How to Create Juice-Based Cocktails and Mocktails for Your Next Gathering

At Little West, we’ve never been shy about our preference for healthier, better-for-you diets and habits. In fact, we’ve always urged you to follow them! But every now and again, we can shake things up with some fun - how about with some juice cocktails? Does that sound like a delicious idea?

With the upcoming holidays—boy, are there a few—we understand that there are times when fun takes priority. After all, what is life for if you won’t live a little? Now, we’ll be honest. We aren’t huge drinkers. Our recommendations here will heavily rely on the juice base itself to be excellent… and you can add your preferred booze to spice it up - responsibly, we hope. 

Thirsty yet? So are we. Before jumping into the bar, may we give you a few tips on making any gathering more tasty?

Tips On How To Make A Great Cocktail Juice

Find Your Flavors

Sweet, sour, tart? Find your flavor and stick to it. If you want different kinds of flavor profiles, then make many drinks. Don’t let one batch be the end-all-be-all one that has every flavor you can think of - that’ll ruin it. If you want a zesty, refreshing juice cocktail or mocktail, then focus on that and find complementary flavors. 

You can find many flavor pairing recommendations out there to help you create the perfect cocktail. Oranges, for example, pair well with cinnamon, anise, and vanilla. Cherries, on the other hand, go well with lemon, plum, and sage. Don’t fight the flavors. Work with them!

Match Your Theme

Sometimes it’s all about the vibes. If you’re in a wintery wonderland of a party, a summery watermelon juice cocktail won’t do. For this kind of shindig, spices and warm flavors are the key. Think of hot toddies, mulled drinks, and spiced beverages for the gathering. Sure you can still serve summery drinks if you really insist - we can’t change your taste buds, but c’mon… Change it up a little!

We’d also hazard a guess that your menu would likely match your theme and decor. That said, this makes theme matching your beverages more important! Just think. An apple juice cocktail paired with a ricotta cheesecake or lemon parmesan pasta? That may sound good on paper… but on the taste buds? We think not! No matter how tasty your drinks are, if they don’t match the meal, then they just won’t work.

Get A Good Base

You know how some people can tell a cheap shot from a top-shelf one? Many people can taste and tell a cheap juice from a good one. Differentiating these would likely be easier because we’re sure more people drink juice compared to alcohol. So get yourself a proper supply of juices. Don’t choose those sugar-infested and artificially colored ones that you can just grab from the shelf and go. If you can get fresh or cold pressed juice, they’ll be way better! 

Getting fresh juices also means you could control how sweet your drinks would be, making them perfect for cocktail and mocktail making. These juices will likely make the most of the drinks you serve. Get good ones. Your guests would thank you for that.

Don’t Be Afraid of Volume

Even the most skilled can fail at making a cocktail on order. Why? Maybe you’re distracted. Maybe someone is talking to you while you’re making a mocktail for that friend. When so much is happening all at once, we get our ratios wrong or forget a crucial ingredient. How do you save yourself from this oopsie? By making your drinks in larger batches. 

Mind you certain drinks are better for making in batches than others. But many of them can safely and deliciously be made in bigger volumes. That means if someone needs to be topped up, you just pour! Save yourself the trouble.

Serving Temperatures

There is a difference between serving drinks chilled, iced, or even hot (yes some can be served hot). If your drinks are best served chilled, make sure you also chill the glasses and keep your ingredients in the fridge. This helps them stay chilled or cool for longer. People drink at different paces so we want to make sure they still enjoy their drinks after a while. 

As for iced, just make sure you account for your cocktails or mocktails to be watered down at a certain point. If you make a big batch of an iced cocktail and then pour said drink on a glass with ice as well, then that’s going to be doubly watered down to an extent. What are we drinking here, water? 

Also Read - 5 Cold Pressed Juice Cocktails Ideas

You Are Now Ready to Make Juice Cocktails And Mocktails

Do you want to experience how different ingredients work to make a tasty drink? The shop at Little West! We’ve got juice-making dialed down and to the letter. We’re sure your taste buds could learn a thing or two from a bottle or two!