10 Christmas alcohol-free cocktails for merry (and mindful) sipping

Christmas can be a difficult time if you're eschewing the booze, but it needn't be. There are plenty of brilliant low-and-no alcohol aperitifs, spirits, wines and beers perfect for toasting the festive season, as well as myriad ways to serve them in creative cocktails.

We've pulled together ten non-alcoholic cocktail recipes that everyone will love this Christmas, featuring some of the mindful drinking community's favourite brands - Lyre's, Everleaf and SENTIA.

From a dreamy Irish cream sip to a punchy hot toddy, we've got your teetotal Christmas celebrations covered.

Best Christmas mocktail recipes for festive fun

Sugar, spice & everything nice

This festive mocktail from mixologist Dominic Jones of Devon's Aquarius Bar is fun and fruity with all the spice, sparkle and flavours that scream Christmas.

Ingredients

• ice cubes

• 100ml orange juice

• 1 tsp cinnamon sugar

• 10ml cherry syrup

• ginger ale, to top up

• orange slice to garnish

Method

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice cubes and pour in the orange juice and cinnamon sugar. Shake well to infused the solid sugar with the liquid.

2. Fill a highball glass with ice, then add the cherry syrup, orange mixture and top with ginger ale. Garnish with the orange slice.

Christmas spiced gin & tonic

A G&T is a classic cocktail that should be in everyone's arsenal, and it's just as delicious when it's booze-free. Make it more festive for the big day by using Atopia Spiced Citrus, a citrusy, gingery low-alc spirit from the minds behind Hendricks.

Ingredients

• ice cubes

• 50ml Atopia Spiced Citrus

• tonic water, to top up

• orange slice, to garnish

• rosemary sprig, to garnish

Method

1. Fill a wine glass with ice, then pour in the Atopia Spiced Citrus and top up with tonic water.

2. Garnish with the orange slice and rosemary.

Winter Paloma

Created in collaboration with non-alcoholic drinks brand Everleaf, this recipe from The Alchemist makes the most of festive flavours with a hint of citrus.

Ingredients

• ice cubes

• 30ml Everleaf Forest

• 10ml lemon juice

• 5ml sugar syrup

• 22.5ml Monin Spiced Berry

• 25ml grapefruit juice

Method

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and pour in the Everleaf Forest, juices and syrups.

2. Stir for 30 seconds to mix and dilute, then strain into a coupe glass.

Three Spirit Old Fashioned

While an Old Fashioned might not be an overtly Christmassy cocktail, the orange slice and maraschino cherry give us festive vibes. Three Spirits's Nightcap drink has complex notes of wood and bright spice that work wonderfully with a fresh and zesty orange in this cocktail.

Ingredients

• ice cubes

• 60ml Nightcap

• 5 dashes Angostura bitters

• orange slice

• 1 maraschino cherry

Method

1. Fill a whisky tumbler with ice and set aside. Pour in the Nightcap and Angostura bitters and stir with a cocktail stirrer or teaspoon until ice cold.

2. Garnish with the orange slice and top with the maraschino cherry.

Lyre's Irish cream

Alcohol-free Irish cream? You heard it here first. This gorgeous dessert-like cocktail is made with Lyre's vanilla-laden, nutty American Malt, espresso and plenty of fresh cream.

Ingredients

• ice cubes

• 200ml Lyre’s American Malt

• 200ml condensed milk

• 125ml cream

• 1 shot espresso

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

• 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup

• pinch of ground cinnamon

• freshly grated nutmeg

Method

1. Fill a tumbler with ice, then pour in all the ingredients and stir to combine.

2. Garnish with the ground cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg.

Nightcap zen hot toddy

Nothing feels more Christmassy than clutching a cup of something deliciously spiced, and this hot toddy-inspired cocktail from Three Sprits does just the trick.

Ingredients

• 60ml Nightcap

• 10ml maple syrup

• 150ml boiling water

• 1 lemon

• 8 whole cloves

• star anise

Method

1. Make 8 holes all over a lemon using a fork, and stuff with whole cloves and cut into slices.

2. Then, warm your heat-resistant cup by pouring in hot water and letting it sit for a few minutes. Once warmed, pour out the water.

3. Pour the Nightcap, maple syrup and boiling water into the cup, then add the clove-studded lemon wheel and star anise.
   

SENTIA mulled wine

It's just not Christmas without a little sip of mulled wine, and this lovely recipe from alcohol-free spirit brand SENTIA ensures no-one's left out of the merriment this festive season.

Ingredients

• 750ml non-alcoholic Not Guilt Zero Red Wine

• 250ml apple juice

• 25ml SENTIA Black

• 1 orange, sliced

• 1 lemon, sliced

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 8 whole cloves

• 3-4 star anise

• 1-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

• orange bitters

Method

1. In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients, reserving the SENTIA and bitters in a large pan over a low heat and stir.

2. Drop in a few dashes of orange bitters and the SENTIA Black and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, but do not boil.

3. Allow the mixture to simmer for at least 15-20 mins, then strain the mixture and pour into heat-resistant glasses.

Fall & charles

If all the festive flavours has you missing your usual fruity no-and-low drinks, this non-alcoholic cocktail from Grays and Feather, the minds behind bars Finch in Brixton and Plume in Covent Garden, will be your jam.

Ingredients

• 2 blackberries

• ice cubes

• 50ml Lyres White Cane Spirit

• 20ml sugar syrup

• 20ml lime juice

• lime slice, to garnish

Method

1. Muddle the blackberries in a shaker, then add the ice and all remaining ingredients and shake.

2. Pour all ingredients (unstrained) including ice into a highball or rocks glass and garnish with a slice of lime.

Lyre's Lemon Sgroppino

This zesty, fizzy number from Lyre's works beautifully both as an aperitif and digestive, thanks to its bitter flavours and livening bubbles.

Ingredients

• 1 scoop lemon sorbet

• 15mL Lyre's Italian Orange

• 120mL Lyre's Classico Grande

Method

1. Put the lemon sorbet and Lyre's Italian Orange in a cocktail shaker and dry shake.

2. Pour into a coupe glass, then slowly pour in the Lyre's Classico. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf.

Bakewell bauble

What do you get when you cross a Christmas decoration with a classic British bake flavour? The Bakewell bauble from The Alchemist and Everleaf. It's made with edible glitter, making it quite possibly the most festive cocktail we've seen.

Ingredients

• ice cubes

• 30ml Everleaf Forest

• 22.5ml cranberry juice

• 22.5ml citric acid dilution

• 50ml coke

• 7.5ml cherry syrup

• 7.5ml vanilla syrup

• edible glitter

Method

1. In a mixing beaker filled with a few ice cubes, add all the ingredients and stir to evenly distribute the glitter and chill.
   

2. Strain and pour into a round glass like a gin bowl, coupe or wine glass.

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