This Mistake Is Ruining Your Non-Alcoholic Cocktails

A well-constructed mocktail can be a refreshing and tasty drink, whether you're trying to cut down on your alcohol intake or simply want to expand your horizons with your concoctions. A delicious mocktail can be as effortless as a ginger ale and orange juice-laden faux mimosa and can even use ingredients that might not get much more use otherwise, such as the unexpected mocktail upgrade that is flat tonic water. But as free as the rules for mocktails seem to be, there are still some pitfalls you should avoid. Jessie-Sierra Ross, the author of "Seasons Around the Table: Effortless Entertaining with Floral Tablescapes & Seasonal Recipes" and creator of the cooking and home blog Straight to the Hips, Baby, spoke exclusively to Chowhound on this topic.

Ross offered up some advice regarding one crucial mocktail mistake. "I think one of the mistakes we often make when whipping up a mocktail is adding in too many ingredients," she states. "Mocktails should be light, refreshing, and balanced. If we add too many juices or flavored sodas to the mix, the flavor profile gets very muddled and clunky. Start with three or four quality ingredients and build from there." This is sound advice and allows for select ingredients to shine instead of whipping up a busy medley inside your glass, so it's worth keeping in mind the next time you feel experimental.

On top of giving you advice on making sure your mocktails aren't too confused, Jessie-Sierra Ross also offers some counsel on how to take your mocktails the extra mile with the select few ingredients you've chosen. Here, she focuses on making the flavors of your drink stand out, which is also why you should avoid the mistake of over-diluting your mocktails. Ross advises, "Just like in traditional cocktail making, there are some simple tricks to help elevate flavors!"

As with more traditional cocktails, the freshness and quality of your ingredients are of the utmost importance and are key to keeping your ingredient list manageable. Ross notes, "Fresh citrus is key. The acidity helps to brighten up a drink's flavors and can help round out the finish." She also lauds the added complexity of fresh herbs, saying that "basil, thyme, and rosemary are all aromatic and flavorful add-ins, and their oils can really help add dimension to even the most basic drink." Also, just like how a pinch of salt can mellow your bitter coffee and can even elevate fresh lemonade, Ross mentions that it can dial back the harshness of some more stringent ingredients, such as espresso. With these pointers in mind, you can put yourself in a good position to make the most out of but a few mocktail ingredients.