Easy Grapefruit Mocktail

This is my favorite easy mocktail recipe made with grapefruit, cranberry, ginger, vinegar and sparkling water! This is a really easy mocktail recipe to make if you are just starting off and beautiful enough to entertain with.

What is a Mocktail?

A mocktail is just a cocktail without alcohol. It can be called a virgin cocktail, a shrub (which has vinegar), a non-alcoholic drink, or it could have a formal drink name (like the old-fashioned Arnold Palmer). A great mocktail will always have a few layers of flavor so that it is not like sipping on plain fruit juice and the more modern mocktails really mix it up by adding spice and herbs.

Since grapefruit is one of my favorite fruits, I love making this grapefruit drink with it. To me, there are endless ways to enjoy grapefruit from caramelized grapefruit, grapefruit popsicles, or this easy mocktail.

I will show you all the steps to make this easy mocktail and more mocktail recipe ideas so you can make your own.

How to make this mocktail

This is so simple! All you need to do is add grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, grated ginger, vinegar and sparkling water to a glass with ice. Mix it well then garnish with a grapefruit slice if you have it.

You can adjust the amounts in this recipe to your taste. I like using freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for this recipe but you could use store-bought too.

Why add vinegar to a mocktail

If you are not familiar with adding vinegar to drinks, they are called shrubs (and not the kind in your landscape). These non-alcoholic drinks are made from fruit that has fermented into vinegar along with juice and other flavors to make a great drink.

A quick way to do this is to add vinegar to a mocktail like this one. I do this with my strawberry basil mocktail by using balsamic vinegar. My other favorite vinegar to add to mocktail recipes is organic apple cider vinegar.

Variations

You can use any flavor combination you love to make your own mocktail. Here are some mocktail recipe ideas for you to start with.

• Lavender Lemonade mocktail. I like making my own lavender water and adding fresh lemonade to it.
• Strawberry and Basil Mocktail that I mentioned earlier is perfect for summer and very refreshing.
• Cherry Shirley Temple. I like using my homemade cherry simple syrup and Sprite (or soda water) to make this. I use 2 tablespoons of cherry syrup with 8 ounces of Sprite. Traditionally grenadine is used for Shirley temples but I love it with cherry syrup.
• Basil and Lemonade Mocktail. Again, I really love using simple syrup as a flavor enhancer for my mocktails so for this combination I use 2 tablespoons of my basil simple syrup and add that to 2 ounces of fresh squeezed lemon juice and 6 ounces of water. You can also use soda water to make it fizzy.
• You can make this into a cocktail for your friends if that is what they prefer. Much like my grapefruit gin and tonic, just swap out some of the tonic for alcohol.
• I like to add a sprig of rosemary in my shrubs because when you sip on your drink you get the most amazing scent from it that brightens your mood.

More delicious drinks without alcohol

If you love this grapefruit mocktail, you may also like these drink recipes: