Holidays are a great time for families and friends to get together to celebrate. Unfortunately, more and more families are affected by alcohol abuse these days. Rather than just offering alcoholic beverages, try one or more of these home-made non-alcoholic and delicious cocktails.
Peach Julius (Makes one serving)
Ingredients
1 cup frozen or fresh peach juice
2 ounces milk (whatever percentage you prefer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup of ice
Place the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. When the ingredients are totally blended, pour them into chilled glasses. You can adjust the water or juice by adding more if the mix is too thick; add more ice cream if the mix is too thin.
Virgin Miami Vice (Makes one serving)
Ingredients
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce coconut cream
1/2 ounce half and half cream
1 1/2 ounce strawberry puree
1 1/2 ounces lime juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup
1 cup crushed ice
Strawberry or mint for garnish
In a blender, add half the ice, pineapple juice, coconut cream, and the cream. Blend this until it’s smooth and then pour it into a tall glass. Place the remaining ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Carefully pour this mixture over a spoon to layer it over the pineapple-coconut layer. Add a strawberry, sprig of mint, or both as a garnish.
Non-Alcoholic “Champagne”
You can make a non-alcoholic “champagne” by adding 32 ounces of lemon and lime soft drink with 12 ounces of thawed white grape juice concentrate. Pour this into a container with a cover so it will remain fizzy until served. Serve as is out of the covered container or serve it out of a punch bowl.
Mudslides
Mudslides are a great option if you’re looking for a sweet non-alcoholic drink which still allows you to drive. You’ll need the following ingredients to make one serving:
3 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 teaspoon non-alcoholic amaretto flavored syrup
3 teaspoons non-alcoholic Irish cream flavored syrup
Chocolate syrup to taste
Splash of milk to thin down the mixture
Put the ice cream into a blender and add milk until the mixture is smooth. Add the amaretto syrup first and pulse it followed by the Irish cream flavored syrup. Add chocolate syrup to taste and blend the mixture again. Pour this into a tall glass. Finish it by placing a dollop of whipped cream and then drizzle additional chocolate syrup on top. To create a mocha-flavored drink, substitute coffee-flavored ice cream in place of the vanilla.
If you’re looking for non-alcoholic syrups to make some of your favorite drinks, you can often find them in the same area as coffee and tea in your local grocery store. You can also go to a favorite coffee shop and see if they have flavored syrups you can purchase.
Having a family member or friend with an issue with alcohol can make celebrating difficult. You don’t have to serve alcoholic beverages. Try one of these home-made non-alcoholic and delicious cocktails and they’ll still be able to enjoy the celebration.
