u/castironandcocktails

Warmer days are here, so perfect weather for a long drink, and since we just cracked open our first watermelon of the season, we might as well put it to good use.

Recipe: Sandia Spritz N/A

Ingredients:

4 mint leaves

0.5 oz lime (or just the juice of half a lime)

3 oz cucumber watermelon juice*

4 dashes of a herby, non-alcoholic bitter.

~4 oz ginger beer

Garnish:

Mint and/or thin lengthwise sliced cucumbers

Build:

1. Add mint and lime juice to a Collins or highball glass and lightly muddle.

2. If using the thin cucumber garnish, now is the time I would recommend adding that to the glass. With the glass still dry, it is more apt to stick to the inside of the glass and stay in place while finishing the drink.

3. Add cucumber watermelon juice, and bitters if using.

4. Add ice, then top with ginger beer.

5. Garnish with a sprig of mint, and enjoy!

Notes:

*To make the cucumber watermelon juice, combine equal parts peeled cucumber and watermelon in a blender. Blend until liquefied, then strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids.

It's Mocktail Monday, and we are making a bright, vibrant cranberry sour that is perfect for these warm spring days. This one uses the same cranberry juice from our N/A Cosmopolitan to give you another fun option for repurposing that leftover juice.

Side note, I love Sours, especially for Mocktails because the egg white gives the drink a great texture and the foam you get is just so eye catching that it really helps it not feel like a Mocktail in my opinion.

Recipe: N/A Cranberry Sour

Ingredients:

0.75 oz hot honey simple syrup*

1.5 oz fresh lemon juice

3.5 oz 100% cranberry juice

1 egg white or 1 oz aquafaba**

Build:

1. Add hot honey simple syrup, lemon juice, cranberry juice, and egg white or aquafaba to a shaker.

2. Add ice, seal, and shake aggressively for about 30 seconds to chill and whip the egg white or aquafaba.

3. Strain into a Nick and Nora, coupe, or whatever other glass you feel like using.

4. Enjoy!

Notes:

*The goal is not for the drink to be spicy. The hot honey is just there to add a little complexity. You should only get the subtlest hint of spice at the back of the palate.

**While the risk of foodborne illness from raw egg white is relatively negligible, there is always some risk involved. You can reduce that risk by using pasteurized egg whites or substituting aquafaba instead.

May the Fourth be with your mocktail. Since it’s Star Wars Day, we figured we might as well make a Bantha Milk Mocktail to celebrate.

Recipe: N/A Bantha (Blue) Milk Mocktail

Ingredients:

1.5 oz pineapple juice

0.75 oz N/A blue curaçao (or N/A triple sec with 2 drops blue food coloring)

0.5 oz lime juice

3 oz full-fat coconut milk*

Build:

1. Add pineapple juice, blue curaçao, and lime juice to a shaker tin with ice.

2. Add coconut milk and shake aggressively to combine and chill.

3. Strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice.

4. Enjoy!

Notes:

* Do not try to sub in light or low-fat coconut milk here. You need the higher fat content to keep the drink from separating or curdling. Trust me, I tried. This is also why I list adding the coconut milk as a seperate step right before shaking, so there is less time for it to interact with the acid before dilution.

Full disclosure, this is a version I came up with after some internet sleuthing, if you’ve had the one at Disney and decide to try this, I’d love to hear how it compares.

It’s Monday, and the Kentucky Derby is less than a week away, which can only mean one thing. We’re making a non-alcoholic version of the classic Mint Julep for Mocktail Monday.

Recipe: N/A Mint Julep

Ingredients:

6–8 large mint leaves

0.5 oz simple syrup

3 oz strong black tea, cooled

2 dashes Fee Brothers Old Fashioned or Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters* (optional, see note)

Mint sprigs for garnish (optional)

Build:

1. Add mint and simple syrup to a julep cup or rocks glass, and muddle gently to release the oils from the mint.

2. Add tea and bitters to the glass, top with crushed ice (if you are able; normal cubes are fine otherwise), and stir to combine and chill.

3. Top with additional crushed ice if needed and garnish with mint sprigs.

Notes:

*Fee Brothers Old Fashioned bitters (both the original and Whiskey Barrel Aged) are 17.5% ABV. However, two dashes is not enough to bring the drink anywhere close to the 0.5% ABV threshold to be considered non-alcoholic. That said, I understand everyone’s tolerances and reasons for abstaining are different, so feel free to omit if you like. It is still going to be great!