaign where I share a Christmassy blog post every day for 12 days! It involves giveaways, competitions and more – so keep your eyes peeled!
The festive season is upon us! For many people this is their favourite time of year, a time to see friends and family, go to many parties and have lots of food and drink. I personally like a drink, but also feel the Christmas season gets a bit much for me in terms of alcohol. Pair this with a lot of stodgy food, no time for the gym and needing to be on top-form to engage with family and fiends – alcohol is not always the best!
If you feel the same, or simply feel like you’d like to swap for a mocktail alternative sometimes, here are 5 non-alcoholic festive drink recipes!
1. Spiced marmelade toddy
From the Sunday Times
| Ingredients: |
| 4 tablespoons of marmalade |
| 300ml cloudy apple juice |
| 60g honey |
| 4 cloves |
How to:
- Warm all the ingredients in a pan, along with 300ml water, until the honey and marmalade have dissolved.
- Strain through a sieve to remove the cloves and the marmalade zest.
- Pour into heatproof glasses or mugs.
2. Elderflower Collins
From the Guardian
| Ingredients: |
| 15ml elderflower cordial |
| 20ml lemon juice |
| Lemonade to top |
| To garnish: lemon slice, mint sprig |
How to:
Half-fill a tall glass with ice, pour in all the ingredients. Garnish with lemon and mint. Serve!
3. Winter Sangria
From Immaeatthat
| Ingredients: |
| 2 oranges, sliced |
| 2 grapefruits, sliced |
| 1 cup cranberries |
| ~450 ml pomegranate juice |
| 1 cup orange juice |
| 2 chai tea bags |
| ~700 ml of grapefruit flavored sparkling water |
| To garnish: anise starts, cinnamon sticks, fresh cranberries |
Preheat oven to 400ºF. On a baking sheet, place sliced oranges, sliced grapefruit and cranberries. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cranberries burst and caramelize a bit. Meanwhile, boil pomegranate juice and orange juice. Once boiling, pour over chai tea bag. Steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags. Add in caramelized fruit and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. Fill a glass half full of the sangria mix and fill the rest of the glass with grapefruit sparkling water. Garnish with anise stars, cinnamon sticks and fresh cranberries.
4. Mock Champagne
From Oh So Delicioso
| Ingredients: |
| Ginger ale |
| White grape juice |
| Raspberries |
How to:
Simple mix the ginger ale with the grape juice and pour in a fancy champagne glass. Top with raspberries.
5. Holiday Mojito Mocktail with Cranberry and Pomegranate
From PrettyLifeGirls
| Ingredients: |
| 3 tablespoons sugar |
| 3 tablespoons water |
| 1/2 cup fresh cranberries |
| 12-18 mint sprigs |
| 2 tablespoons lime juice |
| 60ml pomegranate juice |
| 1-2 cans of ginger ale |
| ice |
How to:
- Add sugar, water and fresh cranberries to a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes until the cranberries start to open up and the sauce gets very thick. Set aside and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, add mint and lime to each glass. Muddle together to extract the flavor of the mint. Add ice.
- Add in Canada Dry®, pomegranate juice and cooled cranberry reduction to each glass.
- Top with more mint, lime, and cranberries as garnish. Serve immediately.
If you are looking for some more tasty Mocktail recipes, have a look at this book:
