Top 5 Alcohol-free Cocktails
Regularly drinking large amounts of alcohol greatly increases your risk of stroke. Most governments around the world recommend limiting drinking and avoiding binge drinking, where large volumes are consumed in a short space of time. If you often drink heavily, try alternating alcoholic drinks with glasses of water and have two to three alcohol-free days a week (1). We’ve found five simple ‘mocktails’ to help you start cutting back and reduce your risk of stroke:
- Watermelon Margarita (2)
Ingredients: 1 medium, seedless watermelon (cut into chunks), 1/2 cup fresh lime juice, 4tsp agave, 1/3 cup soda water.
Directions: In a blender, puree enough watermelon chunks so that you have 4 cups of watermelon puree. Add lime juice and agave and mix again. Pour into 4 cups. Top with sparkling water.
- Sin-free Sangria (3)
Ingredients: 1 medium-sized apple (finely sliced), 1 cup chopped raspberries, 1 cup chopped blueberries, 1 can of soda water, 1 can of cold ginger ale, 1 can of alcohol-free apple cider.
Directions: In a pitcher, add the raspberries, apples and blueberries. Then pour the club soda, followed by the ginger ale. Add the apple cider right before stirring. Serve immediately.
- Mojito Mocktail (4)
Ingredients: 1 tbsp sugar, small bunch mint, 3 limes (juiced), soda water.
Directions: Muddle the sugar with leaves from the mint using a pestle and mortar (or use a small bowl and the end of a rolling pin). Put a handful of crushed ice into two tall glasses. Divide the lime juice between the glasses with the mint mix. Add a straw and top up with soda water.
- Cranberry Cosmopolitan (5)
Ingredients: 2 oz cranberry juice, 1 oz fresh lime juice, 5 oz soda water, splash of orange juice, lime wedges and sugar for garnish (optional).
Directions: Pour ice into a tall glass. Add cranberry juice, fresh lime juice and soda water. Shake to combine. Run a lime wedge over the outside rim of a chilled martini glass. Put sugar onto a small plate and dip the rim of the glass into it until covered with a thin border. Strain carefully into a chilled martini glass. Add a splash of orange juice and lime peel to garnish.
- Pina Colada (6)
Ingredients: 4 oz cream of coconut, 4 oz pineapple juice, 2 cups of ice, 2 slices pineapple and maraschino cherries for garnish.
Directions: Put the cream of coconut, ice, and pineapple juice in a blender. This drink comes together quickly when you add all the ingredients at once. Blend until the ice is crushed. Pour it into two glasses. Garnish with a pineapple slice and a maraschino cherry.
References
- https://www.stroke.org.uk/resources/alcohol-and-stroke.
- https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/drinks/how-to/g785/best-mocktail-recipes/?slide=1.
- https://www.momjunction.com/articles/quick-and-delicious-mocktail-recipes_00349484/#gref.
- https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1508663/mojito-mocktail.
- https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/drink/cocktail/sparkling-virgin-cosmo.html.
- https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Virgin-Pina-Colada.
Updated February 2022
Next review 2024
