With Dry July coming up, thousands of Australians will be shunning alcohol in order to raise money for those affected by cancer, with funds being donated to organisations like Cancer Council, Leukaemia Foundation and the McGrath Foundation.
While the cause is great, the reality of quitting alcohol cold-turkey can be a little less-than-great, especially if drinking is automatically part of social gatherings — especially those post-iso catch-ups.
Stepping back from alcohol in social situations can be a bit of a bummer at times but it doesn’t have to. Rather than thinking about what you’ll be missing out on by not drinking for a month, consider instead what you’ll gain.
There are so many benefits of taking a break from booze, and even a month without it can do wonders for your health. To help you stay in the mindset of this being a positive change — rather than deprivation — it’s helpful to replace old habits with alternatives.
If you’re used to having a beer while at a barbecue or whipping up a margarita while making tacos, don’t worry: There are alternatives to alcohol. In fact, mocktails can be just as tasty as alcoholic drinks and better yet, they won’t leave with a hangover tomorrow.
So whether you’re doing the whole month of Dry July, or you’ve opted for a slightly shorter dry period — hello, Dry(ish) July — it can be useful to have a few mocktail recipes handy so that you can bring an alternative drink for yourself.
Goodbye, temptation.
To see a few of our favourite mocktails, keep scrolling. You might be surprised at just how much you enjoy an alcohol-free version of your favourite drink.
Classic Mocktail Recipes
☆ Virgin Mary: This recipe from The Spruce Eats is the non-alcoholic take on a Bloody Mary. Equally as delicious for those who prefer to keep things savoury.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces tomato juice
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice
- Dash Worcestershire sauce
- Celery salt
- Ground pepper (freshly ground)
- 2 dashes hot sauce (Tabasco or Cholula)
- Garnish: Celery stalk
Method
Mix all ingredients in a highball (tall) glass and top up with ice. Garnish with a celery stick.
☆ Virgin Mojito: This version comes from BBC Good Food and makes for a super-easy option.
Ingredients
- ½ Glass Lemonade OR Ginger Ale
- ¼ Glass apple juice
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 8 sprigs of mint
- 1 lime
Method
Mash the brown sugar and half the mint in the bottom of a highball (tall) glass, adding small amounts of apple juice as you go. Once the mint and sugar are well-mixed, top up the glass with crushed ice. Finish it all off with apple juice, lemonade, the remaining mint and juice from ½ the lime. Use the other half to cut into wedges for garnish.
Creative Mocktail Recipes
☆ Citrus Fizz: If bubbles are your weakness, this is the perfect drink to swap for your usual Prosecco. This recipe from Town & Country uses Seedlip, an alcohol replacement, to give a zesty, herbaceous flavour (comparable to gin). It sounds fancy, but you can pick up a bottle at Dan Murphy’s.
Ingredients
- 1.75 oz Seedlip Grove 42
- .75 oz organic marmalade cordial
- Sparkling water, to top
Method
First things first, you will need to make the marmalade cordial. Simply mix 300g of marmalade with 150 mL hot water. Fine strain and refrigerate, so that you can pull it out when you need to use it. Assembling the drink is easy from there. Just mix the Seedlip and cordial in a champagne flute, then top it all off with chilled sparkling water.
☆ Strawberry Chamomile “Maritini”: This recipe also comes from Town & Country and is perfectly fruity, yet somehow still complex. Too many mocktails just taste like juice, so this is a good one for keeping things interesting with a variety of flavour profiles.
Ingredients
- 1 oz elderflower cordial (can be bought at the supermarket)
- .5 oz simple syrup
- .5 oz ginger juice
- 4 oz chamomile
- 1 strawberry
- 5 mint leaves
- Orange and lemon wedge
Method
In a shaker, muddle the strawberry, simple syrup and ginger juice. Next add the chamomile, mint, orange and lemon. Shake with ice and strain into a coupe or martini glass. If you wanna make it extra-fancy, garnish with a mint leaf or slice of strawberry mounted on the side of the glass.
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