A mocktail is a drink that is modeled on a real cocktail – one that contains alcohol. However, a mocktail does not contain alcohol. Some will probably remember the name of a non-alcoholic cocktail under the additional word „Virgin“, which became established in the 1990s. For example, one would then order a „Virgin Piña Colada“ or „Virgin Tequila Sunrise“ at a bar.
The word mocktail is made up of two English terms: „mock“ and „cocktail“. To mock or simulate something is called „to mock“ in English. Therefore, a mocktail is a pretend „real“ cocktail that does not contain alcohol, but where you still do not have to give up the aesthetics or delicious taste.
Cocktail vs. Mocktail: Differences
Typically, cocktails consist of four ingredients. Alcohol, such as vodka, is the base, of course; it’s joined by either sour or sweet ingredients, and most importantly, soda or juice as an extension.
In the beginning, a mocktail simply did without the addition of the alcohol. Now there are a variety of delicious non-alcoholic drinks. So the mocktail can be drunk without any worries and the hangover the next day is also absent. Most mocktails try to get as close as possible to the original taste. Often, however, completely new creations are created, which can leave a real taste experience.
As a rule, a mocktail (and also a cocktail) consists of more than three ingredients. Therefore, a gin and tonic, whether with or without alcohol, would not be a real mocktail. Nevertheless, it still enriches the world if you can enjoy it completely without alcohol. Visually, the non-alcoholic gin and tonic is also indistinguishable from the real thing. If the non-alcoholic gin and tonic is served in a beautiful glass and refined with lemon zest and ice, probably no one would notice that this is a non-alcoholic drink.
However, mocktails are still distinguished between two types. The first variant is the one in which the bartender tries to get as close as possible to the cocktail model in terms of taste with the mocktail, without having to resort to alcohol. The second type of mocktails are not recreations of real cocktails, but trendy new creations. Thanks to the bartender’s imagination and many components that can be freely mixed together, there are no limits to mocktails. The following ingredients can be found in a mocktail:
- Non-alcoholic syrup, such as lavender syrup, coconut syrup, agave syrup – the supermarket around the corner already offers some variety here. Other new syrup creations come very close to a real rum taste, for example. Such unusual creations are usually available in specialty stores.
- Coconut milk or cream.
- Various vegetable or fruit juices, lime or lemon juice.
- Ginger ale or mineral water.
- Various vegetables, such as avocado, cucumber or ginger.
- Herbs (for example mint or basil).
- What must not be missing in any case: ice cubes. For most mocktails, however, crushed ice is more appropriate.
In addition to the ingredients, of course, some equipment is needed, such as a strainer, shaker and the appropriate glasses. When purchased new, these components are often available in a set. There are no limits to experimenting with the mixture of different ingredients. It may be tried out with pleasure.
The mocktail: Is it difficult to prepare and which known mocktails are there?
Either the preparation of a mocktail is very simple or a bit more demanding. It all depends on the type of mocktail and the ingredients used. Basically, however, a delicious mocktail can be prepared without further ado. The appropriate equipment has already been mentioned above – then nothing stands in the way of a tasty mocktail. Orange or lemon peel is often used as decoration for the finished mocktail. Well-known mocktails include the „Blueberry Mojito“, „Ipanema“, „Virgin Piña Colada“ or the „Cucumber Cooler“.