Sparkling Ginger Mocktail with Cranberry & Lime
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This sparkling ginger mocktail with cranberry and lime is the perfect holiday mocktail recipe! This nonalcoholic Yule Mule is perfect for Christmas or New Year’s giving you a non-alcoholic drink option that still feels special and relaxing helping you have a good time with friends and family.
While I certainly have a glass of wine or a pint of beer at my holiday celebrations, I’m typically maxed out at one drink. At this stage in life, it’s just not worth the disrupted sleep or icky feeling the next day. Not to mention I’m chasing around my kids everywhere we go! Coming up with a good mocktail to indulge in is a lot of fun, and I much prefer it to soft drinks.
Having a simple recipe for a healthy mocktail is a great option for those who can’t or don’t want to consume much alcohol. This ginger mocktail is great to help you pace yourself over the holidays, or to help you transition into a “dry January” if that’s a goal you have!
Ingredients
Great mocktails are hard to come by. It’s important to me that a non-alcoholic cocktail is carefully crafted to give the correct flavor palate to those who appreciate a good drink but want to abstain from alcohol. We don’t just want glorified juice! However, it also needs to be easy to craft and use fresh ingredients.
This sparkling ginger beer mocktail nails it! Just gather the following simple ingredients:
- Ginger Beer – Ginger beer is ginger ale’s spicier and more robust cousin. It gives a sharp-tasting ginger flavor to our mocktail.
- Cranberry Juice – Cranberry juice adds tart and wintry flavor, not to mention a beautiful color to our drink.
- Lime Juice – Fresh lime juice adds brightness and acidity, not to mention it’s a classic flavor in a Moscow Mule.
- Soda Water or Club Soda to top up our drink as needed
- Fresh Rosemary – The oils in fresh rosemary infuse a mild sharpness that helps replace the bite of alcohol.
- Ice Cubes
- Optional Adaptogen Drink Mix Packet (I’m using Recess) – These adaptogen drink packets are getting easier to find in specialty grocery stores focused on natural foods. This can add a calming effect to your mocktail, but you can certainly leave it out and still have a great drink.
Instructions
To make this deliciously festive ginger mocktail, follow the steps below:
1. Pour Ginger Beer & Juice
Fill a cocktail glass halfway with ice cubes. Pour the spicy ginger beer over the ice followed by the cranberry juice.
2. Squeeze Lime & Top Up Drink
Cut your lime in half or quarters and squeeze the juice into your mocktail glass. Top up your drink with 2-3 tablespoons of club soda or seltzer water.
3. Release Rosemary Oils
Roll a sprig of rosemary between your hands a few times to release the oils. Use the sprig to stir your drink & infuse it with the delicious herby flavor.
4. Optional: Add Drink Powder
Add 1 serving of the adaptogen drink powder of your choice (if desired). This step can be skipped, but it can be a nice way to make your delicious mocktail feel special. Stir with the rosemary sprig, and garnish with lime wedges if desired.
Tips & Variations
While I love this ginger-lime mixture, feel free to try a different citrus juice for a new twist on this delicious Yule Mule. Fresh lemon juice would be great to use instead of lime. You could also peel a small cube of ginger root and let it steep in your drink to give an even spicier flavor.
If cranberry isn’t your thing, try using grapefruit juice or pomegranate juice. A holiday pomegranate ginger mocktail would be fabulous!
Serving Suggestions
This is one of my favorite mocktails this time of year, and it’s the perfect choice to serve at your next party to add some non-alcoholic drinks to your menu.
Serve this alongside a festive meal. You may also wish to serve my smoked Ribeye Roast or my Christmas brisket. It would be beautiful next to my winter kale salad with pomegranates and apples.
Want another beautifully colorful mocktail? Try my virgin blueberry mojito!
Nutritional Information
This recipe makes one drink. The nutritional information is as follows:
- Calories: 121
- Protein: 0
- Fat: 0
- Carbs: 30.2 grams
Adaptogen Drink Options
For this recipe, I use the Recess Mood powder because I have a local grocery store that sells it, making it very easy for me to get.
Some other popular adaptogen drink choices to add to a mocktail are Nello Super Calm and Ned Mello. The drink packets listed here primarily contain magnesium for relaxation, and then there are some differences in the other ingredients between brands.
It’s Time to Unwind
Make this Cranberry Yule Mule Mocktail today! If you make this, please leave a comment and review! It means the world!
Cranberry Ginger Mocktail – Yule Mule (non-alcoholic)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Ice Cubes
- 1 Small Can Ginger Beer 5 ounces
- 2 ounces Cranberry Juice 1/4 cup
- 1 Lime (for juicing) about 2 tbsp juice
- 1 ounce Club Soda 2 tbsp
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 1 packet Recess Mood Drink Powder optional
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail glass with about a 1/2 cup of ice cubes. Pour the ginger beer over the ice, followed by the cranberry juice.
- Cut your lime in half or quarters and squeeze the juice into your mocktail. Top up your drink with 2-3 tablespoons of club soda or seltzer water.
- Roll a sprig of rosemary between your hands a few times to release the oils. Use the sprig to stir your drink & infuse.
- Add 1 serving of the adaptogen drink powder of your choice if desired. This step can be skipped, but it can be a nice way to make your delicious mocktail feel special.
- Stir with the rosemary sprig, and garnish with lime wedges and fresh cranberries if desired.
Video
Love this seasonal and festive mocktail! There are only so many cocktails I can enjoy at holiday parties these days–need some low or no alcohol options, too, and this is super fun!