10 Delicious Nonalcoholic Drinks for Your Thanksgiving Feast

When it comes to Thanksgiving, especially if it’s a big one with extended friends and family, there should always be variety—multiple sides, an array of desserts, and most importantly, a number of drinks to choose from. At my holiday table, I always like to offer some delicious nonalcoholic options, perfect for pairing with a long, heavy meal—and I don’t mean plain old soda or iced tea. I mean homemade mulled apple cider, sumac-infused lemonade, and mocktails that incorporate the same kinds of bitter, tart, and herbal notes you get in good alcoholic drinks. Below are 10 nonalcoholic Thanksgiving drinks—including a homemade fig and balsamic soda and a seasonal pumpkin shrub that’s great for mixing with ginger beer—so that everyone has something tasty to sip on the big day.

Hot Nonalcoholic Drinks

Spiced Mulled Cider

Before I was old enough to drink, I started pretty much every Thanksgiving dinner with a mug of mulled cider. My family generally made it with store-bought “mulling spices,” and maybe a few cinnamon sticks if we were feeling fancy. This recipe goes a step further, flavoring high-quality local cider with toasted whole cinnamon, clove, cardamom, coriander, and anise. It’s delicious without any alcohol at all, but adding just a spoonful of brandy, if you like, can help to bring out the cider’s fruitiness.

Apple Sujeonggwa (Korean Cinnamon-Ginger Punch)

We decided to give this traditional Korean ginger-cinnamon digestif an apple spin. Lightly charring the cinnamon sticks lends them a pleasant, warm bitterness that balances the sweetness of the punch, while steeping the apple chips in the punch off heat prevents them from breaking down and muddying the punch’s ginger aroma.

Cold Nonalcoholic Drinks

Shirley Temple

Okay, I know we said there wouldn’t be any sodas on this list, but I thought it might be good to throw something in for the kids (and the kids at heart!). With just three ingredients—soda, grenadine, and maraschino cherries—this Shirley Temple recipe is unapologetically sweet and irresistibly fizzy.

Mulled Cider Shrub

For a refreshing alternative to hot cider on Thanksgiving, this recipe combines mulled cider with apple cider vinegar to make an instant shrub. We love vinegar-based drinks on Thanksgiving—the acidity cuts through the rich food wonderfully—but if the idea of vinegar in a drink feels like a stretch to you, this is a good, easy entry point. As the shrub cooks, the harsher side of the vinegar is mellowed out significantly, leaving a milder, sweeter flavor.

Pumpkin Shrub

For another easy seasonal shrub, start by steeping sweet roasted pumpkin in vinegar with turbinado sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. (You’ll want to get going on this one the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, because the squash needs to sit overnight.) The shrub can then be mixed with plain seltzer or (my preference) spicy ginger beer.

Fig and Balsamic Soda

This sophisticated sweet-and-tangy soda combines balsamic vinegar, seltzer, and a fig syrup made with dried and oven-roasted figs. Roasting the figs deepens their flavor, meaning you can even use figs that are out of season or just slightly past their prime and still get good results.

Shiso Fine

In another bright and refreshing vinegar-centric mocktail—we promise, using vinegar is a great way to offset sweetness and lend depth to nonalcoholic drinks!—we infuse rice wine vinegar with cucumbers and mix it with fresh Granny Smith apple juice, lime juice, and muddled shiso and mint. As with any cocktail that incorporates fresh herbs, muddle gently so that the herbs don’t take on an unpleasant bitterness.

Pomegranate Americano

The Americano, a classic cocktail made with vermouth and Campari, isn’t too boozy on its own, but this two-ingredient mocktail variation is even lighter. Pomegranate juice provides astringency and acidity similar to what you’ll taste in Campari, and the Angostura bitters lend herbaceousness and, yes, bitterness. Though used in very small doses, bitters do contain alcohol—they won’t get you drunk, but those who abstain from drinking completely will want to avoid this one.

Sparkling Sumac Lemonade

When I’m eating a big meal, I prefer my drinks to be light and effervescent, and this sparkling lemonade fits the bill perfectly. This isn’t just any lemonade, though—sumac syrup lends it a gorgeous reddish color and a complex tartness that somehow makes it extra thirst-quenching.

Orange, Rosewater, and Mint Sparkler

If you’re big into mimosas, but want to pace yourself so you aren’t too tipsy by dinnertime, give this sparkling orange juice drink a try. The recipe is pretty simple—start with freshly squeezed orange juice and mix it with muddled mint leaves, a few drops of rose water, and seltzer. A very small amount of rose water is all you need, so we recommend pouring from a spoon instead of the bottle, which will give you greater control.

October 2018