3 Festive Mocktail Recipes for New Year’s Eve
I’ve been pregnant three times, and each of my pregnancies was in its prime during the holiday season. I found it so hard (okay, in reality I guess it wasn’t that hard) to have to skip out on the celebratory drinks, especially around New Year’s Eve, when I longed to have something special to toast with.
I quickly discovered that I could mimic the taste of champagne with something sparkling, and thus began a season of sampling a variety of fizzy drinks, all of which were made with a few extra special ingredients so I didn’t feel as though I was just downing the bottles of San Pellegrino I keep in my panty on a regular basis. I made sure to serve my mocktails in a fancy gold coupe, or traditional champagne glass, instead the cups I use for water, and they instantly felt more festive. Here are three of my favourite mocktail recipes…
3 Festive Mocktail Recipes
Pomegranate and Pear Party Punch
In a pitcher, stir together 1 ¼ cups pomegranate juice, 1 ¼ cups pear nectar, and ¼ cup orange juice. Pour into ice-filled glasses, filling halfway, and top with ginger ale.
Blackberry Sage Sparklers
Combine ½ cup honey and ½ cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Just before it comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir well. Add 5 sage leaves and 1 lb. fresh blackberries to the hot honey mixture and stir. Let cool completely. Remove the sage leaves and puree with an immersion blender. Pour the mixture through a sieve to strain. You should have 2 cups of thick syrup.
To make the drinks, fill a cup with ice and add a few tablespoons of syrup. Top with sparkling water and garnish with fresh berries and sage leaves.
Honey Vanilla Spritzer (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Combine 2/3 cup honey, ½ cup water, and 1 split and scraped vanilla bean in a small saucepan over medium heat. Just before it comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir well. Cool completely, and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Stir in ½ cup lime juice, cover, and chill.
To make a drink, pour ¼ of the honey syrup into an ice-filled glass and top with 1 cup of chilled club soda. Garnish with lime edges and serve.
