Healthy holiday mocktails
These yummy mocktail recipes are not only delicious but healthy. They are easy to make and the flavors can be changed easily with the type of kombucha you use.
We use Jun Kombucha as our base. Jun kombucha has a more mild flavor using green tea and the brand we like uses honey instead of sugar which makes it mild, sparkling with a less vinegar flavor.
For those that haven’t tried kombucha it is a healthy ancient fermented tea dating back over 2,000 years ago in Chinese medicine and has traveled the globe since then and now graces the grocery shelves today, some bars have it on tap. The fermentation of the tea allows for beneficial bacteria to grow much like in kimchi or yogurt. It is important to keep a balance of good bacteria in our gut microbiome to battle harmful bacteria. The human body has more bacteria than it does human cells living on and in it. This crucial symbiotic and mutualistic relationship is key to our health. Gut bacteria has a relationship with our mental health and gut health keeping them in balance. When this balance is askew we can become ill. To learn more about gut microbiome watch this quick video. Komucha can help us keep this healthy balance.
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Herbal Cranberry Spritzer
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange simple syrup
1 C filtered water
3/4 C Honey
1 C Whole cranberries
1 Orange juiced
1 Orange peel
Put in pot and bring to boil, turn down and let simmer for an hour. Let cool before using it for a cold cocktail.
Wild tonic Rosemary Lemon Kombucha
Cranberry orange simple syrup
Sprig of rosemary and whole cranberries for garnish
Mocktail Directions
Dip the glass in a saucer of cranberry simple syrup and then a saucer of colored sugar or plain white sugar
1 large ice cube
Pour in kombucha 3/4 full carefully because it is very bubbly.
Top with cranberry simple syrup
Stir with a glass stir rod.
Top with fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary and an orange wheel.
Enjoy!
Mango Ginger Cider
You can use store-bought apple cider or make your own. This is a healthy alternative to a cider drink and is much more flavorful.
Ingredients
Apple cider chilled
Wild Tonic Mango Ginger Kombucha
Garnishes; apple slices, candied ginger, cinnamon stick
Directions
In a chilled copper mule mug place an ice cube in it and fill it halfway with apple cider and top with the kombucha slowly so it doesn’t overflow due to carbonation. Add a slice of candied ginger, apple slices, and a cinnamon stick. Serve chilled!
Pomegranate Jun Fizz
Ingredients
1/2 C Wild tonic Lavender Love
1/4 C Fresh Pomegranate juice
Garnish with lavender sugar, pomegranate seeds, and lavender sprig
Lavender sugar
1 Tbsp culinary-dried lavender
1 C granulated sugar
Put lavender in a food processor or nut grinder and blend for 15 sec.
Directions
Cosmo glass
Dip the glass in a saucer of pomegranate juice and dip it in another saucer of lavender sugar
1 large ice cube
Pour pomegranate juice into the glass, fill with kombucha, and top with a sprig of lavender and fresh pomegranate seeds.
Spiced Pear Cider
Move over apples your sister is taking over! Pears are an underrated winter fruit. You may see them on a charcuterie board or poached in a dish but as a drink, they hardly grace the drink menus. Try this addicting spiced pear cider in place of traditional apple cider. It’s warm and comforting and an alternative. You can add your favorite bourbon or whisky to it for a drunken cider if you wish.
Directions for Pear Cider
10 whole pears halved and destemmed and seeded, Any kind but Harry and David have the best
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 tsp whole cloves
2 tsp ground allspice
3 sticks of whole cinnamon
1 vanilla bean pod split open
Instructions
Put everything in a stock pot and cover it with filtered water just enough to cover pears about 2+ inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer uncovered for about an hour. Mash some of the pears, cover, and simmer for another two hours. Let cool slightly and strain until solids are removed, may take a couple of times, or use a cheesecloth. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. Serve warm with a cinnamon stick and a star anise seed pod and sliced pears. You can use the pear cider as a warm holiday drink as well just like an apple cider
Chai Spiced Pear Spritzer Directions
Use the cooled pear cider you made for a mocktail or cocktail
Triple old-fashioned glass or Coup glass
Ingredients
1/2 C Pear cider chilled
1/2 C Wild Tonic Chai Pear Kombucha
Ice
Cinnamon Stick
Star anise seed pod
Sliced Pears for garnish
Sugared spice mix
1 Tbsp pumpkin spice or allspice
1 tsp brown sugar
Directions
Take a glass of choice and dip the rim in a saucer of cider and a saucer of sugared spice mix
Fill the glass with ice or one large ice cube
Pour in pear cider and top with Kombucha
Garnish with any of the items listed above; star anise, cinnamon stick, sliced pears
You can make any of these into cocktails by adding a hard kombucha or liquor of your choice.
