A new season calls for a new batch of festive mocktails. I love the flavors of Fall; spicy cinnamon, earthy pumpkin, tart cranberries and crisp apples. There are so many creative, non-alcoholic beverages that you can conjure up.
Maple Apple Bomb
Perfect for any fall get together. You can mix it up ahead of time and have it ready to serve in the fridge. Recipe makes between 4-6 servings.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups apple cider
- 1 bottle of ginger brew ( I like Maine Root but Goslings is nice too)
- 1 orange
- 2 Honeycrisp apples
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- rosemary sprigs to garnish
Directions:
- Wash the fruit and thinly slice.
- Fill a tall pitcher with the apple cider, maple syrup, and apple and orange slices.
- Cover and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, add ginger brew.
- Fill glasses with ice, pour mocktail and garnish with rosemary sprigs.
Rosemary Pear Mocktail
The rosemary infused syrup is what makes this drink . It’s so fragrant and gives the perfect level of savory sweetness to this mocktail. Recipe below makes one mocktail, but plenty of simple syrup for more!
Ingredients:
Rosemary Simple Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Rosemary Pear Mocktail
- ice
- 4 tablespoons pear juice
- 1 tablespoon rosemary simple syrup
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- seltzer
- optional pear slices for garnish
Directions:
Rosemary Simple Syrup
- Combine sugar and water in a pot and cook over medium heat. Whisk until sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off heat and allow mix to cool with rosemary sprigs.
- Once cooled remove rosemary sprigs and set syrup aside.
Rosemary Pear Mocktail
- Add ice half way to glass. Pour pear juice, rosemary simple syrup, lemon juice, and top with seltzer.
- Garnish with fresh pear slices.
Pumpkin Spice Punch
This punch is a crowd pleaser and has all the flavors of fall. With a few simple ingredients you can serve quite a few people, perfect for Thanksgiving or football Sundays.
Ingredients:
- 1 Gallon Apple Cider
- 48 oz Ginger Brew ( Maine Root or Goslings are great options)
- 1 red apple sliced thin
- 1 green apple sliced thin
- 1 orange sliced thin
- 1 cup frozen cranberries
- 1 tablespoon
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
Directions:
- In a 2 gallon drink jar, add 2 cups apple cider.
- Whisk in pumpkin pie spice until any clumps are gone, then add the rest of the apple cider.
- Add apples, oranges, and cranberries to the jar and stir gently.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.
- Add in ginger brew when you are ready to serve.
Harvest Mocktail
Ingredients:
- 4 lemons, juiced and combined with 3 cups of water and 1/4 cup honey.( like a quick lemonade)
- 5 cups of apple cider
- 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 4 oranges)
- 1-2 cups seltzer
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- apple-sliced
- orange sliced or wedged
- optional garnish- fresh rosemary sprigs, apples, oranges, cinnamon sticks
Directions:
- In a tall pitcher or drink container mix the apple cider with orange juice, lemonade, and maple syrup. Add cut fruit and chill for about an hour.
- When ready to serve place an extra wedge of orange and apple into each glass, fill with ice.
- Give your mocktail a brisk stir before pouring.
- Garnish each glass with a sprig of rosemary and a cinnamon stick if you want some extra Fall festiveness! Top with seltzer.
Pumpkin Juice (for Harry Potter fans)
If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, you may recognize this as the preferred beverage of Hogwarts. Pumpkin juice is a spiced fruit juice that can be served hot or cold. I like it served warm, perfect for chilly afternoons. This recipe serves a crowd but will keep in the fridge for about 5 days if it’s just for you 🙂
Ingredients:
- 64 ounces apple cider
- 16 ounces apricot nectar or peach nectar
- 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
- In a large stock pot, add apple cider, apricot nectar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Whisk to combine.
- Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
- Pumpkin juice can be served hot, or chilled and served cold. Allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge if serving cold, and chill for a couple hours.
- Stir juice just before serving as ingredients may settle.
I hope you enjoy these cozy harvest mocktails. Any of these can be turned into a cocktail if desired. Andrew loves my mocktails but says that they are so good they deserve alcohol…so annoying. Bourbon can be added to really any of these to turn it into a cocktail. For the Pumpkin Spice Punch, omit the ginger brew and add a sparkling wine instead. Cheers!