Top 10 non-alcoholic cocktails

After over indulging during the festive season, you may fancy giving your liver a couple of weeks off.

But soon the awkward question arises as to what to order at the bar that won’t make you look like a sanctimonious twit or a social bore.

Fear not – there are an array of non-alcoholic cocktails that look like the real deal and taste similar to their punchier siblings, meaning you can disguise your Dry January antics and wake up the next day with a clear head.

Read on for our round up of 10 non-alcoholic cocktails to ease you through your detox.

10: Virgin Piña Colada

Meaning “strained pineapple” in Spanish, the virgin version of Puerto Rico’s national drink is made in the same way as the original minus the rum, blending equal measures of pineapple juice and coconut cream. Garnished with a slice of pineapple and a Maraschino cherry, enjoy the Caribbean dream without the nightmare hangover.

9: Safe Sex on the Beach

The ideal antidote to the grim January drizzle is a Safe Sex on the Beach, a virtuous little sister to the original minus the vodka. Blending orange juice, cranberry juice and peach schnapps, and finished with a Maraschino cherry, the original made a cameo in Tom Cruise’s famous Last Barman poem in the 1988 film Cocktail.

8: Cinderella

You’ll feel as chase as a Disney princess when sipping on this refreshing peach-hued mocktail, which combines orange juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice and grenadine topped up with club soda and served in a tulip glass.

7: Shirley Temple

Named after the famous child star, known for her roles in The Little Princess and Heidi, the non-alcoholic cocktail is made with ginger ale and grenadine, which gives it its bright red colour, and garnished with a Maraschino cherry.

It was allegedly created in the 1930s at Chasen’s restaurant in Beverley Hills to serve to Temple when she visited. Later in life she admitted that she never liked the drink due to its sweetness, telling one interviewer: “All over the world I’m served it. People think it’s funny but I hate them – they’re too sweet!”

6: Orange-Lime Relaxer

An easygoing, refreshing drink served in a highball glass, as the name suggests the Orange-Lime Relaxer muddles freshly squeezed orange juice with lime juice topped up with lemonade and served with a wedge of orange or lime, or both if you’re feeling particularly rebellious.

5: Virgin Margarita

The perfect mocktail to order if you’re keen to give the impression that you’re still on the sauce, the Virgin Margarita mirrors the original classic cocktail minus the hangover-inducing Tequila and triple sec.

Served with a salted rim and a wedge of lime in a wide-rimmed glass that twists on a Champagne coupe, no one will know you’re partaking in Dry January with one of these in hand.

4: Pussyfoot

A highly regarded mocktail enjoyed by aficionados having a night off, the Pussyfoot is made with mint leaves, freshly squeezed orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, half a shot of grenadine and an egg yolk.

The drink was created in 1920 by Robert Vermerie at The Embassy Club in London and is named after William E. Johnson, an ardent supporter of Prohibiton.

3: Arnold Palmer

Photo credit: Pop Sugar

Named after American golfer Arnold Palmer, this refreshing long drink, blending iced tea and lemonade, should help banish the January blues. The mocktail came to be after Palmer ordered it at the bar at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver during the 1960 US Open.

Keen to try it, a lady sitting nearby asked the bartender for “that Palmer drink”, thus the Arnold Palmer was born. Popular in the US, the drink is often served in giant jam jars filled with slices of lemon.

2: Nojito

In a similar way to the Virgin Margarita, the Nojito is a great mocktail to order among friends if you’d rather hide the fact that you’re off the sauce this January.

Offering the same invigorating combination of flavours as the Cuban original: fresh mint leaves, lime juice, club soda and brown sugar, the Nojito still manages to pack a punch without the white rum.

A good one to go for if you’re keen for a non-alcoholic cocktail that stays true to the flavour of the original.

1: Virgin Mary

The Bloody Mary has long been hailed as a hangover cure and is typically served at brunch. But if you’d rather not attempt the hair of the dog approach, then give its virtuous little sister, the Virgin Mary, a go. Delicious any time of day, it blends tomato juice with lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, ground pepper and a few dashes of Tabasco.

As virtuous as its namesake, the Virgin Mary is the go to mocktail for sippers keen to enjoy the complex combination of flavours in a cocktail without the alcoholic kick. The celery garnish even counts as one of your five a day.