…I’ve been trying out mocktail recipes…

There’s something I’d like to get off my chest; I don’t drink coffee or tea.  Never had either.  In fact, the smell of coffee gives me a whopping headache.

I also don’t like being drunk.  As a control freak and a person who tends to need a lot of mental self control when it comes to shooting my mouth off I think it’s safest for all concerned if I stay as sober as possible at all times.  (I may think I’m hilarious, but apparently I’m not. Heathens!)

So over the years I’ve had to come up with a suite of drinks that will keep me suitably hydrated, look pretty in a glass when compared to the amber ale and rock my tastebuds.

I posted earlier in the month about my planned Christmas Day Menu and today I’m going to share with you the recipes for the mocktails I’ll be serving to accompany the many food dishes we’ll be consuming and the activities we have planned for the day.

As a long time designated driver I’ve had many years to perfect my favourite non-alcoholic beverage and this is by far my favourite:

Gnome’s Summertime Elixir

Equal parts of:

Lemonade

Ginger Ale

Orange Juice

A dash of Grenadine

Add all ingredients to a glass with some ice and enjoy!

It’s got just the right amount of tang and fizz for a hot summer day.  It’s so easy to make and I often ask at pubs and bars for them to make me one and I’ve never met a barman that won’t make it.

However, this year I’m branching out to include 3 little drink numbers that I think will be a hit with our guests.

Fruit Tingle

Equal parts of:

Orange juice

Raspberry/Red cordial

Lime/Green cordial

Lemonade

Add crushed ice into the glass before the drink. Get a spoon and hold it in the glass, and pour the different ingredients slowly onto the spoon. This will help you keep the layers separate. Serves 4

Flamingo

100ml cranberry juice

50ml pineapple juice

15ml lemon juice

50ml soda water

Pour the juices into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into a high ball glass and top with soda water. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Apple Mojito

75ml apple juice

75ml soda

1 whole lime

1 spring fresh mint leaves

1 tsp Vanillin sugar

Add the quartered lime, Vanillin sugar and mint sprigs to a highball glass and muddle with a muddler. Add several ice cubes and pour in the apple juice. Top with soda (adjust to taste), and stir. Garnish with an apple slice and a lime wedge, and serve.

These mocktails I got from the website Healthy High and they’re really great.  All of them are inexpensive and the ingredients are interchangeable amongst them. The other added benefit is that all the ingredients mix well with each other so you can experiment with the combinations to find a mix that you really like.

The other great thing about having the ingredients to experiment with; it’s a fun way to spend some time on Christmas Day with family and friends.  You can run a competition.  You could award prizes for the nicest tasting, the grossest tasting, the most inventive, the most ingredients and the best colour.  It’s also a great excuse to reenact those great mixing scenes from Cocktail.  Remember, it’s all about having fun!

This post was brought to you by febfast: a pause for the better.

I’ll be giving up alcohol for February 2013.  You can join me, and my team, if you too would like to have a pause for the better.  You can find out more information here. If you would like to join my team just leave me a comment or drop me an email (email icon on the left hand side of this post).