Party Mocktails: 5 Easy Recipes

These five party mocktails are built for a crowd: each one has a base you can mix hours ahead, and the fizz goes in at the last second so every glass pours bright and bubbly. There's a smoky grilled pineapple fizz, a ruby pomegranate-ginger sparkler, a purple lavender blueberry lemonade, a creamy spiced coconut fizz and a citrus-rosemary pitcher. Each one gets a single-glass recipe, a pitcher version for eight, and the one technique that makes it taste finished.

Every drink here follows the same simple shape: a fruit base, something sour, something sweet, an aromatic (herbs, spice, smoke or flowers) and a chilled sparkling top. Get those five in balance and you can improvise your own.

Party Mocktails at a Glance

Pick two or three party mocktails with different colors and flavors, and make at least one of them the pitcher drink so guests can serve themselves. This table sorts the five by flavor, how they're sweetened, and how far ahead you can get them done.

Mocktail	Flavor	Sweetener	Make ahead	Best for
Smoked Pineapple Paradise	Tropical, smoky, tart	Simple syrup	Base up to 24 hours; grill the pineapple the day of	Cookouts and summer parties
Ruby Ginger Sparkler	Tart, spicy, fruity	Honey syrup	Base up to 24 hours	Dinner parties, holidays
Lavender Blueberry Dream	Floral, berry, bright	Lavender syrup	Syrup up to 2 weeks; base up to 24 hours	Showers, brunch, garden parties
Spiced Vanilla Coconut Fizz	Creamy, warm spice	Cinnamon syrup	Base up to 24 hours, kept cold	Dessert, fall and winter parties
Citrus Garden Refresher	Bright, herbal, sour	Rosemary syrup	Pitcher base up to 24 hours	Big crowds, self-serve

If you only make one, make the Citrus Garden Refresher; it's already a pitcher drink. For a mixed crowd, pair it with the Ruby Ginger Sparkler for color and the Coconut Fizz for something rich. Heading into the holidays? Our non-alcoholic holiday drinks cover the warm and wintry side, from a maple ginger toddy to white hot chocolate.

Smoked Pineapple Paradise

The smoky flavor in this pineapple mocktail comes from grilling the fruit, with a drop of liquid smoke as the shortcut. Pineapple is loaded with sugar, and those sugars caramelize from about 320 to 338°F (160 to 170°C), turning the grill-marked edges deep gold and slightly bitter-sweet. Pat the spears dry first; a wet surface can't get past 212°F (100°C) until the water boils off, so it steams instead of browning. Pull them before the stripes go black, because at around 356°F (180°C) sugar starts to burn and turns acrid.

• 1/2 cup (4 oz) pineapple juice, chilled
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp simple syrup or agave nectar
• 1 or 2 chunks of grilled pineapple, plus a wedge to garnish
• 1 drop liquid smoke (optional)
• 3 oz club soda, chilled
• Ice and a mint sprig

Grill thick pineapple spears on a hot grill or grill pan for 2 to 3 minutes a side. Muddle one or two chunks in a shaker, add the pineapple juice, lime, syrup and liquid smoke, fill with ice and shake hard for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a tall glass of fresh ice, top with club soda, stir once, and garnish with a grilled wedge and mint. For a pitcher of eight, stir 4 cups pineapple juice, 1/2 cup lime juice, 1/2 cup syrup and no more than 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke, chill, and top each glass with soda.

Go easy on the smoke. Liquid smoke is condensed wood smoke, the flavor that forms when wood's lignin breaks down at around 338°F (170°C), and it's potent: one drop per glass reads as grilled; a quarter teaspoon in a single drink tastes like an ashtray. Shaking with ice matters too. It chills the drink fast and melts a little water into it, and that dilution is part of the recipe, softening the sour edge. Strain onto fresh ice so the shaker's broken shards don't water the glass down further.

Ruby Ginger Sparkler

This pomegranate ginger mocktail balances tart pomegranate juice with the heat of fresh ginger, and the trick is to loosen the honey before it meets anything cold. Straight honey stiffens in an iced shaker and sinks to the bottom in a sticky lump, so stir it 1:1 with warm water first to make a pourable honey syrup that mixes in completely. Use 100% pomegranate juice rather than a "cocktail" blend, which is usually cut with other juices and added sugar.

• 3 oz 100% pomegranate juice, chilled
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger juice
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water)
• 3 oz sparkling water, chilled
• Ice, pomegranate seeds and mint to garnish

Shake the pomegranate juice, ginger juice, lime and honey syrup with ice for about 15 seconds, strain into an ice-filled glass and top with sparkling water. Scatter pomegranate seeds on top and add a mint sprig. For eight, mix 3 cups pomegranate juice, 1/2 cup ginger juice, 1/2 cup lime juice and 1/2 cup honey syrup; the base keeps in the fridge for up to 24 hours. For fresh ginger juice, grate peeled ginger on a fine grater and press the pulp through a fine-mesh strainer with the back of a spoon.

The lime keeps the color bright. Pomegranate's deep red comes from anthocyanins, pigments that shift from red toward violet and blue as the pH rises, so a squeeze of acid holds them at their reddest. One note for families: honey syrup is fine for kids and adults, but the CDC says never to give honey to babies under 12 months; swap in plain simple syrup for any little ones.

Lavender Blueberry Dream

This lavender blueberry mocktail starts with a homemade lavender syrup, and the rule is simple: use culinary lavender and not much of it. Purdue Extension points out that English lavender is the type most used in cooking, that a little goes a long way, and that lavender from florists or garden centers may have been sprayed and isn't safe to eat. Too much, or steeped too long, and the drink tastes like soap.

• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries, plus a few to garnish
• 1 oz (2 Tbsp) lavender syrup
• 3/4 oz (1 1/2 Tbsp) fresh lemon juice
• 3 oz sparkling water, chilled
• Ice and a lavender sprig
• For the syrup: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp dried culinary lavender

Make the syrup: heat the sugar and water just until the sugar dissolves, take the pan off the heat, stir in the lavender and steep 10 minutes, then taste; stop when it smells floral, not perfumed, and strain. Muddle the blueberries in a shaker, add the syrup, lemon and ice, shake for about 15 seconds, and double-strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a glass of fresh ice so the skins stay behind. Top with sparkling water. For eight, muddle 2 2/3 cups blueberries with 1 cup syrup and 3/4 cup lemon juice, strain, and chill up to 24 hours.

Two bits of chemistry explain the method. Hot water dissolves far more sugar, and faster, than cold, which is why syrup starts on the stove. But lavender's scent is made of volatile oils, and at a boil they evaporate off into your kitchen, so the flowers go in after the heat is off. Then watch the color when the lemon hits the crushed berries: blueberries carry the same anthocyanins as pomegranate, and the acid pushes them from dusky blue to a vivid magenta. The syrup keeps about two weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge.

Spiced Vanilla Coconut Fizz

This coconut mocktail tastes like a spiced cream soda, and it only works if the coconut milk is fully mixed and the spice is dissolved. Canned coconut milk is an emulsion, tiny droplets of coconut fat held in water, and in the fridge that fat firms up and separates into a thick cream layer on top. Shake the can hard or whisk it smooth before you measure. Ground cinnamon never dissolves in a cold drink and just settles as grit, so the spice goes in as a quick cinnamon syrup instead.

• 3 oz canned coconut milk, well shaken
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon syrup (simmer 2 cinnamon sticks in 1/2 cup simple syrup for 5 minutes, then cool)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 oz club soda, chilled
• Ice, a cinnamon stick, a star anise pod and freshly grated nutmeg

Shake the coconut milk, cinnamon syrup and vanilla hard with ice for 20 seconds; the shaking whips air into the fat and gives the drink a light foam. Strain into a glass of ice, then add the club soda slowly, since the fizz makes it foam up. Finish with a cinnamon stick, a star anise pod and a grating of nutmeg on the foam. For eight, whisk 3 cups coconut milk with 1/2 cup cinnamon syrup and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and keep it in the fridge until the party.

Treat the coconut base like milk on a buffet table. The USDA's food safety guidance puts the danger zone at 40 to 140°F (4 to 60°C) and says not to leave perishables out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Set the pitcher in a bowl of ice, or pour a fresh batch from the fridge halfway through the party.

Citrus Garden Refresher

The Citrus Garden Refresher is the big-batch party mocktail of the five: four fresh citrus juices, a rosemary syrup and a quick herb steep, made right in the pitcher. Herbs are where it goes right or wrong. In his MasterClass, Gordon Ramsay treats herbs like perfume: buy them unbruised, add them late, and use rosemary sparingly because it's so strong. Here that means pressing the mint and rosemary gently to release their oils, then fishing them out after 10 minutes, before they turn grassy and bitter.

• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup rosemary simple syrup (steep 2 rosemary sprigs in 1 cup hot simple syrup for 15 minutes, then strain)
• 8 fresh mint leaves and 2 rosemary sprigs, plus more to garnish
• 2 cups sparkling water, chilled
• Ice and citrus wheels (makes about 6 drinks)

Stir the juices and rosemary syrup together in a pitcher. Add the mint and rosemary and press them a few times with a wooden spoon, just enough to bruise the leaves, not shred them. Steep 10 minutes, strain into a clean pitcher and refrigerate. When guests arrive, add ice and the sparkling water, stir once, and pour into glasses with citrus wheels and a fresh herb sprig. Double everything for 12.

Two safety notes for a crowd. Fresh-squeezed juice isn't pasteurized, and the FDA advises that children, older adults, pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system face the most risk from untreated juice; if they're on your guest list, use pasteurized bottled juice and keep the pitcher cold. And grapefruit can change how some medications work, so the FDA suggests checking with a pharmacist; swap the grapefruit for more orange if you're unsure.

How to Batch Party Mocktails for a Crowd

To batch party mocktails, mix everything except the fizz up to 24 hours ahead, chill it in pitchers, and add the sparkling water glass by glass as you serve. The base holds; carbonation doesn't. A pitcher topped with soda an hour before guests arrive will be flat by the second pour.

Set up a small self-serve station: the chilled bases in pitchers, bottles of club soda and sparkling water in an ice bucket, a big bowl of ice, and the garnishes (grilled pineapple, pomegranate seeds, lavender, citrus wheels, mint) in small dishes. Label each pitcher by name so guests know what they're pouring. Our make-ahead dinner party appetizers run on the same plan: finish most of the work before the doorbell rings.

Taste every base cold, straight from the fridge, before the party. Your taste buds are most sensitive at around 86 to 95°F (30 to 35°C), and cold dulls sweetness, so a base that tastes balanced at room temperature will taste thin and sharp over ice. Adjust with a splash more syrup or citrus until it tastes right cold.

How to Keep Party Mocktails Fizzy and Cold

Keep party mocktails fizzy by chilling every sparkling mixer in the fridge (below 40°F, or 4°C), adding it last, and stirring once instead of shaking it. Carbonation is carbon dioxide dissolved in the water, and as Miami University chemist Michael Crowder explains in The Conversation, most gases, carbon dioxide included, dissolve less as a liquid warms. Warm soda poured over ice foams up and loses its bubbles in seconds; cold soda holds them.

Pour the soda gently down the side of the glass, and never put it in the shaker, since shaking knocks the gas out just like shaking a can. Use plenty of ice: ice sits at 32°F (0°C), and a full glass melts more slowly than a few cubes floating in a warm drink. Big cubes melt slower still. If you want to press your own juices for the bases, our guide to the best juicer blender combos compares machines that handle citrus, pineapple and ginger.

Balancing Sweet, Sour and Strong

A good mocktail tastes like a drink rather than juice because it has the same balance as a cocktail: sweet, sour and something with bite. Start with roughly equal parts acid and syrup (the lime and simple syrup in the pineapple fizz, say), then adjust. Ginger, smoke, herbs and spice stand in for the edge alcohol would bring.

If a mocktail tastes flat, add acid before sugar; a few drops of lime usually fix it. If it tastes harsh, add a little syrup or a splash more fizz. Too sweet, top it with more soda. For the grown-up version of the idea, see Gordon Ramsay's favorite cocktail, and browse more ideas in our food and drink section.

Serve these party mocktails with the same care as the cocktails, in real glasses with proper garnishes, and the guests who aren't drinking won't feel like an afterthought.

More for the party: non-alcoholic holiday drinks, dinner party appetizers, Gordon Ramsay's favorite cocktail and the best juicer blender combos. Or browse every recipe.

Party Mocktail FAQs

The questions that come up most: how to make mocktails for a party, how far ahead you can make them, how to keep them fizzy, how many to plan per guest, and whether they suit kids and pregnant guests.

How do you make mocktails for a party?

Mix each base (juice, citrus and syrup) ahead of time and chill it in a pitcher. At serving time, pour the base over ice and top each glass with chilled club soda or sparkling water, then garnish. Keep the fizz out of the pitcher so it stays bubbly.

Can you make mocktails ahead of time?

Yes. The bases keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours, and flavored syrups like lavender or rosemary keep about two weeks in a sealed jar. Add the sparkling water only when you serve, and grill pineapple garnishes the day of the party.

How do you keep mocktails from going flat?

Chill the sparkling water or club soda in the fridge, add it last, pour it gently down the side of the glass and stir once. Cold liquid holds more carbon dioxide than warm, and shaking soda knocks the bubbles out.

How many mocktails do I need per guest?

A common party rule of thumb is about two drinks per guest in the first hour and one per hour after that. For a mixed crowd where mocktails sit beside alcohol, plan on at least half your guests choosing one.

What are the basic ingredients for mocktails?

A fruit base (juice or muddled fruit), an acid (lime or lemon), a sweetener (simple syrup, honey syrup or agave), an aromatic (herbs, ginger, spice or smoke) and a chilled sparkling top like club soda or sparkling water.

Are these party mocktails kid-friendly?

Yes, all five are alcohol-free. Swap the honey syrup for plain simple syrup for babies under 12 months, and skip the liquid smoke if kids find it odd; the grilled pineapple still gives a smoky note.

Are mocktails with fresh-squeezed juice safe for pregnant guests?

The FDA advises pregnant women, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems to avoid unpasteurized juice. Use pasteurized bottled juice for those guests and keep every pitcher cold.