Non alcoholic cocktails to give you holiday cheer without the buzz

The holiday season comes with plenty of festivities every year — many of which involve alcohol.

“I think during the holidays, there are so many parties and dinners and gatherings for friends and family so obviously alcohol is everywhere,” says Hilary Sheinbaum, author of “The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month.”

For whatever reason you or your friends choose not to consume alcohol (and, really, whose business is it anyway?), it’s nice to have drink options other than soda at holiday get togethers. 

So, if you’re not drinking, looking to cut back or just don’t feel like having alcohol there are plenty of cocktails that can satisfy the festive-cup-quota without the buzz. 

USA TODAY has gathered a few fun, holiday-themed NA cocktails that you can add to your holiday spread.

How sober are these ‘sober’ drinks? And why are they so popular?

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Holiday gone sour

Sheinbaum has a few cocktails of her own up her sleeve this holiday season. One includes sparkling water sweetened with simple syrup, lime juice and rosemary that sounds oh-so-refreshing for holiday functions.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces water or sparkling water
• .5 ounces simple syrup
• 2 ounces lime juice
• Ice
• Rosemary sprigs (for garnish)

Instructions:

1. Pour simple syrup into water, stir.
2. Pour lime juice into the simple syrup water mixture, stir.
3. Pour contents into a rocks glass over ice.
4. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.
5. Enjoy! 

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Sweater-weather sangria 

This recipe is fruity and fun and makes a few drinks.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces sparkling white grape juice
• 16 ounces ginger beer
• Ice
• Choice of garnishes, including: 
  • 1/4 pineapple, peeled, cut into wedges
  • 1/2 small orange, cut into wedges
  • 1 passionfruit, quartered
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
  • Pomegranate seeds
  • Strawberries, sliced 
  • Red and White grapes
  • Apple slices

Instructions:

1. Pour equal amounts of juice and ginger beer in a pitcher.
2. Stir.
3. Serve over ice in festive glassware (or in a wine glass).
4. Top with your choice of garnishes.
5. Stir again and enjoy! 

Makes: 4 NA cocktails.

Lyre’s Apertif  

Mixer brand Fever Tree shared this NA cocktail recipe with USA TODAY from its Fever-Tree Easy Mixing Recipe Book.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Lyre’s Apéritif Dry ​
• 6.8 ounces Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water​
• 3 lemon wedges​
• Thyme sprig, to garnish​

​Instructions:

1. Pour the Lyre’s Apéritif Dry into a highball glass filled with ice cubes.
2. Squeeze over and then drop in the lemon wedges.
3. Top off with the tonic water.
4. Garnish with a thyme sprig.

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Hot Non-Ginger Toddy  

Fever Tree shared a hot cocktail to warm party-attendees featuring hot apple cider, honey and ginger beer.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces hot apple cider
• .5 ounce honey
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• Top with Fever-Tree ginger beer (or ginger beer of your choice)
• Garnish with dusted apple slices and cinnamon stick

Instructions:

1. Combine Hot cider, lemon juice and honey syrup in the mug.
2. Top with Fever-Tree Ginger Beer.
3. Garnish with an apple fan & cinnamon stick.

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

The Lyre & The Blood Orange

Fever-Tree shared another recipe for “The Lyre & The Blood Orange” crafted by Rhett Hornberger of La Cuevita in Los Angeles. 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces Lyre’s A.M. Whisky
• .75 ounces lemon juice
• .75 ounces Liquid Alchemist Blood Orange Syrup
• Fever-Tree’s Blood Orange Ginger Beer

Instructions:

1. Shake ingredients in shaker.
2. Pour over ice in a Collins glass.  
3. Top with Fever-Tree’s Blood Orange Ginger Beer. 
4. Garnish with a blood orange half wheel. 

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Mulled Jukes 6

Jukes Cordialities, which sells apple cider-vinegar based non-alcoholic beverages that are meant to taste similar to wine, provided a cocktail made with Jukes 6, to USA TODAY.

Jukes 6 has a blackcurrant and blackberry base combined with layers of other red fruits including strawberries, plums and raspberries. When mixed with hot water and orange, the beverage is meant to sip like a mulled wine.

Ingredients:

• .5 ounces of Jukes 6, approximately half the bottle
• 8 ounces of hot water
• 1 slice of fresh or dried orange, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Pour half a bottle of Jukes 6 – The Dark Red – into your favorite mug.
2. Top with hot water.
3. Garnish with a slice of fresh or dried orange and enjoy!

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Check out these recipes to up your kitchen game: