Looking for alcohol-free Christmas drinks? Try these mocktail recipes from First Dates star Merlin Griffiths

More and more people are turning to alcohol free drinks especially for the party season. Now zero alcohol doesn’t mean you can't enjoy delicious and tasty cocktails or mocktails, as they are better known. Who better than to give us their best mocktail recipe than star of Channel 4 First Dates mixologist Merlin Griffiths. The Gilchrist Collection and Merlin have created three tasty mocktail recipes perfect to enjoy over the festive period. 

Speaking exclusively to NationalWorld Merlin Griffiths explained: “These non-alcoholic drinks stand on their own and are created with the same care and detail of cocktails, which is why we’ve very deliberately avoided calling them mocktails - there’s absolutely nothing “mock” about these drinks!

“Rather than mimic existing cocktails or simply mix together some fruit juices, each of these drinks has been designed to give the happy couple and their guests the chance to experience all the wonderful flavours a cocktail has, just without the alcohol content."

“I’ve loved working with The Gilchrist Collection to bring these new additions to their drinks menu to life; they illustrate perfectly how guests don’t have to drink alcohol if they still want to have a flavourful, sophisticated drink.”

3 Christmas Mocktail Recipes 

Sun & Moon

A soothing blend of pineapple, sage, lemon and ginger with Lyre’s White Cane 0% Spirit. Sage denotes wisdom, good fortune and prosperity.

Ingredients:

• 50ml Lyre’s White Cane Spirit 0%
• 50ml Pineapple juice
• 20ml Sage syrup (instructions below)
• 5ml Fresh lemon juice
• Splash Ginger Beer

Directions - Shaken with ice, strained, topped with Ginger Beer (careful it doesn’t fizz over the rim of the glass). Garnish with a dehydrated pineapple disc, cut the core hole with a heart shaped cutter if possible. 5mm thick peeled and cored pineapple slices, 60C for 14hr in a dehydrator. Shake each drink as per recipe, top with ginger beer, garnish and serve promptly.

Sage Syrup:

• For 200ml (10 serves)
• 150g Boiling water
• 150g Caster sugar
• 5g Fresh sage leaves

Put boiling water in pan over a medium heat, dissolve the sugar fully, add the sage leaves and boil for a further 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for one hour. Strain the syrup from the leaves into a clean bottle, refrigerate until needed. Shelf life 7-14 days.

Halo Effect

Bright and zesty pink grapefruit marries with rose-infused Lyre’s London Spirit 0%, hints of vanilla and non-alcoholic sparkling.

Ingredients:

• 50ml Lyre’s London Spirit 0% infused with dried rose buds
• 50ml Pink grapefruit juice
• 10ml Vanilla syrup (2:1 homemade OR Monin vanilla)
• 50ml Non-alcoholic Sparkling Wine

Directions - Shaken with ice, strained, topped with non-alc Sparkling. Garnish with a thin Pink Grapefruit wedge and top with non-alc Sparkling, garnish and serve promptly.

Rose infused Lyre’s London Spirit 0%

• Empty one quarter of the bottle into a clean jug.
• Add 1 tablespoon of dried rose buds to the bottle.
• Refill with the Spirit until full.
• Infuse in a warm place for 24 hours before use.

Ever-After 

Smoky, sweet agave, saffron and vanilla, fresh citrus and a touch of spice make a perfect reception cocktail to get the party started. Almost the same as a Tommy’s Margarita, without the alcohol, but all of the flavour!

Ingredients:

• 50ml Everleaf Forest 0%
• 25ml Fresh lime juice
• 25ml Fresh orange juice (from fresh fruit not concentrate)
• 20ml Agave nectar
• 1 Small orange zest
• 1 Dash Angostura orange bitters
• Tajin spice to rim the glass

Directions - Shaken with ice, strained, garnish with a lime wedge and half spice rim. Tajin Spice: A blend of ground dried chillies, salt and dehydrated lime juice powder. You can make your own mix of chilli and salt spice with a touch of citric acid (lemon salt) in place of the dehydrated lime juice.

Homemade Tajin

• 4 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 2 tsp citric acid (or lemon salt)
• 2 tsp smoked sea salt flakes

Simply grind all the ingredients together with in a small food processor and enjoy.

Christmas can still be fun without drinking alcohol if you're sober-curious and looking for more ideas on how to enjoy tasty zero percent alcohol drinks, from wines and spirits to mocktails and liqueurs, we have a full list of alcoholic-free drinks for grown ups.