By Sarah Clifford
It’s getting to that point in the term, be it because of a very skinny bank balance or a generally lethargic feeling, where you’ve had enough of alcohol. Here are a few of my favourite mocktails to help you spice your sobriety up a bit:
- Blackberry Elderflower Spritzer. Pour a splash of elderflower cordial into a glass and then fill the glass to ¾ with some soda water. Mix before adding the juice of one lime (save about a teaspoon). In a bowl, shred up a few mint leaves and combine with a handful of blackberries and then tip them into the glass. Voila!
- If you’re avoiding alcohol, but a craving for warm cider strikes, try this autumn punch instead. In a saucepan, bring to the boil 100ml of lime juice, 1.5 teaspoons of honey, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ½ a teaspoon of brown sugar. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes. In a glass mix together, cranberry juice, ginger ale and a splash of apricot syrup and then add the heated ingredients. Give them a quick stir, and transfer the drink into a cosy mug and enjoy.
- Virgin Lusty Lime – you’ll need to make some lime-ade (or lilt) ice cubes a few hours before you want this one but it’s super yummy. To make a jug: mix together a can of diet coke, 250ml of orange juice and 200ml of water. Take the ice cubes out of the freezer, crush them up and tip in the liquid. Add a couple slices of orange and lime to garnish if you’re feeling decorative.
- This Virgin Sling is based on my favourite cocktail ever (a Singapore sling). Fill 1/3 of a glass with ginger ale, and then top with cherry soda (until the glass is about ¾ full). Add the juice of half a lemon and give them all a quick stir. Top with a drizzle of grenadine (leave it unmixed when served so that the colours aren’t fully mixed) Garnish with a wedge of lemon, a maraschino cherry and enjoy!
- Strawberry Pineapple Soda (enough to make 3 glasses). Make a strawberry and pineapple puree by combining in a bowl a punnet of quartered strawberries and 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar. Let them sit until the sugar has taken on a puree like consistency before mixing in a blender with 230ml of pineapple juice. Strain the puree to get rid of any lumps and spoon the rest into glasses. Top with lemonade or soda water and serve with ice.
Bottoms up!
