Summertime can be as triggering as the holidays. With pool and graduation parties, BBQs and long evenings; our little inner voice, begging us to drink, may become a bit louder. So I’ve polled some fellow sober gals, scoured the internet, taken part in many tastings (yum!) and compiled a list of these nine delightful non-alcoholic summer drinks.
The first three summer mocktails are made in bulk: take them to share at the local block party or store in your fridge to enjoy throughout over the week. The last six drinks at home can be made one serving at a time. There are several brands of seltzer waters which come in various flavors, meaning many of these recipes are versatile, so browse the grocery store for weekly sales, freeze up lots of fruits and experiment with these recipes!
Summer Punch
- 2 liters of ginger ale
- 1 can of frozen juice (Your choice! Try: white grape, lemonade, mixed berry)
- Frozen fruit (I like strawberries best, but you can try blueberries or any other frozen fruit or mix!!)
In large pitcher mix together juice concentrate (partly frozen) and ginger ale, stir in 3 cups of frozen fruit and serve chilled!
Sparkling Pineapple
- 6 cups of pineapple juice
- 4 cups of sparkling lemon/lime
- 3 cups of chopped strawberries optional
In larger pitcher combine juice and flavored sparkling water, mix in chopped strawberries for even more flavor. Serve over ice.
Lavender Lemonade
I was introduced to lavender lemonade a few years ago at my baby shower. My talented cousin made it all from scratch and I knew I had to include her recipe in this list! This one will take a little longer than the others, but it’s worth the time.
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh lemon juice
- 4 1/2 cups of cold water
Add sugar to boil water, stir in sugar until the sugar COMPLETELY dissolves. Combine sugar water with lemon juice and cold water in large pitcher. Refrigerate until chilled.
Add lavender by using ONE drop of essential oil, or add lavender leaves to the sugar water and steep on low heat for about 15 min.
Raspberry Club
- Raspberry sparkling water
- Ginger ale
- Lemon/lime ice cubes (regular ones work too!)
Add ice as desired and then fill the glass 2/3 full with the raspberry sparkling water and pour ginger ale over the top. Give a little stir and garnish with a lime if you’d like!
Pineapple Strawberry
- Strawberry sparkling water
- Pineapple Juice
- Ice or frozen pineapple chunks
Fill glass with your ice to liking, add sparkling water, mix in pineapple juice and enjoy. Play around with this concoction—next time try more or less pineapple.
Sparkling Cherry Limeade
- lemon/lime sparkling water
- grenadine
- cherries (optional)
- ice cubes
Add preferred amount of ice to glass, fill with lemon/lime sparkling water, add grenadine to taste, and garnish with a cherry or lime.
Simple Floats
This healthier version of the classic root beer float was submitted by @thehighsobriety (follow on Instagram!)
- 2 generous scoops of halo top vanilla bean ice cream
- Coke Zero or a sparkling water of your choice (coconut, black cherry, grapefruit etc.)
Add ice cream to mug and simply fill up your glass with soda/sparkling water.
*Bonus : One serving of Halo Top has only 6 calories, 2g fat, 4g sugar and 6g protein. Yes, I occasionally eat a whole pint in one day.
Club and Lime
Simple, and classic. Pour club soda over ice and squeeze in the juice of a quarter of a lime.
*Bonus : This drink can be ordered at a bar, in case you find yourself somewhere uncomfortable.
Coconut Fizz
The idea for this refreshing spritzer was submitted by fellow sober sister @makschulz (follow on Instagram!)
- coconut water
- flavored sparkling water (lemon/lime or strawberry works best)
- ice
- mint (optional)
Add desired amount of ice to glass, fill glass 2/3 with coconut water and top off with flavored sparkling water and garnish with mint! These ingredients can be played with—depending on your preference use more sparkling water and less coconut water. Have fun with different flavors—try frozen fruits instead of ice cubes!
If you need something to combat that 5 o’clock urge, a glass to clutch at your coworker’s BBQ, a refreshing treat after a long day or simply something to sip on while you binge Netflix; stir up one of these drinks and know for that moment you’re going to be OK. Second by second, day by day, all we can do is try.
Cheers Mamas, you’ve got this.