The holidays are coming and many of us are ready to party! So, let’s celebrate with these festive cocktail and mocktail recipes!

Cocktails And Mocktails?

A trend that has gained substantial ground in recent years is the unexpected surge in non-alcoholic drinks, especially concoctions that mimic the real thing: a “mocktail”. Restaurants and bars including various Asheville hangouts have discovered that a menu dedicated to mocktails is one way to add more revenue. In addition, a whole cottage industry has arisen of distillers who make craft alcohol as well as their alcohol-free (AF) cousins.

A Winter Kiss:

• 1-1/2 oz Raspberry vodka
• 3/4 oz triple sec
• 1 oz white cranberry juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• Add all ingredients to shaker, shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add a 1/2 oz creme de cassis.

The Mocktail:

• • 1 oz white cranberry juice
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1 oz Pom juice
  • Add all ingredients to glass with ice and top with club soda

Watermelon Crush:

• Start with ice in a pint glass
• Add 4 oz. of fresh watermelon puree
• 3 oz. of Skyy Watermelon vodka
• 1 oz. Triple Sec.
• Top with club soda
• Stir & garnish with a lime slice

The Mocktail:

• • Start with ice in a rocks glass
  • 1/2 oz fresh watermelon puree
  • Top with club soda
  • Stir & garnish with a lime slice

Dark & Stormy:

• Start with ice in a tall glass
• Add 2 oz. of dark rum (preferably spiced)
• Add 3 oz. of ginger beer (non-alcoholic) and 1/2 oz. lime juice
• Stir & garnish with a lime slice

The Mocktail:

• • Start with ice in a tall glass
  • Substitute 1/2 teaspoon of blackstrap molasses for the dark rum
  • Add 3 oz. of ginger beer (non-alcoholic) and 1/2 oz. lime juice
  • Stir & garnish with a lime slice

For those interested in experimenting with their own cocktails and mocktails, check out offerings by Monday (alcohol-free gin), Lyres (classic AF spirits), Sexy AF Spirits, among others. Also browse your supermarket for kombucha blends and alcohol-free Ginger beers such as Fever Tree, The Great Jamaican Ginger Beer Company, Reed’s and Barritt’s.

Wildberry Lodge wishes you and your loved ones a Happy, Safe and Healthy New Year. We are featuring some new and exciting specials and packages in 2021-including for Valentine’s Day! Now is as good a time as any to plan your 2021 Asheville vacation!