A Compendium of Fun Non-Alcoholic Drinks
I’m getting reports that it’s the middle of August. I’d like to spend my remaining free time this month in one of two ways: swimming or sitting outside with a special drink and rotating cast of people I like. I’ve also been in the mood to drink less alcohol. So, we turned to friends, food experts, and CoJ readers for ideas, and here are bodega recs, easy recipes, and childhood classics…
Canned Faves
“Pentire’s Paloma tastes so fresh, I honestly can’t believe it comes out of a can. I serve it over ice, in a rocks glass. To make it extra fancy, my in-house bartender (my husband) will add a spring of whatever herb we have in the fridge.” — Katherine Lewin, Big Night founder
“I am perhaps Athletic Brewing’s best customer. Free Wave is my favorite.” — Chris Cohen, writer/editor
“On nights when we’re not drinking, my fiancé and I split an Olipop (as if it’s some kind of treat!). We pour it into these vintage amber wine glasses we found together in Philly, and it adds a little sparkle to our evening. It’s a small thing but constant. I’m partial to the apple flavor.” — Eric Kim, New York Times food columnist
“Ghia is a female-founded, non-alcoholic aperitivo that will make you feel like you’re on vacation in Italy. It’s bitter but bright, with notes of yuzu, grapefruit, and rosemary. I order the canned spritz, then pour them over ice.” — , CoJ reader
“Trader Joe’s sparkling ciders give me the vibe of a cocktail. They’re very flavorful and slightly sour. Having one is my evening treat.” — Amy, CoJ reader
Easy Homemade
“I have a solution for when a watermelon falls flat when you cut into it — too watery, too mealy, too bland. Happens to the best of us! My solution is to put an immersion blender into the red flesh of the watermelon. Then, I strain out the gunk to make watermelon juice. My favorite way to season it is with salt, lime, and sumac.” — Hayley Yates, private chef
“It is my personal belief that an Arnold Palmer is the perfect beverage. I brew black iced tea in advance, then purchase a good-quality lemonade. For a party, pour iced tea and lemonade into two separate pitchers, set out a bucket of ice, and let everybody make their perfect ratio of tea to lemonade. Mine is 75%/25%.” — Katherine Lewin, Big Night founder
Childhood Classics
“Every summer day is an opportunity to hit the RBF: the glorious root beer float. My one-two punch is grabbing a bodega soda (root beer mostly, but I also dabble in Coke and orange soda) and a vanilla cone from the Mister Softee truck. Most city parks are flanked by ice cream trucks this time of year, thank god.” — Hayley Yates, private chef
“My favorite summer drink experience is a spontaneous Yoo-hoo in a can. The crack of a cold Yoo-hoo on a hot day is one of the best summer sounds.” — Hannah La Follette Ryan, photographer
“It’s really hard to create a better beverage than an ice-cold Coke, right?” — Chris Cohen, writer/editor
We’d love to hear: What’s your go-to summer drink?
P.S. “Why I decided to give up drinking,” and the best non-alcoholic beer: a taste test.
(Sunset photo from Cornwall, England, where my aunt lives.)
Comments
98 commentsThis is the summer of matcha for me. I know everyone was into it before, and I am new to this party. My favorite variation is a matcha limeade. I bloom a little matcha, pour over ice, and top with limeade. It’s an earthier arnold palmer. Kombucha is my favorite NA beverage. It has complexity, sourness, and bubbles. I know it has trace amounts of alcohol, but not enough to keep me from drinking it.
I’m definitely intrigued by your matcha limeaid- sounds delicious!
I’ve been enjoying club soda with grapefruit juice and a splash of bitters (although I guess bitters has alcohol? but I can’t imagine a few drops does much). For canned beverages, I really like the De Soi Très Rosé and Lyre’s Amalfi Spritz. In a fancy glass with ice, they hit that sweet spot of fizzy, fun, and not boring.
lately, I have been drinking grated ginger blended with frozen blueberries and water and then add seltzer or ginger ale. Refreshing and a little spicy! We have a little smoker from amazon, which I sometimes pull out to add a little more fun!
I love Olipop too, but Eric you deserve your own can! 😅I also love the crisp apple. Other favorites are the orange, orange cream or root beer. They can get pricey so lately I’ve been cold brewing tea. I switch back and forth between Hibiscus ( or as they in Mexico Jamaica) with some grated ginger and a little maple syrup to taste. And an herbal digestive tea blend I bought on a recent trip to Washington. I add a couple organic peppermint tea bags also. This one is perfectly pleasant unsweetened. I will occasionally crave a ginger beer ( Canada Dry is the worst and is full of additives) or ginger ale. I usually go full sugar on those. I don’t love the Olipop version. I love fresh lemonade too and Arnold Palmers of course. ( I can’t late afternoon, the caffeine)
We have a massive bottle of grenadine leftover from making gin daisies. Last night I felt like a fancy drink and mixed a tsp of grenadine, a good slug of lemon juice, a bit of simple syrup and fizzy water with one of those massive ice cubes. Refreshing, pretty and delicious!
Someone recommended Red Zinger herbal tea under a recent post (the one about “what inexpensive thing makes your life better lately”) and I found it at my grocery store and I’ve been loving it! So thank you, whoever that was. It smells like I’ making jam while the tea is steeping, and it almost tastes like juice when it’s done. I drink it iced right now but am excited to try it hot this fall. For a party the other day I had this iced tea (unsweetened) and some lemonade (from a very sugary powder mix) in two pitchers next to each other on my counter, and somehow it didn’t occur to me to mix these two together. My 13-y-o son mixed them and told me he made a homemade Arnold Palmer. It was very good.
it was me! lol. glad you’re loving the red zinger!
Here with a divisive recommendation you’ll either love or hate: a brine and soda. It’s simply pickle brine with sparkling water and a squeeze of citrus. If you like pickley bloody marys this might be your NA jam. I loved them when I was pregnant.
We just discovered sparkling tea, which has a champagne vibe to it. It is made by Copenhaugen Company, we had the Bla flavor which was lovely. https://sparklingtea.co/
I make mocktails frequently. I mix up fruit juices/lemonades with a soda either sprite or Jarritos for the carbonation. Sometimes, I add freshly squeezed lemon/orange juice and thrown in some mint or cucumber. The kids love the fancy drink.
Can’t believe no one has mentioned it so far … Summer without the Italian classics San Bitter and Chinotto is unthinkable. Preferably on ice, with a slice of lemon. It’s aperitivo heaven w/out the alcohol. Pure bliss. (the beautiful little bottles are the icing on the cake; in Europe, they come in 6-packs)
We buy those at an Italian grocery store in our Chicago suburb. Excellent alternative to an aperol spritz!
The Arnold Palmer is what I call Southern Iced Tea. In the south you always put lemon in the sweet tea. :-)
On a hot day, I can’t go past the Australian classic: lemon, lime and bitters. Clear lemonade, lime cordial, and a dash of Angostura bitters served over ice. Another mocktail favourite that feels like I should be laying on a tropical beach somewhere: dry ginger ale, pineapple juice, coconut water, fresh lime juice and mint. Delicious as is, but also really refreshing and less sweet if watered down with some soda water.
I was this many years old when it hit me that “dry” ginger ale is without alcohol. Now I am so curious if the best ginger ale – Canada Dry – ever had a grown up cousin!?
I love these ideas. This summer we have been drinking mules without vodka. You mix 1 can of ginger beer and 1 tbsp Rose’s sweetened lime juice over ice. We actually use diet ginger beer. So refreshing and a little kicky.
Has anyone tried the Target Free AF drinks? I love the Paloma and the G&T poured over ice. They come in a four pack and you can get the assorted pack to try all four favors.
Many of us are boycotting Target because they cut DEI programs in support of the Trump regime. Here’s more info in case you’re curious! https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/target-sales-boycott-shoppers-b2801720.html#
I have a good one!! A local bar serves this on their NA menu: Sparkling lemonade (chilled) WITH A SCOOP OF VANILLA ICE CREAM!!! tastes like a frozen lemon bar and it’s so fresh and delicious. Perfect little treat!
This one is called Churchill and widely known in the west of Turkey. You mix sparkling water with lemon juice and salt. The bartender who found this recipe for his fatigue was very much interested in politics, people gave him Churchill as a nickname
I can’t wait to drink up these comments! I’ve significantly cut back my alcohol intake (at about 1 drink a month) and I love Athletic Brewing (they have some gfree options too!) & Figlia.
My faves are Dram’s “Le Dram” Spritzes. The Hair of the Dog scratches a kind of Negroni/Aperol Spritz itch, and the Palo Santo is so unique (also makes a great coffee tonic when combined with cold brew and a little sweetener like maple or simple syrup). https://www.dramapothecary.com/product/le-dram-non-alcoholic-spritz-sampler/?v=0b3b97fa6688
Iced lavender latte for a hot afternoon! For evenings, I love a mix of light ginger beer, lemon juice, and either vodka or bourbon. Trader Joe’s Jalepeno limeade is delish on it’s own, or with vodka and/or some ginger beer or sparkling water.
I went to China last summer, had fresh watermelon juice (as mentioned above) and make this every two weeks now that I’m home. It’s incredibly thirst-quenching and feels fancy, although it’s so easy to make. I do it in the blender and just strain it all before drinking. Also good with a little mint.
Likely this will get lost in this long list, but you all must try a recipe from the Post Soviet Central Asian region. It is called Raihan and is super simple to make. To make your base, take 1 cup of purple basil leaves and pour about 2 cups of boiling water with it. Let it steep until all the “purple” has soaked out. Remove the leaves and now you have your base. Next, using a ratio of 1:3, add this purple juice with sparkling water with a splash of lemon juice. Enjoy one of my favourite drinks from Kyrgyzstan/Central Asia!
Thank you for sharing! I have never seen purple basil leaves locally. I wonder if this would work with green ones?
I just want to say that I am SO thankful for this post. My husband is in recovery and we’re a sober household. Living in a society where it’s impossible to avoid alcohol (restaurants, movies, commercials, friend get togethers), it’s such a relief to have a post dedicated solely to NA beverages. There are tons of great NA drinks on the market, more and more every day (beers, wines, I’ve even found a NA gin!) But something we drink a lot of at home is Polar water (black cherry and strawberry watermelon are my favorite flavors), hot cocoa, and tea 😊 My absolute favorite drink ever though? Water! When I’m thirsty, my husband calls it “dehydrage” hahaha.
Relatable! My partner is also in recovery and I am SO grateful for all efforts to both expand the range of NA drinks and to make folks more aware of what is currently out there. “Dehydrage” made me lol!
I stopped drinking a few years ago and everyday at 5pm I “crack open” a cool can (liquid death) of ice cold…water. It is such a TREAT and its just…water! lol
Oh, don’t forget the shrubs! I make the one from CoJ from a few years ago regularly: https://cupofjo.com/2022/08/17/easy-shrub-recipe-fruit/
Yes! I love making rhubarb or raspberry shrubs, really adds that extra something to even plain seltzer water.
I’ve bookmarked a recipe for agua de pepino, which is made of cucumbers and looks so delicious!
Shrubs! Just add sparkling water! There’s a great book by Michael Dietsch with a bunch of recipes, some more adventurous than others. My 10 yo begs me for the sour cherry shrub, but my fav is always grapefruit. The tomato/basil one was unexpectedly wonderful with sungold cherry tomatoes, and I keep meaning to try the fennel one; how could it not be delicious?
Agreed! Shrubs are always on offer at my house. I love ginger, rhubarb, and sour cherry. It’s surprisingly easy to make and everyone is always impressed if you say it’s homemade (equal parts fruit, sugar, and apple cider vinegar cooked until syrupy and then strained)
Phony Negronis are best NA cocktail I’ve found that aren’t too sweet and taste surprisingly close to the real thing. Plus, gotta love the name.
100%!!! Everything really pales in comparison.
1. Fresh coconut water 2. Cold, freshly made sugarcane juice 3. 2tbsp Strawberry syrup + chilled sparkling water 1 & 2 if I’m in India. 3 is what I’ve had all of this summer. Interestingly, my toddler is in the phase where he goes through strawberries at astonishing speed. So the strawberry syrup is actually a by product. I wash the strawberries when i bring them in, chop the tops off with a slight bit of strawberry, add equal weight of sugar to the tops in a jar and keep it in fridge. Shake it once a day and you have strawberry syrup ready to strain in 3-4 days. (Look up Nancy Birtwhistle strawberry syrup!)
What a genius way not to waste strawberry tops!
I make a graprefruit syrup. Juice a few grapefruits, pour it in a pan with sugar/honey to taste, add some crushed cardamom seeds and cook it down still it starts to get thick. Once it cools, put a shot in a glass with ice, sparkling water/soda and fresh lime.
This sounds fabulous – trying this weekend!
Alex, where is that gorgeous photo from? Jealous if that’s where your spending your summer!
What a great question! I like rhubarb syrup with sparkling water. In Spain there’s a wonderful bitter soda called Bitter Kas.
It has to be elderflower for the summer. I buy a bottle of elderflower cordial and make it up with either tap water or bottled fizzy water, depending on how I feel. May I also say that elderflower cordial poured neat over good vanilla ice cream is an amazing but simple pudding.
cold brew tea- 15 grams loose leaf tea plus about 3 cups of water in a bottle, refrigerate, and check taste in 4-6 hours. I use https://www.hario-usa.com/products/cold-brew-tea-wine-bottle-1 as it has a built in filter, but a large jar or French press probably works just fine also, aguas frescas! I had a pineapple mint at a taco stand months ago and still think about it.
A very refreshing non alcoholic beverage- ice, soda water, splash of pineapple juice, a dash of bitters, and a fresh lime wedge. I’m pretty sure the “recipe” was from Jenny or someone else on Cup of Jo. Either way, it’s delicious
I saw this “recipe” on Cup of Jo, i think. Ice, soda water, splash pineapple juice, dash of bitters and a fresh lime wedge. Very enjoyable
Thanks for this! I’ve never been an alcohol drinker & always get so happy when I get a fun drink!
The other night some friends and I combined watermelon sorbet and lime seltzer water for a new version of a float. It was delicious and refreshing on a hot day! I’m looking forward to trying it again with many different sorbet + seltzer combinations.
Trader Joe’s watermelon cucumber cooler over ice (preferably crushed) in a real glass. Let the ice melt a bit. I heard someone (disparaging) say it tastes like a melted Jolly Rancher. Wait, that’s a bad thing? (It’s too sweet for me straight out of the bottle, however!)
Hop water – perfect amount of bitterness when plain over ice, and really one of the best soda-water type mixers out there for an n/a beverage, it just adds and extra something as a mixer. (https://punchdrink.com/articles/hop-water-nonalcoholic-cocktail-recipes/). Laguanitas Hoppy Refresher is probably my fave, but your mileage may vary! We had a pickle lemonade at the MN State Fair a couple years ago and were disappointed, not nearly pickle-y enough! We now make our own with ratios of about 1 oz pickle brine, 1 oz simple syrup (or lemon simple syrup oleo, amazing – https://www.seriouseats.com/fresh-lemon-syrup-recipe), 1 oz lemon juice, top with lemon bubbly water (ratios to taste, everyone likes it a little different in our house). Some pickle brine tends to be on the garlicky side, though! Finally – Bauhaus Nah! https://thebrewermagazine.com/bauhaus-brew-labs-launches-distribution-nah-non-alcoholic-beer/
I love an N/A drink! Mango lassis are a favorite indulgence when i run up to India Market. I also love me a “Mommy mocktail” (i think i started calling them this while pregnant or postpartum) – lots of ice, seltzer, lemonade and mint and basil. Trader Joe’s Mango Orange Pineapple juice mixed with seltzer is so good too.
Brio. Old school. Like a bitter herbal coke. Ice cold.
The dirty lemon tonic from NYT cooking is the most incredible summer NA drink – refreshing and a little briny, truly G&T or martini vibes. I have preserved lemons on hand all the time now!! Gift link: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024102-nonalcoholic-dirty-lemon-tonic?unlocked_article_code=1.eE8.11ig.YQgms-LnUvjo&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Ooh, thank you for sharing… this looks perfect! As someone who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, a lot of NA options trend too sweet for me, which is why I gravitate to things like shrubs or NA canned versions of Aperol spritzes or G&Ts. This looks like a perfect cocktail to try when I’m hankering after a martini-type drink but not alcohol.
In my 4th year of sobriety it’s been really fun to see the creative mocktail menus restaurants have been developing! I love it. On the occasions they don’t have one I usually asked for something mixed up with ginger beer in it. Then I realized why can’t I just drink a full glass of ginger beer with lime served like a Coke- so that’s been my new favorite. Spicy and light
We love our Soda Stream – bubbly water plus a watermelon spear, a squeeze of citrus (or a glug of Trader Joe’s limeade) and fresh mint… lovely in a big mason jar over ice, and so refreshing.
Blood orange San Pelligrino can’t be beat!
Non-drinking friends introduced us to NA cocktails etc one weekend getaway last year and we hardly ever drink alcohol anymore. My favorite “out” is an NA beer over ice with lime, wayyyyy more festive and rearranging than the sugary and pricey NA cocktails in restaurants.
Question for my fellow non-drinkers: any recommendations for what to order at bars other than their offerings of mocktails (most are too sweet), soda, or NA beer? I’m looking for a simple, not too sweet and more interesting than club soda alternative. No bar ever seems to have iced tea, my personal favorite.
It’s not all that much more exciting than club soda, but I always order a club soda with cranberry juice and a lime – delicious, every place has the makings for it and not too sweet.
If you like the taste of tonic water, I’d recommend that with a splash of cranberry juice and a lime wedge. It’s also easy to make at home!
If you’re ok with a tiny bit of alcohol, a fun bitters plus soda is a great little beverage. (similar amount of alcohol to say a vanilla extract)
Kombucha, if they stock it. Healthy, fizzy, not too sweet. It is an acquired taste but truly delicious in my opinion!
A cold brew shandy: cold brew coffee, Topo Chico, and lemon juice (all chilled). So refreshing!
Been drinking a lot of Waterloo this summer!
I have to watch my sugar intake and always lament that non-alcoholic drinks always seem to rely on juice or super sugary ingredients, or don’t say at all (does anyone know how many carbs are in a Ghia can??). Diet soda, olipop and seltzer are my go-tos.
Ginger beer, cranberry juice and a good squeeze of lime over ice. Garnish with fresh mint.
I had this at a local cafe in early July and I’ve been making it ever since. I puree a bunch of strawberries. I use my food processor but of course you could use a blender. I then add a few tablespoons to the bottom of a tall glass, the ice cubes then top it up with seltzer. It is SO refreshing. Sometimes I put a little simple syrup in, but honestly it’s so good even without any sweetener. You can get a bunch of these out of a basket of strawberries.
For a de-alcoholized white wine, I highly recommend Be Free sauv blanc and Magic Box Vanish riesling. Both are so good that I had to check the label just to make sure there wasn’t alcohol in it because it tasted that close to regular wine. Just a tip if you get these, if you’re a slow sipper, don’t pour too much into a glass because it starts to taste like juice when it gets warm.
My three year old drinks Lapos with me- very tart/bitter. He also likes non alcoholic ginger beer from fever tree I don’t drink and I’m lucky to live in a Muslim majority country with watermelon juice on tap.
Fever Tree Elderflower tonic, over crushed ice, with a big squeeze of lime.
I adore this, too! So refreshing!
1 tbsp jam or about 5 muddled berries, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, mint or basil, ice, seltzer: boom, shrublife
Well…we make shrubs with the apples from our farm, and we ship :) Lots of n/a drink recipes on our website too🍏
What is the website?
Oh, this is right in the sweet spot. Stopped drinking alcohol in 2020 and miss having an abundance of fun, special, not-too-sweet drinks. Going to buy the pre-made reccs!
I love Trader Joe’s strawberry rhubarb soda, Orangina, or Aquarius (available in Europe or Japan).
I stopped drinking years ago just because I didn’t like the even mild hangovers. I love love love apple juice with ice on a hot summer day. Bag of ruffles!? Yum.
Betty Buzz makes sparkling drinks and canned mocktails. The smoked lemonade was a no for me, but the apple/ginger/cherry was great! I also love the OG club soda with lemon and lemon lime flavors. Topo Chico is also a fun one to have handy when I wanna feel fancy.
With the amount of flake Blake lively has been receiving, would never ever support any of her products.
I don’t know if you can get Botivo in the US. It’s a bitter aperitivo that I mix with tonic water over ice. It has Negroni vibes, you know, that “just chewed an orange peel” feel. It makes me feel like I’m in Naples fresh off a moped. I’ve never been to Naples or ridden a moped but we take what we can.
YES to all of this :)
We’re into the raspberry lime Rickey this summer. Seltzer, fresh limes, and some pre-made raspberry syrup. So expensive at ice cream shops for something that is super easy to make at home.
Have been really feeling the NA Coronas this summer. But I have to echo Eric: the glassware makes all the difference! As a kid I started putting cranberry juice or Fresca in a coupe or wine glass and never stopped, it’s just better that way
I’ve been messing around with water kefir and it’s AMAZING. Fruity and bubbly, and with infinite variations. My favorite so far? A mojito version with the juice from a lime and a couple sprigs of mint. Sooo good.
Yum!
Anything by Fevertree, but especially their Elderflower Tonic. I love how herbaceous their drinks are…so sophisticated you feel like you’re not missing the alcohol at all.
Yes to Fevertree!
Agreed. A nice tonic with a burst of lime and you never even realize you’re missing the gin. Same goes with a nice ginger beer (Bundaberg!) and lime! We’ve also been testing out alllll the NA beers we can get our hands on. They really do the trick when you have a hankering.
I bought the cucumber recently and it was great, but love them all.
I love the Yuzu Lime Fevertree. On the weekends I add a tsp of Nowadays 10mg THC shot. It doesn’t taste like anything and is probably meant to be consumed at once but I get trippy from 5mgs of THC, never mind 10. One tsp of the stuff makes me feel the same as what a glass of wine does. Just makes the edges of the day softer. These days I’m having way more conversations about drinks like Recess, (adaptogen, mushroom) as well as THC than alcohol. I think it’s really the future.
Semi homemade: Purchase your favorite jug of lemonade. Use one third of the prepared lemonade for ice cubes. Then puree 3 whole English cucumbers in a blender with just a bit of water (1/3 cup) and strain out all the pulp. Add the cucumber juice to the lemonade jug. Shake and serve with the lemonade cubes. Super freshing. Jam and seltzer mocktails are fun in summer. Strawberry and lime seltzer is my fav.
Mint lemonade. If you ever find yourself near an Arab restaurant or grocery store, get yourself a fresh mint lemonade…so refreshing! Some people will add a splash of rosewater…also delicious but for the most part, I’m a purist. My husband enjoys Michelob and Sierra Nevada non alcoholic beers.
Pro Tip!: Make a big batch of sugar syrup at the beginning of the summer and store it in a clear glass flask with a swing top. Use all summer long in cold drinks–both cocktails and mocktails. Around our house we use it in everything from iced tea and lemonade to frozen homemade popsicle mix aka fruit puree to mojitos and margaritas. Makes it especially easy to make single batch drinks. When my daughter comes home from a sweaty day of day camp, I juice one lemon, add a splash of sugar syrup, a ton of ice, and some tap water (!!!!). Put in a fancy glass with a metal straw. “This is the life,” my six year old says. Lemonade for the win!
Water kefir over ice in a fancy glass. It’s our summertime before dinner drink and pretty easy to make yourself once you’ve got kefir grains. Current favorite- plum anise hyssop. So refreshing and just bubbly enough to feel fancy.
Currently 19 weeks pregnant so my life has been all about mocktails this summer. :) We were not big drinkers before I got pregnant so I haven’t really been missing anything, but I have been in search of a good NA alternative to red wine! I love to sip on a glass in the fall accompanied by dark chocolate with lots of nuts and raisins or while cooking up a cheesy pasta. Anyone have any good leads on a solid NA red wine? I’ve found lots of good cold sparkly beverages but nothing that hits that slightly bitter/fruity room temp spot.
Rishi Tea’s Sparkling Botanicals, Elderberry Maqui, is my favorite NA alternative to red wine. So delish!