Mocktail Monday

ki1244

Since literally 0 of us want to think about meal prepping right now (gag), let's see what kind of liquid inspiration we can get from each other! Who cares if it's 5:00 anywhere...it isn't booze, but probably the next best thing. Share your tastiest mocktail ideas here! (I know there were a bunch in a few other threads, but haven't figured out the best way to transport them over here short of copy-pasting, so if you've contributed elsewhere, feel free to throw those combos here too.)

harrierwife

It's not necessarily seasonally appropriate, but I love Smitten Kitchen's pineapple, lime, mint and coconut mocktail. 

ShadeofGreen816

This stage of pregnancy, fake mojitos are definitely delicious! Ginger beer (4 oz or so) or half ginger beer half soda water if you wanna cut the sweetness, generous splash of lime juice, lime wedge and mint leaves. So refreshing and great for nausea!

ETA: pregnancy brain strikes. That’s definitely a fake Moscow mule. But with the lime and mint I guess it’s all pretty close! 

jhems776

I had two ginger beers with lime, yum, but they charged me 5 bucks for each one! I was shocked, lesson learned though. My go to last time was cranberry juice, club soda, with lime, which was also good when I was hiding not drinking as it looks just like vodka cran. 

ki1244

This afternoon I'm working on a lime sparkling water (store brand La Croix on sale FTW!) with a hefty splash of OJ. Since I prefer dry champagne to sweet, this kind of reminds me of a mimosa, if I drank mimosas through a straw out of a giant Tervis cup.

liamsmommy09

I've been drinking shirley temples since Saturday LOL! I forgot just how good they were until I ordered one with dinner Saturday night. Then I had to stop on the way home to grab the ingredients to make it!

ki1244

Anyone know a good dupe in cocktails for whiskey or bourbon? My cocktail of choice was an old fashioned, and that's pretty obviously out now. If I was feeling fruitier (especially in winter), I liked to make fruit smashes -- bourbon, triple sec, fruit preserves or jam, a coordinating juice, and a splash of ginger ale for some fizzies. It sounds odd but is soooo good. I could probably get a little further with making a virgin version of that, but still need to come up with a bourbon substitute. I keep seeing non-alcoholic vanilla extract (didn't know that existed?) listed as a swap, but that seems weird...

shamrocandroll

Hell yeah!  This is my kind of thread!  O'Doul's amber isn't completely horrible (like the green bottle ones are) and has been good when I just really want a beer with my pizza.  When I was pregnant with DS on my babymoon, a bartender made me a delicious mocktail with bitters.  I wish I knew what else he put in it!

Bababatty

I’ve just been drinking plain seltzer (getting very boring) or ginger ale, so this is my kind of thread. I have nothing to add, but thank you and much admiration to all of you for your creativity! @ShadeofGreen816 that mojito sounds perfect. 

@ki1244 there’s a bartender substituting barley tea for whiskey. I’m not even sure what barley tea is or if it’s pregnancy-safe, but here you go: https://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/2014/03/06/4-crazy-convincing-mocktails-that-taste-just-like-real-booze

shamrocandroll

@Bababatty Those sound fantastic, but I dunno where I'd find most of those ingredients, and it also sounds like a lot of work.  If he could just come to my house and make them for me, that would be swell.  

runyogamom

+1 more for o'douls amber beer. Also, FRE wine is pretty good. I had the white zinfandel this weekend and enjoyed it. 
Also, if you like sweet drinks, around holiday time welch's makes a sparkling sangria that I drank a lot of when I was pregnant with DS. 

ki1244

OK, not only is barley tea apparently SAFE for pregnancy, it's like a miracle drink, allegedly...helps relieve stress (HOW), natural antacid that helps you take a dump, alleviates cold symptoms, and eases nausea and night sweats? Why have I never heard of this stuff before? And if it can serve as a flavor swap for bourbon, I am SET. *off to go find where I can buy it*

Bababatty

@shamrocandroll LOL yeah, I am not infusing juniper berries. I appreciate his ingenuity, though. If only more bartenders could do this...

@ki1244 Let me know how it tastes! It looks like I could find barley tea down in Chinatown, and this could be good for the winter....

jhems776

Facepalm, I kept reading it as barely tea, not barley and was really curious what this almost tea was lol. 

pigglesworth

Seltzer + sprig of rosemary, cucumber, lemon

Seltzer + splash of cranberry juice, splash of orange juice, splash of ginger ale, fresh cranberries, and orange slice to garnish 

Sparkling NA apple cider with caramel syrup (like you’d find at a coffee shop), chopped apple and pears like sangria, cinnamon sugar rim on your glass

NA pear cider or juice with ginger ale or seltzer and fresh ginger, muddled raspberries 

ki1244

@pigglesworth can you come live in my kitchen? That sounds so FESTIVE! Gonna need to pick up some sparkling cider tonight...

chachacharrrmin

@pigglesworth all of those sound AMAZING! 

antera23

You all are so creative! I feel very inspired to try some of these! 

shamrocandroll

@jhems776 LMAO! "barely tea" 😂

shamrocandroll

@pigglesworth Damn, you're good at this! 

wendyann19

I am dying over here. This thread is where I belong

lemondrop35

Soda water with bitters and a lemon/lime wedge! Feels like a real cocktail, not too sweet. 

prpl11butterfly

Sober chick just here for the tasty drink suggestions..... It's a very good thing I don't drink because I would for sure over indulge on the fruity stuff!

jmvander

The seasonal cranberry ginger ale is out now so we are stocking up. Husband and I don't drink a lot of sugary drinks, but we make an exception for this because it is just so good!

ki1244

@jmvander YES I did the same! (Also the cranberry Sprite Zero...).

Since I live in a pretty small city and the Asian grocery store here gets closed down all the time for health violations, I'm waiting on Amazon to send me some barley tea. Will report back when it gets here. In the meantime I've got some ginger ale going flat in a Mason jar in my fridge... figured it'll be easier to shake it into a drink of some sort if it isn't super fizzy.

prpl11butterfly

@jmvander I can get cranberry year round.  And blackberry. Both super delish!

jmvander

@prpl11butterfly I am so jealous! We thought that we used to be able to get it year round, but I think this year since they brought out that stupid ginger ale+lemonade junk just before summer our stores weren't carrying both. We know we can just add some flavored syrup to regular ginger ale, it just isn't the same.

ki1244

I caved and bought the Fre red blend last night, thinking it had been a while since I tried it last and that was a white zin anyway so maybe this will be ok now. NOPE. I got through my standard three sips (1 for foundation, 2 to acclimate, 3 to judge) and it was gross. But I had some Trader Joe's wassail in the fridge so I added a splash of that. Holy smokes! Instant mulled wine, and it was actually pretty good!

shamrocandroll

Tried Fre merlot last night. It took me all night to drink one glass. Disgusting.

ki1244

Is Fre white wine better than red???

I called my favorite liquor store last night and they confirmed they had a couple brands of NA wine. Fre is one of them, but they had another one too (and Trader Joe's had an NA sparkling chardonnay, which I'm very curious about). The store across town so I'll probably make that trek later in the week to see what it is, and maybe give it a try. I found nitrate-free salami and sopressa, and some good pasteurized cheeses, so DH and I can have a fancy charcuterie night for dinner like the old days...and some wine that doesn't need to be mixed with juice to make it palatable would be IDEAL to go with that.

ruby696

I tried the Fre sparkling brut last night. The red blend was terrible, but the brut was better. Being kind of a champagne snob, I wouldn't call it good, but it was significantly better than the red blend. I did enjoy the ritual of cooking dinner with a champagne glass of something bubbly. I'll probably keep a bottle on hand just for that (although sparkling cider would probably taste better).

ETA: words are hard 

nmbrcrnchr1

I like the Fre Chardonnay (white). I’m not sure I’ve tried their merlot...I’m a pretty big red wine snob so I’m just waiting for a glass of the real stuff after 1st tri. 

ruby696

@nmbrcrnchr1 The red blend tastes like it started as a cheap red and then was mixed with grape juice. I poured it out. 

Now I'm thinking of a nice glass of pinot... Or zin... 🙁

ki1244

Confession: when I added a splash of real wine to my marinara sauce last week, I might have very nearly gotten my finger jammed in the bottle because a little dripped down the side and I got a little over-eager to make sure the entire lip of the bottle was clean before I recorked it. I'm pretty confident that whatever I could lick off my own finger isn't going to hurt Baby, but would tide me over for a bit after that Fre nonsense. (And I simmered that sauce for a good 8 hours. No booze left by that point. Just my little drip down the bottle edge but DAMN that was good.)

jenniferjoy37

The only FRE I like is the white Zinfandel. That one is delish if you haven’t tried it! I love red wines, but obviously can’t have it now. Definitely didn’t like the FRE reds... 

nmbrcrnchr1

@ki1244 😂 about the wine. I have a sip of my husbands craft beer when he orders one at dinner. It’s the little things that keep me sane. But I am very much looking forward to Christmas which is when I’ll be having a glass of good red wine. Thanksgiving I’ll be on the borderline of 1st tri so I’m not willing to chance it! 

ki1244

@nmbrcrnchr1 so jealous...my husband doesn't drink anyway so I can't snitch sips off of his. I feel borderline sacrilegious on Sundays taking communion because while yes, it still has the same meaning it did before my BFP, suddenly the wine tastes amazing.

Made myself my old fruit smash, swapping vanilla for bourbon and orange juice for triple sec. It would be better without the vanilla (whatever site I saw recommending alcohol-free vanilla extract for bourbon has apparently never actually tasted bourbon), but otherwise isn't bad.
- three parts ginger ale
- one part orange juice
- one part cranberry juice, or whatever type of juice you have on hand that will go with your jam
- spoonful of jam (I had a "Christmas jam" from a farmers market open, I think its cranberry, strawberry, and some other type of berry) - whatever is open that will go with your juice. I also really like orange marmalade or strawberry jam with cranberry juice.

Shake together with ice until jam dissolves. It's sweet, but the orange cuts it a little, and the jam gives it thicker mouthfeel that feels more like a boozy cocktail. Man I miss the real thing.

shamrocandroll

This just reminded me I have a bottle of alcohol free triple sec leftover from a baby shower I hosted where we had a make-your-own mimosa bar.  I need to give that a try!  

ellem29

I have been craving a margarita for some reason (maybe it's the salt?) but can't for the life of me figure out how to make one that's not just sweetened lime juice. Google turned-up a bunch of recipes that involved sparkling water, but since I've never had a fizzy margarita, I'm not sure how well that would work! Anyone creative have a better idea?

ki1244

@ellem29 Dang, now a marg sounds super good. I've heard that the fizziness can kind of mimic the zip from the tequila, but have no idea on the accuracy of that (this could also be something people tell themselves, along the lines of "alcohol free vanilla is a dupe for bourbon!"...still bitter about that). Buy the Cuervo mixer? Otherwise...
- Pioneer Woman has a virgin mango margarita that is basically just a mango smoothie but apparently is good
- The Today Show at one point featured a virgin coconut margarita that sounds interesting
- Martha Stewart has a virgin pink grapefruit margarita that I kind of want to try now (among a whole list of virgin drinks)
- Good Housekeeping also has a classic recipe that's two parts lemonade, two parts orange juice, and one part lime juice...no idea if that just makes it "random juices" or taste like a margarita. 
- Williams Sonoma also has a catalog of virgin drinks that has some interesting ideas...none are margaritas but some still sound pretty amazing.
- Southern Living does too.

Dang, gonna have to break out my cocktail shaker tonight!

ki1244

Going to a Mexican place tonight that has amazing margaritas (it was actually the first place I ever got drunk, after drinking half a pitcher of super-strong strawberry margaritas through a straw in an hour). Will be ordering a virgin one tonight. If it's any good, I'll see if I can get their recipe and share! (And if not I'll just be sad and miss the real thing.)