Discovering Mocktails and Mixology
IMAGE VIA: Jakub Dziubak / Unsplash (@jckbck)
09.18.24| Vol. 56, No. 1 | Article
A few months ago, I had next to no experience with mocktails. This summer, however, I decided to host game night with a friend and—realizing the success of our gathering was at stake without a variety of ice-cold refreshments—elected to become a bartender.
I scoured Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration, searching for recipes that had a few simple, affordable ingredients that could be modified from traditional cocktail recipes.
It was important to me that these drinks weren’t trying to be a cocktail, but instead simply be a delicious drink and experience on their own. Most recipes included ‘zero-proof’ versions of liquor, as if a mocktail couldn’t exist unless it was trying to be a one-to-one replication of a cocktail—just without the consequences.
It’s true: in its most basic sense, a mocktail mocks (meaning to copy or replicate without the original ingredients). It copies the cocktail in visual appeal, flavour complexity, and overall experience.
For one thing, I couldn’t afford to buy zero-proof liquor just for one recipe. For another, I knew people were attending the event while on their journey of sobriety. While a mocktail can be a replication, I felt it was important to highlight drinks that didn’t beg for a shot of zero-proof gin or rum.
I ended up with three drinks: a sour cherry tart, a rosemary ginger raspberry cordial, and a spin on the classic mojito that will make you forget the original had rum.
I made each of these drinks from scratch, but that is not a necessary step; I am a perfectionist.
Fresh fruit, preferably warmed by the sun, is my favourite part of summer. My grandparents happen to have an abundance of it.
On one of my visits, I picked several pounds of cherries and pitted them with my grandma. On another visit, we picked a large ice cream bucket full of raspberries.
When I started planning the event, I wanted to capture the freshness of in-season fruit, and it seemed natural to use what I had on hand.
Fresh citrus will make any drink taste better with its clear and bright flavour, but if bottled concentrate is all you have on hand, don’t sweat it.
I think that’s the key:
A good mocktail should be simple, delicious, and refreshing.
The Shirley Temple is often cited as the ‘first mocktail’, although a truer title would be ‘the most famous’. The legend goes that while out to dinner with her parents at the Chasen’s Hotel in Hollywood, the child star, Shirley Temple, ‘whined’ about not having a fancy drink like the old-fashioneds her parents were drinking.
A waiter, taking pity on the young girl, mixed grenadine with lemon-lime soda and garnished it with the iconic maraschino cherries.
I have not made my own Shirley Temple, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had one. But when I think of them, I’m immediately transported back to the age of nine, waiting with my parents and siblings in the Shore Birds Restaurant on Waikiki Beach.
I think the hostess could tell we were hungry because she offered us Shirley Temples while we waited.
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The drinks were served in the tallest, fanciest glasses I had ever seen—old milkshake glasses with the ribbed sides—and the grenadine dyed our tongues red.
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Most sources point to the temperance movement for the creation of the mocktail.
The temperance movement was a political movement from the mid 19th to early 20th centuries that saw the creation, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages as immoral and dangerous. It started in New York and quickly swept the globe. The movement first called for moderation of alcohol and then complete abstinence.
People thought public spaces should be sober for all to enjoy, including women and children. Thus, alcohol was banned.
Robert Simonson—who has authored many cocktail recipes and history books—asserts that non-alcoholic cocktails arrived on the scene well before the name ‘mocktail’ was coined in 1916.
In the mid to late 19th century, mocktails were known as ‘temperance drinks’ and were said to be as common as cocktails.
“Nearly every cocktail book printed up until Prohibition’s arrival included a formula not just for basic lemonade, but also for orgeat lemonade, orangeade, limeade, ginger lemonade, and egg lemonade,” Simonson writes for Punch Magazine.
As the Prohibition era threatened the livelihood of many bartenders, they started experimenting with spiritless spirits: “lemonade and coolers weren’t going to cut it anymore,” Simonson writes. “They began to attempt non-alcoholic versions of the cocktails that they were about to lose in the hopes of keeping their audience.”
Temperance drinks were more than just fancy lemonade. They were mocktails.
While challenging at first, these drinks did eventually catch on. However, when Prohibition ended, the public quickly turned back full force to real cocktails and other alcoholic beverages.
Sodas or syrupy drinks like the Shirley Temple became the only alternative. It quickly became a kid’s drink rather than something on par with a cocktail.
Fortunately, the mocktail’s journey isn’t over. Gillian Tiety of Sober Powered describes 21st century mocktails as “premium” beverages. As Tiety explains, mocktails gave bartenders “a free hand to experiment with a wide array of ingredients, from exotic fruits to spices to artisanal soda, and a focus on presentation, playing with colours, glassware, and garnishes.”
Mocktails have also long provided a disguise for those who don’t want to drink but want to socialize and enjoy themselves. Recently, they’ve made a resurgence.
Mocktails are making appearances on bar menus and, in some instances, are the only option on the menu. The first sober bars in British Columbia opened in 2023.
“They’re [for] the people who want to enjoy Sunday morning as much as Saturday night,” Sobar co-owner Hanna Spinelli told CBC News. According to CBC, the shift to non-alcoholic alternatives is largely in part to younger generations having concern “as more evidence of the health impacts of drinking emerges.”
Bevees co-owner Racquel Foran noted the importance of alcohol-free spaces for people who “don’t drink due to religious and cultural reasons, because they’re in recovery, or … due to health or personal reasons.”
The social aspect of bars, clubs, and pubs cannot be understated. That’s why we chose to have a Mocktails and Games Night rather than just the drinks. It was an opportunity for the people who came—most who were from different areas of our lives and didn’t know each other—to jell quickly and to have a lot of fun.
At one of the tables, six people gathered around a very heated game of Sorry. On the other side of the room, a group of twelve crammed around a western-themed card game called Bang! (I later heard from several people that this game was a highlight).
Now, I know this article is feeling very similar to a mother’s blog telling you about how her kid fell in the dirt and that somehow reminded her of her great aunt’s five-times-removed cousin’s ex-best-friend’s banana cream pie (a secret family recipe that she will share with you… eventually).
But I assure you, there is lemon juice among all these seeds.
Mojito (Mockito).
IMAGE VIA: kim ick / Unsplash (@kimick)
Used in many drinks, simple syrup is just a one-to-one ratio of water and sugar. Bring it to a rolling boil in a pot, then take it off the heat to let it cool. It’s the easiest liquid sweetener.
Plus, you can store it in a clean glass jar sealed with a tight-fitting lid and it will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month. I elevated the experience by infusing the simple syrup with ginger and rosemary. It’s a really easy way to bring more complex flavours into the drink.
Soda water is the unsung hero of most non-alcoholic cocktails. It’s often the distinction between fruit juice and a mocktail. Internet recipes will swear by tonic water, soda water, or soda streams. These each bring a unique element to the drink, but I’d say use your preference. We used Western Family’s Just Bubbles (not sponsored) because at the end of the day, it’s just bubbles.
My original plan for garnish was to keep things simple. Fresh, in-season cherries on the cherry tart; beautiful pink raspberries on the cordial; and mint in the mojito.
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But when my friend showed up to the event wielding a spontaneously purchased cucumber, it became an unexpectedly tasty—dare I say perfect—pairing for the mojito.
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I pieced the cuke into four-inch chunks lengthwise and sliced them into paper-thin strips. After muddling the mint and lime juice, I coiled a slice in the glass filled with ice and topped it off with soda water and a sprig of mint.
The effect was a more complex-looking drink than I had mixed up, its seafoam green colour balanced nicely throughout.
Drinks, alcoholic or otherwise, interest me from a creative perspective. Mixology is an area I have limited experience in and want to explore. I enjoy researching recipes and trying out different flavour combinations that I previously wouldn’t have thought about.
I also like to enjoy Sunday morning without a hangover.
Sharing food and beverages with others has always been a way for people to gather and create community, and I love promoting that even to us sober folks. But I think what draws me to mocktails the most is their simple ingredients, incredible flavour, and delicious results.
Recipes
Sour Cherry Tart
This drink is perfect for highlighting summer fruit. Whether you buy or make your own syrup, this beverage is refreshing all year round.
2
2
ounces cherry syrup
tsp lime juice
soda water, as needed
ice, as needed
cherries for garnish
1.
In a glass, mix the cherry syrup and lime juice. Top with soda water and stir to combine. Add ice and garnish with fresh cherries.
- In a glass, mix the cherry syrup and lime juice. Top with soda water and stir to combine. Add ice and garnish with fresh cherries.
The Mojito
This drink was recommended to me by a bartender and I’d have to agree with her recommendation. It’s such a simple combination of lime and mint and makes for a refreshing drink at the end of summer.
10
½
1
mint leaves, plus more for garnish
lime cut into wedges (keep a wedge for garnish!)
ounce simple syrup
soda water
ice, as needed
1.
2.
3.
In a medium glass, muddle the mint leaves, lime wedges, and simple syrup until the lime juice is released.
Add the ice and soda water.
Garnish with a sprig of mint and the remaining lime wedge.
- In a medium glass, muddle the mint leaves, lime wedges, and simple syrup until the lime juice is released.
- Add the ice and soda water.
- Garnish with a sprig of mint and the remaining lime wedge.
Rosemary Ginger Raspberry Cordial
This drink takes more preparation than the previous recipes, but is very much worth it. The rosemary and ginger infusion perfectly compliment the lighter notes of the raspberry syrup.
Simple syrup infusion:
¼
¼
1
2
cup water
cup sugar
inch piece of fresh ginger root, sliced
sprigs of rosemary
Mocktail:
2
½
1
ounces raspberry syrup
ounce simple syrup
ounce lemon juice
soda water
ice, as needed
fresh raspberries for garnish
2.
Add all the simple syrup ingredients to a small pot and bring to a boil. Set aside and let cool completely. This will make enough for several servings. Store extra in a clean glass jar with a sealable lid.
To a glass, add raspberry syrup, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add ice and top with soda water. Garnish with raspberries.
- Add all the simple syrup ingredients to a small pot and bring to a boil. Set aside and let cool completely. This will make enough for several servings. Store extra in a clean glass jar with a sealable lid.
- To a glass, add raspberry syrup, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add ice and top with soda water. Garnish with raspberries.
Fran is a Creative Writing student, a journalist for TAKE 5 Newsmagazine, managing editor for GOOEY Magazine and is now adding writer for The Nav to the many hats she wears. Her fiction has been published in the first issue of GOOEY Magazine, and she was one of the interviewers for VIU’s Gustafson Poet, Karen Solie, which appears in Portal 2024.When she’s not studying, working, or being active in the campus community, Fran can be found tending her garden, where she enjoys the blooming weeds just as much as the flowers she planted.
