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Cutting alcohol in the New Year? Here are some fun mocktail ideas to make the switch easier.

By Canadian Cancer Society

Staying dry is never easy--especially around the holiday season--but it doesn’t have to be boring. Whether your New Year is about new beginnings or following the path you’ve laid out for yourself, here are our best mocktails to ring in the New Year and celebrate 2023 in style.

1. Alcohol-free negroni sbagliato

It would be remiss to start this list with anything other than the drink that took over the internet last year. House of the Dragon star Emma D’Arcy went viral in a TikTok video where they reveal their drink of choice to fellow HBO Max costar Olivia Cooke.

Simon Sebbah, beverage director at Manhattan’s The Lambs Club, distills the essence of the drink into three main components: something bitter, something sweet and something bubbly. For an alcohol-free Negroni Sbagliato, Sebbah uses verjus for his bitter, pomegranate as his sweet component, and tops it with flavored soda water or a very bubbly tonic water. For a more aromatic flavor, you can also use non-alcoholic white wine topped with elderflower soda water. Garnish with an orange slice and serve stirred over ice.

2. Frozen mint cucumber mojito mocktail

Despite the cold and stormy Winter we’ve been having, there’s never a wrong time for a cool, refreshing drink. These frozen mint cucumber mojitos can easily be scaled to pitcher portions for a perfect party pleaser!

To start, we’ll add one cup of crushed ice, 10 mint leaves, and a sliced cucumber to a blender. English cucumbers will be best as their skin is relatively thin, but if using garden cucumbers then you’ll just need to peel the skin off before adding them. Next, we’ll add ⅓ cup lime juice (about 1-2 limes) and ½ cup club soda. Blend on high until crushed and add a little more club soda if the result is too thick for your liking. This recipe will make about two to three servings, so feel free to scale up or down accordingly. Serve with a sprig of mint and a wheel of lime.

3. Alcohol-free moscow mule

To round out the list with a more classic drink, we’ll finish off with a twist on one of the world’s most popular cocktails: The Moscow Mule. It’s easy, refreshing, and a familiar way to dip your toes into the New Year for those among us who think skinny dipping seems like an impractical way to test new waters.

Our alcohol-free Moscow Mule consists of four ingredients, most of which will likely already be on-hand for anybody planning a holiday get-together. We’ll start with a couple limes’ worth of lime juice, then add a base of our sparkling water of choice and a splash of ginger beer. Next comes a serving of simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) and stir or shake to finish. Serve over ice and garnish with a lime slice.

Choosing to better yourself is an ongoing decision--it’s one that needs to be made every day and can get exhausting. With these alcohol-free mocktails, we remind ourselves that we can still have fun without drinking alcohol.

You can also enjoy one of these great mocktails while raising funds for people affected by cancer by participating in the Go Dry challenge to kick-start your new year. Go to godry.ca for details.

This article has been republished with permission from the Canadian Cancer Society's website.

Important Note

Go Dry is a fundraising campaign aimed at challenging social drinkers to change their habits for a month and make some healthy lifestyle changes. We would encourage people to drink responsibly and stick to the recommended daily guidelines for the rest of the year. We advise heavy drinkers or people dependent on alcohol to speak with their healthcare provider before signing up to Go Dry.