In the world of cocktails, there are quite a few that stand the test of time, decade after decade after decade. Thankfully, what this decade has brought us is the availability of mocktail ingredients, both thanks to ingenious bartenders and the uptick of nonalcoholic or zero-proof spirits. Classic cocktails? Not anymore. It's time for classic mocktails.
Classic Gimlet Mocktail
With or without nonalcoholic gin, this virgin gimlet will have your lips going from puckering to smiling. And isn't that the way life should be?
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic gin, optional OR rosemary-infused water
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- Ice
- Lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a coupe glass.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, nonalcoholic gin, lime juice, and simple syrup.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
Mocktail Classic Irish Coffee
With this classic cocktail riff, you can finally enjoy an Irish coffee every morning without losing your edge. Finally, Mondays aren't so intolerable.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic bourbon, optional
- ½ ounce brown sugar simple syrup
- 2-3 dashes cinnamon bitters
- ½ dash vanilla extract
- Hot coffee to top off
- Whipped cream for garnish
Instructions
- Warm a mug by filling it with hot water.
- After the mug is warm to touch, pour out the water.
- In the mug, add nonalcoholic bourbon, brown sugar simple syrup, bitters, and vanilla extract.
- Top off with hot coffee.
- Garnish with whipped cream.
Classic Nonalcoholic Whiskey Smash Mocktail
The flavors of chilled black tea seamlessly step in for your usual whiskey in this mocktail riff on the classic. It may not have the same burn as the classic. If you use nonalcoholic bourbon, it'll have that spicy burn, so add just two ounces instead of using tea. If that's not an option, the secret is to add just a pinch of ground black pepper to the chilled tea.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces chilled black tea
- 3 lemon wedges
- 3 mint leaves
- ¾ ounce simple syrup
- Small pinch black pepper
- Crushed ice
- Lemon slice and mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle the lemon wedges.
- Add ice, chilled black tea, mint leaves, simple syrup, and black pepper.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over crushed ice.
- Garnish with a lemon slice and mint sprig.
Nonalcoholic Classic Whiskey Sour Mocktail
Rely on the nonalcoholic bourbon to carry the virgin riff on the classic sour. Chilled black tea makes a tasty base as well. Don't worry about adding black pepper, as the egg white is a co-star in this drink.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic bourbon
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- 1 egg white OR 1 ounce aquafaba
- Ice
- Lemon peel for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add nonalcoholic bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white.
- Dry shake for approximately 45 seconds to mix ingredients and create a froth.
- Add ice to shaker.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a lemon peel.
Nonalcoholic Classic Pimm's Cup Mocktail
You're skipping the Pimm's liqueur for this mocktail riff but with a little ginger syrup and orange juice, you'll be saying, "Pimm? Pimm who?"
Ingredients
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce ginger syrup
- Ice
- Ginger ale to top off
- Cucumber wheel, lemon slice, strawberry slice, and mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add ice, orange juice, lemon juice, and ginger syrup.
- Top off with ginger ale.
- Stir gently to mix.
- Garnish with a cucumber wheel, lemon slice, strawberry slice, and mint sprig.
Nonalcoholic Aperol Spritz Mocktail
Those first few days of warmer weather - when you wrack your brain trying to transition from warm mocktails to something to sip in the heat - can really put the brain in a spin. Enter the Aperol spritz mocktail. It's the solution to any of life's problems.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces nonalcoholic sparkling wine
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic Italian orange liqueur
- 1 ounce club soda
- 1-2 dashes orange bitters
- Ice
- Orange wheel for garnish
Instructions
- In a wine glass, add ice, nonalcoholic sparkling wine, nonalcoholic Italian orange liqueur, club soda, and orange bitters.
- Stir twice to mix.
- Garnish with an orange wheel.
Classic Painkiller Mocktail
The original, boozy painkiller is a DOOZY. Just half of one too many, and you'll need a small handful of ibuprofen to help you out. No such worries with this mocktail version of the classic.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic dark rum, optional
- 4 ounces pineapple juice
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 ounces cream of coconut
- ½ ounce orgeat
- Ice
- Pineapple wedge and grated nutmeg for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, nonalcoholic dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, cream of coconut, and orgeat.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a hurricane or highball glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with grated nutmeg and a pineapple wedge.
Mai Tai Classic Mocktail
The mai tai becomes a nonalcoholic punch, but isn't that what most classic rum cocktails are anyway - but with alcohol? That just means you can enjoy this with your bagel in the morning or along with your afternoon meeting.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces nonalcoholic white rum, optional
- 2 ounces orange juice
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¾ ounce grenadine
- ¾ ounce orgeat
- ½ ounce cherry juice
- ½ ounce nonalcoholic dark rum OR 2-3 dashes cinnamon bitters
- Ice
- Mint sprig and orange wheel for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, orange juice, lime juice, grenadine, orgeat, cherry juice, and cinnamon bitters.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a mint sprig and orange wheel.
Classic Bramble Mocktail
Nonalcoholic gin is a staple in this mocktail riff, but if that just isn't going to work out for you, a half-ounce of rosemary simple syrup muddled with a rosemary sprig will get the job done.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic gin, optional
- 1½ ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ ounce simple syrup
- Crushed ice
- ½ ounce blackberry syrup
- Two whole blackberries for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, nonalcoholic gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over crushed ice.
- Slowly add blackberry syrup, do not stir.
- Garnish with two whole blackberries.
Nonalcoholic Negroni Mocktail
The nonalcoholic Italian orange liqueur isn't quite as bitter as Campari, but a few dashes of orange or cranberry bitters balance this mocktail out absolutely perfectly. Another secret swap: use dry nonalcoholic red wine with a splash of simple syrup in place of the nonalcoholic sweet vermouth.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic gin OR rosemary-infused water
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic Italian orange liqueur
- 2 ounces nonalcoholic sweet vermouth
- Ice
- Orange peel for garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing glass, add ice, nonalcoholic gin, nonalcoholic Italian orange liqueur, and nonalcoholic sweet vermouth.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with an orange peel.
Turning Drinks Into Classic Virgin Cocktails
There's no shortage of ideas or innovations when you're busy in your home bar crafting up new flavors and mocktails, especially when you have nonalcoholic spirits on hand. By no means an exhaustive list, these are even more avenues of classic virgin drinks to explore.
- Dive into virgin classic margaritas for anytime of the year or extend your nonalcoholic tequila kick with a virgin paloma.
- Take a trip to the beach with a virgin daiquiri, keeping it traditional or living the juicy, strawberry life.
- Pink drinks aren't just for traditional cocktails - enjoy a nonalcoholic cosmo.
- Few cocktails are as recognizable as the old-fashioned, and the modern mocktail version of the old-fashioned is just as iconic.
- Like the boozy bourbon old-fashioned, it may seem out of reach to make a virgin mint julep, but the dreams of a nonalcoholic mint julep are quickly a reality.
- A classic martini like an appletini, a dirty martini, or even lemon drop? It's more than doable as a martini mocktail - it's downright irresistible.
- With a hat tip to both fruit juices and nonalcoholic wine, you can make serving after serving, or pitcher upon pitcher, of virgin sangria -- red or white!
Making Virgin Mocktails Out of Classics
The beauty of the cocktail world is that it is constantly changing, shifting, and altering to fit trends and modify itself to suit the times. The rise of the mocktail is no exception. To loosely quote Jurassic Park, Welcome to the world of classic mocktails.
