Count down to Christmas with the 12 mocktails of Christmas advent calendar

The silly season is now upon us and the diary is jam packed with function after function, family gatherings, parties and catch ups all featuring lots of food, drinks and alcohol. For those who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or taking a break from alcohol, Christmas often means trying to fend off the constant offers of alcoholic drinks while making the most of your sparkling water.

NOFASD and Pregnant Pause (FARE – Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education) want to ‘rock the mock’ this Christmas and have compiled the best mouth-watering mocktails for their 12 Mocktails of Christmas advent calendar. When mocktails taste this good, who needs alcohol? Ice-cold, fruity and delicious, these handpicked cocktails sans the booze are easy to make and ideal for all occasions. Save the plastic cups for picnics, these liquorless libations need to be served up in proper glassware – going alcohol free doesn’t mean being demoted to the kiddies table.

Whether you’re pregnant, planning a pregnancy, on a health kick, the designated driver or prefer not to drink alcohol or want to be the hostess with the mostest, why not beat the heat this Christmas and with mix it up with these tasty mocktails.

Fruity Father Christmas  punch

250g strawberries, halved

60g raspberries

75g blueberries

1 ripe kiwifruit, peeled, finely chopped

2 cups cranberry juice

2 cups of raspberry juice

4 cups chilled lemonade

2 cups chilled pineapple juice

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Divide the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and kiwifruit evenly among 2 ice-cube trays. Cover with cold water and place in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight until set.

Combine the fruit juice, lemonade and pineapple juice in a large serving jug. Add the ice cubes and mint, and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2852/santa+claus+punch

Ginger beer and pineapple punch

850ml unsweetened pineapple juice

750ml good ginger beer

½  an ice cube tray of tea ice cubes

a handful of fresh mint sprigs

slices of your favourite fruit, like lime or orange

the pulp from one large passionfruit (optional)

Pour it all into a jug, stir and serve immediately. Make sure each glass gets some tea ice cubes

http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/10265/ginger-beer-and-pineapple-punch.aspx

Pink grapefruit ‘margaritas’

2 tablespoons coloured icing sugar

1 lime

6 teaspoons pomegranate syrup or grenadine

1 ½  cups pink-grapefruit juice

Place icing sugar in a shallow dish or plate. Slice six thin rounds from the middle of lime; set aside. Rub lime wedge around rims of six glasses; dip each rim in sugar to coat. Pour 1 teaspoon pomegranate syrup into bottom of each glass.

Place grapefruit juice and 2 cups ice cubes in a blender. Process on high speed until ice is crushed. Pour frozen mixture into martini glasses, and stir to combine with syrup. Garnish with reserved lime rounds or fresh seasonal berries, and serve immediately.

http://www.marthastewart.com/334284/pink-grapefruit-margaritas

Bellini Cocktail

1/4 cup peach nectar, chilled

3/4 cup ginger ale, chilled

1/4 cup fresh fruit or berries of your choice

Pour peach nectar evenly between two champagne glasses. Top with ginger ale and fresh fruit berries. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Modified from recipe at http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/peach-bellini-mocktails/00b37cf1-3fc5-423c-9a08-fab19d892a34

Sparkling sangria

4 cups black grape juice

1 plum

1 peach

2 clementines or mandarins

6-8 strawberries

2 cups ginger ale

A bunch of mint

Quarter plum and peach, and remove pits. Place fruit in a large pitcher.

Remove peel from clementines, halve, and place in pitcher.

Remove greens from berries, halve, and place in pitcher.

Cover with grape juice. Stir well, and let sit in fridge for 1-2 hours (or more).

Mix with ginger ale and add mint just before serving.

Modified from recipe at http://jensfavoritecookies.com/2013/04/05/sangria-mocktail/

Shirley temple

4 tbsp grenadine syrup

2 cups ginger ale

1 Maraschino cherry

Pop Rocks (optional)

Rim glass with pink Pop Rocks. Add grenadine syrup to ginger ale. Garnish with a maraschino cherry

Modified from recipe at http://www.parenting.com/gallery/mocktails-recipes?page=5

Chocolate Mock-Tini

1/2 cup chocolate milk

1 cup mint choc chip ice cream

Ice

Drinking chocolate powder

1 candy cane (optional)

Wet rim of a martini glass and dip into drinking chocolate powder. Blend together chocolate milk, mint-chocolate chip ice cream and 4 ice cubes and add to martini glass. Garnish with candy cane.

Modified from recipe at http://www.parenting.com/gallery/mocktails-recipes?page=3

Snuggles on the beach

1/3 cup cranberry juice

¼ cup grapefruit juice

40 mL peach nectar

2 teaspoons of grenadine

¼ cup of ginger ale

Throw everything in a highball glass with ice. Stir. Garnish with an orange round and some cherries. Drink up! Feel free to increase quantity to make  enough for the entire party or tweak the ingredient amounts to your taste.

Modified from recipe at http://mixthatdrink.com/cuddles-on-the-beach/

Apple fake-tini

1 cup sparkling apple juice (preferably dry)

ice for mixing

cinnamon sugar for rimming the glass

orange or cinnamon stick to garnish (optional)

For an extra kick add 2 tablespoons of Ginger-Cinnamon syrup:

Mix 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 2 cinnamon sticks, and some ginger to taste in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until sugar is dissolved, let cool and strain to remove excess ginger and cinnamon.

For the Fake-tini

Prepare martini glass by wetting the rim with sparkling apple juice and then dipping in cinnamon-sugar.
Add ice to martini shaker. Pour in apple juice (and ginger syrup if applicable). Shake and pour into prepared glass. Garnish with apple slice or cinnamon stick.

Modified from recipe at http://www.rachelcooks.com/2012/09/14/ginger-cinnamon-apple-cider-fake-tini/

Virgin Mary

1 litre tomato juice, chilled

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

2 cups ice cubes

1 lemon, quartered

Salt and pepper

4 celery stalks and Tabasco sauce (optional), to serve

Combine tomato juice, worcestershire sauce and Tabasco in a jug. Divide ice between 4 glasses. Squeeze 1 lemon quarter into each glass. Place squeezed quarter in each in a high ball glass. Top with juice mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with celery and extra Tabasco (if using)

Modified from recipe at http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/23360/virgin+mary

Mockmosa

2 parts orange juice

3 parts dry sparkling white grape juice

Mint (optional)

Pour the orange juice into a flute glass and then pour the sparkling white grape juice. Optionally, you can garnish with a mint sprig.

Modified from recipe at http://mixthatdrink.com/mockmosa-non-alcoholic/

Nojito

12 to 14 small mint leaves or 6-8 big ones

30 ml fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

120 ml of sparkling mineral water

Put the mint leaves, lime juice and brown sugar in a tall cocktail glass and muddle the leaves. Fill the glass with ice cubes and add the mineral water. Stir to mix up the sugar. Garnish with another mint sprig.

Modified from recipe at http://mixthatdrink.com/nojito-cocktail-non-alcoholic/

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