We love cocktails. The boozy kick of spirits is a welcome addition to many drinks. But when you are looking to cut back or cut it out all together, the absence of alcohol doesn’t have to mean sacrificing the flavor of your beverage. This collection of refreshing, nonalcoholic drink recipes will work just as well—whether you’re pairing with pizza on a Friday night or toasting to a special occasion. (Farideh Sadeghin/)
This lemonade is rendered smoky-sweet with the juice of grilled lemons and limes and toasted simple syrup, which has a mild caramel flavor that does a lot to complement the grilled fruit. Get the recipe for <a href=”http://www.saveur.com/smoked-lemon-lime-ade-recipe”>Smoked Lemon-Lime-Ade</a> (Eric Medsker/)
This sparkling balsamic vinegar–espresso shrub was the hands-down front runner of Barista Coffee Shop’s “create a new drink” contest. Get the recipe for <a href=”https://www.saveur.com/coffee-shrub-spritzer-recipe/”>Coffee Shrub Spritzer</a> (Farideh Sadeghin/)
Former test kitchen director Farideh Sadeghin got the recipe for this refreshing melon drink from her Iranian-born father, who makes it by grating fresh cantaloupe and combining it with water, sugar, and fresh mint. Get the recipe for <a href=”https://www.saveur.com/persian-cantaloupe-drink-recipe/”>Persian Cantaloupe Drink</a> (Farideh Sadeghin/)
This recipe treats iced coffee like a cocktail, adding peach nectar and lime juice to amp the beans’ citrus and other fruit notes. Get the recipe for <a href=”https://www.saveur.com/persian-cantaloupe-drink-recipe/”>Gone in 60 Seconds</a> (Matt Taylor-Gross/)
Orchata is a lush, chilled Indian drink from the Goa state prepared with homemade almond milk and a syrup made from rosewater. Get the recipe for <a href=”https://www.saveur.com/indian-almond-rosewater-drink-recipe/”>Orchata (Indian Almond and Rosewater Drink)</a> (Jasmine P. Ting/)
This tart, fizzy, fermented juice is great served over ice cream, in cocktails, or simply over ice. Get the recipe for <a href=”https://www.saveur.com/fermented-raspberry-soda-recipe/”>Fermented Raspberry Soda</a> (Saveur/)
Panagam is a chilled drink from Southern India made with grated jaggery, ginger, cardamom, and lime juice. It is a thirst-quencher popular during the Hindu holy days of Rama Navmi and Narasimha Jayanti in early spring. Get the recipe for <a href=”https://www.saveur.com/indian-ginger-and-lime-drink-recipe/”>Panagam (Indian Ginger and Lime Drink)</a> (Jasmine P. Ting/)
In Lucknow, India, the hakims—local practitioners of Yunani medicine, derived from ancient Greece and focused on balancing the humors in the body—concoct cooling drinks to beat the heat. Called by the Persian name sharbat, the iced drinks often contain sweet and tart fruits and pungent and fiery spices. This refreshing cooler gets a carbonated lift from seltzer and a pleasantly saline tang from black salt and dried mango powder. Get the recipe for <a href=”https://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/nimbu-ka-sharbat-north-indian-spiced-limeade/”>Nimbu ka Sharbat (North Indian Spiced Limeade)</a> (Ingalls Photography/)
