The Best Mocktails For People Who Don’t Drink Alcohol

So if you are the DD or are on the sober bandwagon and don't want to be stuck with water when your friends are having margaritas, here are some of the best mocktails you should try.

About a year and a half ago, I quit drinking alcohol. It wasn’t because I had issues with alcohol, or even had some major life experience, I simply wanted to change. However, I much as I wanted to give up the hangovers, gut rot, and shots of tequila, what I did not want to give up was the good times. I knew I didn’t want to become the girl that stayed home every Friday and Saturday night just because she didn’t drink anymore, nor did I want to be the girl that ordered water and sat there making my friends feel self-conscious for drinking while I stayed sober. Here comes the search for the best mocktails.

One of the ways I learned to stay fun while being the sober one, was to have a mocktail. Basically, a drink that helped me feel like a part of the festivities. So if you are the DD or are on the sober bandwagon and don’t want to be stuck with water when your friends are having margaritas, here are some of the best mocktails you should try.

1. Ginger Beer

You can get bottled, nonalcoholic, ginger beer in the health section of pretty much any grocery store. They are a great substitute to have when your friends are getting together for beers, as they look like a regular micro-brew. Also, they aren’t carbonated, so it’s not like you are sucking down soda while your friends sip beer.

2. Watermelon Chill

I don’t know if this drink has an actual name but I call it a watermelon chill. It is basically cut up watermelon, ice, and mint, all blended together in a high-speed blender. This is my favorite drink to have at a BBQ or anytime my girlfriends are having margaritas. It’s fresh, cool, and delicious. It’s so good, your friends will probably start drinking them, though they might add vodka to theirs for a little kick.

3. Club Soda and Lime

This is the drink to order if you really want to go incognito at a bar or club. Just order a club soda with sliced limes, and you will get a drink that is not only delicious and low calorie, it is also impossible to tell that it isn’t alcoholic. I always order this whenever I don’t want to deal with the questions of why aren’t you drinking, do you never drink, or will you have a shot with me?

4. Virgin Mojito

I know it’s a bit of a cheat to order a virgin mojito, but they are so good, and they are easy to come by. Sometimes a bar or restaurant doesn’t cater to the sober ones, although they should, they usually have mojitos on the menu. Unlike a lot of drinks, mojitos have to be made individually because of the muddled mint, so it is easy to get a virgin version.