Mocktails for celebrating the New Year or any special occasion

Tips for making Mocktails 

• Use fresh fruit and herbs: Watermelon, pineapple, berries, mint, basil, cucumber — fresh ingredients make mocktails taste more vibrant and “grown-up.”
• Keep a base of sparkling water or club soda to add that bubbly, celebratory feel without alcohol.
• Make ahead in batches if hosting a group of people
• Garnish — this is the trick to make your drinks look extra special. Use fresh fruit slices, herbs, maybe fancy ice cubes or slices of lime/lemon. Presentation is everything!
• Choose mocktails that suit the weather: for a warm summer evening, the lighter fruit and herb-based drinks tend to feel freshest- rather than creamy ones

 

Strawberry Basil Smash

• Muddle fresh strawberries and basil (and a bit of honey or simple syrup if you like it sweeter).
• Add lemon or lime juice to taste, fill the glass with with ice, and top with soda water or sparkling water.
• Garnish with a basil leaf or strawberry slice. Light, slightly herbal and fruity.

Mango Lime Sparkler

• Blend ripe mango or use fresh mango purée, add juice of half a lime and optionally a touch of sweetener or syrup.
• Pour over ice, top with sparkling water, stir gently.
• Garnish with a thin lime wedge or a mango slice. Bright, tropical, and with a nice tang.

Blueberry Lemonade Fizz

• Muddle a handful of fresh blueberries, add lemonade (store-bought or homemade with fresh lemon and water) and a squeeze of extra lemon if desired.
• Pour over ice, top with club soda or sparkling water to give fizz.
• Add a few whole blueberries or a lemon slice as garnish.

 

Watermelon Mint Cooler

• Muddle seedless watermelon cubes with a few mint leaves.
• Add juice of half a lime (or more to taste), some simple syrup (or sweetener if desired), ice, then top with sparkling water or soda.
• Garnish with mint sprig or watermelon slice. Refreshing, hydrating, and summery

 

Festive Eggless Eggnog

 

• ½ cup raw cashews
• 1 ½ cups almond milk (see note below)
• 5–6 soft pitted medjool dates
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional: + more for sprinkling)
• ⅛ tsp cloves
• ⅛ tsp salt

Instructions

Place cashews in a glass bowl and cover with very hot water. Allow cashews to soak for about 10 minutes, then strain and discard water (this is to soften them quickly. If you want to keep the recipe raw, pre-soak cashews for at least an hour in room-temp water) (Note: if your dates are hard, soak them along with the cashews).

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and process on high for a few minutes until very smooth.

Serve warm (it’ll be warm-ish from the blender), sprinkled with a dash of nutmeg or chill by adding a few ice cubes (made with almond milk) to the blender

Note: to make almond milk

• Soak 1 cup almonds overnight covered with water.
• Next day strain and rinse almonds
• In blender place almonds and 3 cups water. Blend on high speed till smooth.  Strain into cheesecloth and squeeze out the milk.
• Store in the fridge for 2 - 3 days.