Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

These terrific mocktails are perfect for Dry January

Giving your liver a break doesn't have to mean skimping on flavor

By

mocktails
Image used with permission by copyright holder
January is a time when some people like to take a month off from drinking to let their livers relax a little. After a holiday season packed with parties, office gatherings, and family get-togethers, a break from the booze makes sense. To make it through any of these festivities, a good, stiff drink is often necessary. The problem is that that drink quickly becomes two. Then there’s a few casual beers, a glass of champagne for the toast, and pretty soon you’re throwing up on your boss’ shoes. Come January, our bodies need a break. Cue the mocktails.

If you’ve been living under a rock, a mocktail is a mixed drink that feels celebratory and special, but doesn’t contain any alcohol. They’re wonderful for those post-holiday get-togethers when your body needs to mend, for people who don’t drink, and for parties with guests of all ages. These are a few of our favorites.

Recommended Videos

Coconut Cream Mocktini

Art From My Table

(From Art from my Table)

Related

This beautiful mocktail feels somehow wintery and tropical at the same time. Its snowy texture and pure white color are perfect for January, but the summertime flavor will have to ready to shed the hat and scarf.

Pink Panther Mocktail

A Farmgirl's Dabbles

(From A Farmgirl’s Dabbles)

Make a big batch of these, because everyone from Grandma to little Suzie to Boozie Betty will want seconds. Drinking like an alcohol-free pina colada, this creamy treat is sure to get you through dry January without a second glance at the bar.

Honey Blackberry Mint Mocktails

Bowl of Delicious

(From Bowl of Delicious)

This fresh and fizzy mocktail is not only beautiful and delicious, but it’s healthy, too! Containing zero refined sugar, this booze-free beverage is good for both the waistline and the liver.

Virgin Mojito Mocktail

Munaty Cooking / Munaty Cooking

(From Munaty Cooking)

If you’re missing the flavor of a more classic cocktail, this virgin mojito is the way to go. Containing all of the minty, refreshing mojito taste with none of the rum, this is a perfect drink that will carry you right on through January to the hammock-swinging, lazy days of summer.

Editors’ Recommendations

Lindsay Parrill
Lindsay Parrill
Contributor
Lindsay is a graduate of California Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu, San Francisco, from where she holds a degree in…
This is how to make the perfect dirty martini
Making a flavorful dirty martini is surprisingly easy
Dirty martini

The martini is one of the most hallowed classic cocktails, and knowing how to order one correctly is a vital skill whether you make it with gin or you prefer its cousin, the vodka martini. Of the many types of martinis out there, one of the most popular and enduring variations is the dirty martini, where you add a splash of olive brine to the drink to add some salty, dirty flavors.

Sure, it's not the classic way to drink a martini, but there are no rules here, and you can add whatever you like to your drinks. There's even a trend for adding olive ice cubes to a dirty martini, which is sacrilegious to some but appealing to many drinkers.

Read more
A perfectly made Campari Spritz is even better than its Aperol cousin
Swap out the Aperol for Campari instead
Campari Sprtiz

If you’re a refreshing, effervescent cocktail fan, you probably enjoy a nice Aperol Spritz occasionally. Created in Venice, Italy, in 1920, this simple before-dinner drink is made simply with Aperol (an Italian bitter liqueur), soda water, and prosecco (Italian sparkling wine). It’s a perfectly bubbly, sweet, and citrusy drink for the waning summer days (and warm fall days ahead).

But perhaps you’d prefer the drink to have a little more bitterness and a little less overall citrus sweetness. Lucky for you, there’s an easy change. Simply swap out the Aperol for the more bittersweet, intense Campari for a more complex, boozier Spritz.
The difference between Campari and Aperol

Read more
This carajillo recipe is the perfect coffee cocktail
No worries, this cocktail doesn't have any caffeine
Carajillo cocktail

If you’re a fan of coffee and cocktails, there’s a good chance you’ve tried the carajillo before. Like Irish coffee, this popular Latin American drink is made with a different alcohol base, depending on the country. Cuban drinkers prefer rum, Colombian drinkers enjoy brandy, and Mexican drinkers like coffee liqueur or Licor 43. Regardless of the alcohol used, the drink gets a caffeinated kick from being mixed with coffee (usually espresso).

Unlike the aforementioned Irish coffee, this carajillo coffee cocktail recipe isn’t a hot drink. The espresso or cold brew is made beforehand and mixed with the spirit or liqueur to create a bitter, sweet, delicious cocktail perfect for the cold fall months ahead (and pretty much any chilly evening all year long).

Read more