What is a mocktail? Driving home after a tipsy party at the bar with the boys is dangerous. A mocktail is brilliant, so you may still have a great time without worrying about getting drunk.
Mocktails are wonderful treats for everyone in any social gathering or party. It is becoming a top order in bars and restaurants as the non-alcoholic drink trend is taking over.
A glass of mocktail in your eyes might be too good to be true. It’s so colorful, aromatic, and fashionable too! If you are unsure about mocktail content and why it has become so popular, read this article to know more!
Mocktail – The Untold Story
You have surely tried cocktails before, but mocktails sound a bit alien to you. This lovely beverage is in no way new to party animals and bar dwellers, but not many people know about its history. Here is a little background of this beautiful drink.
Origin Of Mocktails
No one, even a beverage expert, can claim that they know precisely the history of mocktails. Just like any successful imitation of any product, it’s likely that some unknown cocktail enthusiast invented this non-alcoholic counterpart with his bartender’s skills.
The word “mocktail” (or “zero proof” drink) came to the world in 1916 with the first popularized mocktail was the Shirley Temple mocktail.
Back in the 20th century, Shirley Temple was a famous child actress whose shiny face got featured in many black and white movies.
Many restaurants and hotels claimed to have invented Shirley Temple mocktails as she stopped through their places.
However, Shirley Temple said in an interview that the mocktail was “created in the 1930s by the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood, and [she] had nothing to do with it.”
Shirley Temple combines grenadine, lemon soda, and ginger ale with some maraschino cherries for garnishing. Shirley temple comes with a light red color.
What Is A Mocktail?
A mocktail is your cocktail without the booze, as you can tell by the name. Mocking means to imitate, and mocktails do a great job as cocktail mimics. So mocktail basically means “mock cocktail.”(1)
Mocktail is usually an iced drink made with various ingredients such as fruit, soda water, juice, and herbs, but without alcohol. Any cocktail recipe can become a mocktail by omitting the alcoholic content.
The Making Of Mocktails
Similar to cocktails, mocktails are mixed drinks that employ the same mixology methods and tools to produce a flavorful mixture. There are endless methods of mixing a mocktail since it is up to personal preferences.(2)
There is a science behind a perfectly made glass of mocktail. The first step is to choose your favorite kind of mocktail. Next is to find the necessary ingredients. However, the hard part is to find the golden ratios for each ingredient so that their tastes complement each other.
For example, adding the right amount so that the sweetness won’t overshadow the necessary acidic taste or not too much lime juice to make the mixture overbearing. The mocktail ratio is all about achieving a balance of the ingredients.
The Golden Ratio
Some people think that only bartenders have that encyclopedic knowledge or a real encyclopedia of mocktail recipes, but you can base on the basic proportions and vary the ingredients and ratio to make a glass of mocktail to your liking.
The golden ratio of a cocktail is two parts spirits, one part sweet and one part sour. However, a mocktail doesn’t include the alcoholic part. Just closely follow the same cocktail recipe and omit the alcohol, which is the spirit part in the golden ratio.
Learn these easy recipes to impress your family and guests.
Mocktail’s Appeals
What is the magic of mocktails that so many people are obsessed with? There are many reasons behind this growing trend. Here is a brief table about mocktail’s advantages:
Mocktails Taste Great!
There are many recipes for mocktails, and the good news is they all taste good! Nothing is more refreshing and thirst-quenching than a glass of your favorite icy mocktail. The sweet, tangy, tart, sour, and fruity taste can cool off anyone’s head.
Mocktails Are Ideal For Everyone
Its non-alcoholic content is perfect for serving anyone. Even kids can enjoy this heavenly beverage.
For anyone with a problematic relationship with alcohol or people with health-related issues that need to avoid alcohol, this mixed drink will help you keep up with the fun.
Mocktails Are Good On Many Occasions
Whether it is a birthday party, family gathering, or Christmas, mocktails are always great treats for your guests. You don’t have to worry about mistakenly sipping on an alcoholic glass. Your vacations will be much more restorative with mocktails.(2)
Moreover, you can customize your mocktails the way you like. There is no limit to your creativity when it comes to making mocktails.
Economical To Make
With simple ingredients such as lime, sweeteners, fruits of your liking, and tools like cocktail shakers and blenders, you can make a whole batch of mocktails to serve the entire party. Just make sure you grasp some tasty recipes well, and you’re good to go.
Learn how a real bartender makes mocktails at a bar.
What Is A Virgin Drink?
Virgin drinks are non-alcoholic mixed drinks. It can be a mocktail or a non-alcoholic mimic of your favorite booze. Virgin drinks are also called boneless cocktails, mocktails, or virgin cocktails.
A reason for the invention of the virgin drink is that bartenders had to taste many new recipes, but they could get drunk from overconsuming alcohol. For that reason, they made drinks with the ingredients without alcohol for testing.
People enjoy this drink very much because it’s tasty and alcohol-free. Virgin drinks allow you to enjoy your flavorful drink without getting drunk. Try making one with syrups, fruit juice, and your favorite ingredients.
Tools For Making Mocktails
It’s essential to have some tools used to make regular cocktails. Here are the few tools that you need for your home bar.
Cocktail Shaker
It is a specialized utensil for mixing various concoctions via shaking. On average, you need to shake a concoction for around 10 to 18 seconds, depending on the ice size and temperature.
However, not all recipes require a shaker. Some are made by simple stirring, and some involve blending instead.
Cocktail Strainer
The strainer helps separate ice from a mixed drink when people pour the liquid into the glass. It is placed directly on the shaker or over the mouth of the glass. The small holes allow the liquid to pass through while stopping the ice cubes or debris (rinds or leaves).
There are 3 common types of strainers, Hawthorne, Julep, and fine mesh.
- A Hawthorne strainer has shapes like a disc with a handle and two or more stabilizing prongs. A metal spring fixed around the edge will filter out the ice.
- A Julep strainer looks like a bowl with a handle and will fit into a glass or shaker with proper insertion. The holes will allow the liquid to pass through. This kind of strainer looks like a regular strainer in the kitchen.
- A fine mesh strainer is used for thick drinks with pulp and lime seed. The sieve shape after Hawthorne has the sole purpose of sifting crushed ice and fine mesh the second straining, making your drink even softer.
Muddler
A muddler is a pestle-like tool to mash ingredients like fruits, herbs, and spices in the bottom of a glass to release their flavor into the drink. Whether kicking up the minty flavor in a mojito or crafting a caipirinha, a muddler is just as important as any other device.
Glass Rimmer
A glass rimmer helps apply sugar or salt to the rim of a glass of drink. The design of it is straightforward. It includes one or more plastic or metal discs. The ingredients on the glass rim are sugar, salt, or sometimes lime juice to moisten the rim.
The glass is placed upside down on the disc for the rim to make contact with the desired ingredients.
Squeezer
A juicer extracts juice from fruits, herbs, leafy greens, and other vegetables. This device is important when you want to juice a lime, orange, mango, or mint quickly. It crushes, grinds, and squeezes the juice out of the pulp.
Stirring Spoon
It’s a long-handled spoon used in mixing drinks. It looks like a teaspoon but with a smaller head. The extra long handle lets it reach the bottom of tall glasses and pitchers to mix the drink thoroughly.
Jigger
A jigger or a double jigger is a tool for measuring and pouring liquid. It consists of 2 conjoining cups, one larger than the other. They connect on the closed end and have different measurements.
Learn about the essential bar tools to set up a mini bar in your house.
Some Famous Mocktails For You
There are so many famous modern mocktails that are good for a hot day or to be served as appetizers. Here is a brief table for you to get to know some of them:
Virgin Mary Mocktail
The drink comes to life with tangy tomato and a bit of sweet and savory flavors. The savory Worcestershire and spicy Tabasco sauce are what set this drink apart.
Even without vodka, this mocktail still makes you in awe. The scarlet red color will surely romanticize your space.
Lemon-Lavender Mocktail
This mocktail has sweet lavender syrup as its central flavor, with lemon juice’s sourness and a touch of grenadine for supporting flavors. Combined with that lavender color, you will feel like you are in the middle of an endless lavender field with your loved ones.
Mojito Mocktail
Mojito mocktail is made with the simplest ingredients, yet it brings you a sophisticated drinking experience. The sweet and aromatic soda with a minty taste and sour lemon juice is so on point. The crystal clear color of it cools you off a great deal!
Mango Mule Mocktail
This mocktail uses honey syrup and mango puree as the main flavors to replace vodka, maintaining the sweet taste without the alcohol. Although the mango flavor is an acquired taste for some, it’s so refreshing regardless. The bright yellow color will brighten your day.
Pina Colada Mocktail
This tropical drink will bring you a new experience of refreshing tropical fruit taste. The creamy drink with a fatty coconut flavor and sour-sweet taste from the pineapple will remind you of a windy beach. Its milky white look is so mouth-watering as well.
Are Mocktails Expensive?
You might think mocktails are less expensive than their alcoholic counterparts, but that’s not always the case. In bars and restaurants, mocktails have become more expensive as their popularity rises.
Service establishments have begun to look at mocktails as a golden egg for their business. They have invested more in quality ingredients, thus kicking off the price.
FAQs
Mocktails are so diverse, and we still can’t have enough of them. I have this FAQs section for you to clear more doubt about this god-sent beverage:
Enjoy Your Alcohol-Free Holidays!
Parties and gatherings no longer need to be intoxicating and messy. With mocktails, you can fully enjoy the partying experience without getting wasted midway. Mocktails are also super delicious and customizable to your liking.
Before leaving, please drop a comment about your favorite mocktail recipes. Don’t forget to share this with other non-alcoholic drink lovers also!
References
- Non-alcoholic drink (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
- CP, H.A.J.B. Acute alcohol intoxication and the cocktail party problem: Do “mocktails” help or hinder?, Psychopharmacology. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
