This holiday orange mocktail recipe starts with bubbly sparkling water, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a festive red and green garnish. It’s super simple to pull together for your holiday party and something everyone will enjoy!
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Regarding the holidays, a bubbly sparkling beverage is a must! It makes the holidays festive.
This holiday orange mocktail brings all the season’s joy in a simple-to-make drink. Easily adjust the serving sizes to accommodate more or fewer people.
This drink is perfect as a non-alcoholic punch for your holiday party. Or it can be a festive drink for the kids to enjoy at the holiday table!
Whether you’re an adult or a kid, you’ll love the fresh flavors in this all-natural, low-calorie drink! If you want an adult holiday drink, try this Vodka Blood Orange Cocktail!
Why You’ll Love This Orange Mocktail
Light and Refreshing: Citrus mocktails are made with natural fruit juice, sparkling water, and no added sugar, so it’s light, refreshing, and just sweet enough.
Basic Ingredients: It only takes a handful of simple ingredients to make.
Great for Everyone: With no alcohol, this is a drink everyone in the family can enjoy.
Festive: Cranberry and orange are classic holiday flavor combinations.
Adjustable: You can easily adjust the amounts to accommodate more or fewer people.
Ingredients and Notes
Sparkling Water: Use flavorless sparkling water or club soda. Tonic water or diet tonic has added sugar.
Rosemary Simple Syrup: A small amount of rosemary simple syrup adds a beautiful herbal sweet flavor.
Navel Oranges: Naval oranges are a delicious option for oranges! They are super sweet, juicy, and easy to peel. They’re also seedless, which makes them perfect for juicing!
Cranberries: If you’re making this drink for the holidays, you likely have a bag of cranberries in the refrigerator to make cranberry sauce. Reserve a quarter cup of those cranberries to add for garnish. It brings bright and vibrant colors to this drink!
Rosemary: A sprig of rosemary adds a nice herbal flavor. It also resembles pine needles, making it a beautiful holiday garnish!
Substitutions and Variations
Cranberries: Add another fresh red fruit such as sliced or raspberries. Cranberries are harvested from mid-September through November. You can buy them fresh during this time. However, if you make this recipe during another time of year, you can find cranberries in the freezer section.
Other Fresh Herbs: Use another fresh herb such as thyme, mint leaves, or sage.
Oranges: If you don’t have oranges but have orange juice, add about a quarter to half a cup of orange juice instead of freshly squeezed juice.
Pineapple Juice or Lemon Juice: To add sweetness, add a ½ cup of pineapple juice or lemon juice for added tartness.
Ginger Beer: Give this mocktail a sweet and spicy flavor by substituting sparkling water with ginger beer.
How to Make An Orange Mocktail
- Prepare the rosemary simple syrup.
- Add the simple syrup and orange juice to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.
- Pour the juice into glasses filled with ice.
- Top with sparkling water.
- Garnish the orange juice mocktail with rosemary sprigs and cranberries.
FAQ
Anytime you’re in a festive mood or want something a little more interesting to sip on that’s still low-calorie, low in sugar, and delicious. Serve this drink at a holiday party, New Year’s Eve party, brunch, birthday celebrations, Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, or anytime.
Yes! Add a shot of vodka to each glass to turn this mocktail into a cocktail!
I don’t recommend it. Although it’s not as fizzy as club soda, sparkling water does add a fizzy component to this mocktail. If you make it ahead of time, you’ll lose that.
A mocktail is a non-alcoholic beverage that mimics the flavors and presentation of a cocktail.
Expert Tips
- Use sparkling water/club soda. You could also use tonic water, ginger ale, or ginger beer.
- Combine the ingredients in a punch bowl if making for a large group. Add the cranberries and rosemary to the punch bowl to infuse those flavors in the flavored soda water. Add orange slices to the punch bowl for added color and flavor!
- Keep this mocktail cold to retain its fizz for as long as possible.
- To avoid any leftovers, I suggest preparing enough servings for the people you plan to serve.
Serving Suggestions
Serve in a highball glass or a stemless wine glass.
Serve this orange mocktail with holiday snacks like chocolate-covered pretzel rods, reindeer energy bites, or adorable strawberry Santas.
Storage
While this mocktail is best when served fresh, sparkling water makes it more forgiving than a drink made with club soda. It’s possible to store it for a few days without losing too much fizz.
Refrigerator: Transfer the mocktail to a pitcher or container with a tightly-fitting lid and store for up to 3 days.
😋 More Mocktail Recipes!
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Serving Size
This recipe makes four servings; however, if you want to make a large punch bowl, double or triple the recipe to serve a crowd.
Recipe
Orange Mocktail
Equipment
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Ingredients
Orange Mocktail
- 4 cups sparkling water
- 2 naval oranges juiced
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- cranberries for garnish
- 1 tablespoon rosemary simple syrup
Rosemary Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3-4 rosemary sprigs
Instructions
Simple Syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and rosemary sprigs.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer (do not boil).
- Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to low and let the rosemary steep in the syrup for about 10-15 minutes, depending on how strong you want the flavor.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool slightly. Remove the rosemary sprigs and strain the syrup into a clean, airtight container or jar.
Prepare the Mocktail
- Add a tablespoon of the simple syrup with the juice of two oranges into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well.
- Pour flavored orange juice over ice. Add the sparkling water.
- Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and cranberries.
Notes
- Use sparkling water/club soda. You could also use tonic water, ginger ale, or ginger beer.
- Combine the ingredients in a punch bowl if making for a large group. Add the cranberries and rosemary to the punch bowl to infuse those flavors in the flavored soda water. Add orange slices to the punch bowl for added color and flavor!
- Keep this mocktail cold to retain its fizz for as long as possible.
- To avoid any leftovers, I suggest preparing enough servings for the people you plan to serve.
Kathryn
How beautiful is this drink? I can’t wait to make this for Christmas this year. Lord knows I need a drink.
Alice | SkinnySpatula
I love a good mocktail and this one definitely goes on my list of things to try this Christmas.
Katie
Looks so good. I know my family will love this!
Tara
What a delicious drink for the holidays! So easy and I love the garnish with the cranberries and rosemary.
Mahy
This mocktail is out of this world – simple to make, yet I bet absolutely delicious! Definitely a great option for the holidays!