What Makes a Great Mocktail? Understanding Flavors and Ingredients

Mix & Shake it

Welcome back! Today’s blog post might be the start of my favourite posts I’ve made, as we get too deep dive into curating the perfect mocktail and learning more about flavours and balancing sweetness with sourness and hitting that sweet spot for mocktail making.

Syrups

As you may know, most cocktails are made with syrups as a base. Syrups can set the base for a great drink as they go beyond the ‘simple syrup’ flavour; there are syrups with ginger, honey, lemon, basil, mint, and vanilla flavours. For drinks that have bitter flavours on their own, having a fitting syrup that balances and compliments those flavours is quite important to enjoying your drink. Take, for example, a mojito, made up of rum, simple syrup, soda water, brown sugar and lots of mint. Rum can be quite an intense spirit, and mint is a refreshing ingredient that maybe doesn’t taste so well combined with vanilla syrup. That is why incorporating simple syrup or maybe even mint-flavoured syrup really brings the mojito to a top-notch cocktail. To turn this beloved cocktail into a mocktail, I would recommend

The Basics of Flavor Pairing

Mocktails often balance the following elements:

• Sweet – from fruit juices, syrups, honey, or agave

• Sour – from citrus like lemon, lime, or vinegar

• Bitter – from herbs, teas, or non-alcoholic bitters

• Savory – from spices, herbs, or even ingredients like tomato or cucumber

• Fizzy – from soda water, kombucha, or tonic

Balancing these elements helps avoid overly sweet or flat drinks and creates an enjoyable drink!

Flavours that work well together

Citrus + Herbs

• Lemon + Mint
  Bright and refreshing—perfect for a summer drink

• Lime + Basil
  Zesty and slightly peppery, great with soda water

• Grapefruit + Rosemary
  Bold and slightly bitter with an aromatic twist

Berry + Acid

• Strawberry + Balsamic + Basil
  Sweet and tangy with a complex finish—great as a spritzer

• Blueberry + Lemon + Thyme
  Earthy and tart with a hint of herbal depth

Stone Fruits + Spice

• Peach + Ginger + Lemon
  Sweet, warm, and zippy—fantastic with iced tea or soda

• Apricot + Cardamom + Orange Blossom
  Floral, exotic, and soft—ideal for a more elegant mocktail

Cucumber or Herbal Refreshers

• Cucumber + Mint + Elderflower
  Cooling and floral—amazing in sparkling water (flavoured sparkling water)

• Celery + Apple + Lemon
  Crisp and green—add a dash of ginger for spice

Here is an easy-to-follow video on creating a simple syrup

What’s Next?

This blog series will dive deeper into the world of alcohol alternatives and the benefits of embracing a sober-curious lifestyle. Here’s what to expect in the next blog post:

BEYOND SODA AND JUICE!