Our 10 Favorite Holiday Mocktails

Fix staffers and writers got together on Monday afternoon to taste-test a batch—10 batches, to be accurate—of inventive non-alcoholic holiday beverages, from drinkable desserts like the "hot apple pie" to zingy bolts of refreshment like the ginger-jalapeno mocktail. As they say, there is no accounting for taste—so we had each Fixie score each drink, and provide a few "tasting notes" as well. Click through the following slides to see which we liked best, and which—not so much.

Ingredients:
Lemon juice
Grenadine
Mint
Sprite

Combine lemon juice, grenadine, torn-up mint leaves and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until well-mixed, and strain into a martini glass. Add a splash of Sprite and stir.

Tasting notes:
“Leaves a syrupy aftertaste.”
“A bit like a Shirley Temple.”

Score: 4.8 (out of 10)

Ingredients:
1/2 Meyer lemon
Sugar
Sage leaves
Salt
Seltzer

Cut the half-lemon into quarters and muddle with a pinch of salt and one tablespoon of sugar in the bottom of a glass. Add four sage leaves to the mixture, and muddle again to release the sage’s aroma. Divide into four glasses, add ice, top with seltzer and stir.

Tasting notes:
“Nice but a little salty; tastes like the forest.”
“Bleakly medicinal—surely the kiss of death for any sober holiday party.”

Score: 4.8

Ingredients:
Pear nectar
Maple syrup
Hot water
Cocoa powder

Heat pear nectar in the microwave or on the stove. Moisten hot mug rims, and dip in cocoa powder. Divide pear nectar into mugs, and add a small shot of maple syrup to each. Dilute the remaining mixture with hot water, to taste.

Tasting notes:
“Real good. Yum city. Too sweet as-is, but would be nice with hot water and a fireplace.”
“A caramel hit, but not a stayer.”

Score: 4.9

Ingredients:
Juniper syrup (see below)
4 oz. fresh lime juice
8 oz. tonic water
Thinly sliced lime rounds

Juniper syrup
1 cup sugar
2 oz. juniper berries, lightly crushed

To make the syrup: Combine sugar, one cup water and juniper berries in a saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Let stand for four hours, then strain into a glass container.

To make the drinks: Pour one part lime juice and two parts juniper syrup into a cocktail shaker, and shake. Pour the mixture into ice-filled glasses, top with tonic water and garnish with lime slices.

Tasting notes:
“Love it. A little too sweet, maybe, but has a sort of nice empty dry flavor because of the juniper.”
“Holy crap this tastes like gin & tonic. Yuck!"

Score: 5.4

Ingredients:
2 rosemary springs
1 oz. peach nectar
1 oz. white cranberry juice
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1 oz. chilled club soda

Combine one rosemary sprig, peach nectar, white cranberry juice, lemon juice, simple syrup and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into ice-filled glasses. Stir in the club soda and garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Tasting notes:
“Tastes sherbert-y, like Champagne punch.”
“Sweet, syrupy and pleasurable—in small doses.”

Score: 5.9

Ingredients:
Limes
Fresh mint
Sugar
Seltzer

Muddle together freshly cut limes, mint leaves and 3 tbsp. sugar. Divide into glasses, add ice, top with seltzer and stir. Garnish with fresh lime wedges.

Tasting notes:
“Crisp and refreshing.”
“Fuzzy and minty, but too bitter for sweeties like me.”

Score: 6

Ingredients:
Fresh orange juice
Cream soda
Vanilla syrup (like the kind you get at Starbucks)
Vanilla ice cream

Add a shot of vanilla syrup and a splash of OJ to glasses containing the cream soda; stir. Finish with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in each.

Tasting notes:
“Liquid dessert—nuclear option.”
“So good! It’s a little bit like a milkshake, but I love the carbonation.”

Score: 7.4

Ingredients:
Fresh ginger
Jalapenos
Morris Kitchen ginger syrup
Seltzer
Limes

Muddle together one sliver each of jalapeno and fresh ginger (or more, for an even spicier drink). Divide into glasses and add ice and a shot of ginger syrup to each. Top with seltzer, stir, and garnish with lime and the butt-end of a jalapeno.

Tasting notes:
“A satisfying kick to the back of the tongue.”
“I could drink this all night long. My mouth is on fire, but I like that.”

Score: 8.2

Ingredients:
Apple cider
Caramel syrup (like the kind you get at Starbucks)
Whipped cream
Cinnamon

Heat the apple cider, divide into mugs and pour a shot of caramel syrup into each. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Tasting notes:
“DELICIOUS. I could drink 100 of these.”
“Tastes like candy in a cup.”

Score: 8.5

Ingredients:
4 oz. apple cider
1 oz. sage and juniper syrup (see below)
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
Ginger beer

Sage and juniper syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
5 fresh sage leaves
10 juniper berries

To make the syrup: Combine the sugar, water, sage and juniper berries in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally, and let sit 10 minutes before straining into a glass container. Keep refrigerated for up to a month.

To make the drinks: In a cocktail shaker, combine the cider, syrup, lemon juice and ice, and shake briefly. Strain into four ice-filled glasses and top with ginger beer; stir.

Tasting notes:
“Da bomb! Manifold and manly—like its name.”
“At last—a mocktail for adults: subtle, questioning and complex.”

Score: 8.6

Many thanks to sober bartender Janelle Best for mixing the drinks, and to her boss Felice Kirby, owner of Teddy's Bar and Grill in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who helped Janelle brainstorm a few of these recipes. And thanks to writer Sue Smith for the billboard photo for this story.

Hunter R. Slaton is the Rehab Review editor for The Fix.