Vegan cocktails, aperitifs, and mocktails skip ingredients like honey or cream, and use smart swaps that taste just as good. You get bright colour, proper texture, and clean flavour, with less fuss and often fewer calories.
Short Girl, Tall Order (a recipe blog by a 5ft 2in chef!) has wonderful cocktail recipes to try, including this nice pear vanilla gin fizz.
This guide covers the basics, easy swaps, and reliable recipes. You will also find tips for tools, storage, and batching. Everything here is friendly for beginners and ready for a relaxed night in.
Obviously avoid alcohol for pregnancy/nursing and medical conditions. But also check medication for grapefruit and rhubarb (including no-alcohol mocktails) and avoid tonic waters for pregnancy/nursing and some medicines (liver failure, blood thinners, antibiotics and anti-depressants) due to quinine.
Ingredients and Vegan Swaps
Some bar staples are not vegan. Watch for hidden animal inputs that lurk in mixers and liqueurs.
- Common non‑vegan ingredients: honey, gelatin, isinglass, milk or cream, egg whites, whey-based liqueurs, cochineal colouring, some wines and vermouths that use animal finings.
- Vegan-friendly bases: most unflavoured vodka, gin, tequila, rum, brandy, and many bitters that declare no animal products. For no alcohol, try soda, tonic, kombucha, coconut water, and fresh juices.
Label checks matter. Scan for casein, albumen, lactose, or shellac. For wine and vermouth, look for vegan-certified or check a trusted directory. Picking ethical brands helps cut waste and supports better sourcing, which fits the spirit of vegan drinks.
Tools and Tips for Mixology at Home
You do not need a pro bar to make great drinks.
- Tools: shaker, fine strainer, jigger, bar spoon, muddler, citrus juicer, peeler.
- Techniques: shake with ice for cloudy drinks with juice, stir with ice for spirit-forward blends, muddle herbs or fruit gently to release oils without bitterness.
- Storage: keep syrups in clean bottles in the fridge for two weeks, store citrus whole in the fridge, freeze fresh juice in ice trays, refrigerate opened vermouth.
- Batching: scale up spirit, juice, and syrup in a jug, chill for two hours, add sparkling parts just before serving. Label strength and flavour so guests can choose with ease.
Sippable Vegan Aperitifs
Aperitifs are light, crisp, and refreshing. They wake the palate without stealing the show. Lower alcohol keeps conversation steady and food in focus. Fruit and herbs bring antioxidants and a fresh lift, which suits a calm start to the night. Use clean glassware, cold ice, and small garnishes for a tidy look.
Recipe: Herb Garden Aperitif
Bright, green, and gentle.
- Ingredients (1 serving)
- 35 ml gin
- 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves
- 20 ml fresh lemon juice
- 10 ml simple syrup
- Soda water to top
- Ice
- Lemon peel, for garnish
- Steps
- Muddle basil with syrup in a shaker.
- Add gin, lemon juice, and ice, then shake for 10 seconds.
- Strain into an ice-filled highball.
- Top with soda, stir once, garnish with lemon peel.
- Serve with olives, salted almonds, or tomato crostini.
Recipe: Citrus Sparkler Aperitif
Light bubbles with a bitter kiss.
- Ingredients (1 serving)
- 90 ml vegan-certified prosecco, well chilled
- 40 ml fresh orange juice
- 2 dashes vegan bitters
- Orange slice, for garnish
- Steps
- Fill a wine glass with ice.
- Add orange juice and bitters, stir gently.
- Top with prosecco and add an orange slice.
- Variation: use blood orange juice in autumn for deeper colour and a richer citrus note.
Vegan Cocktails for Every Mood
These are full-strength, with bold but balanced flavour. Sweet, sour, and salt work together. Keep measurements tight, taste as you go, and ice well. Each recipe serves one.
Recipe: Vegan Spicy Margarita
Fresh heat, clean lime, and a light sweetness.
- Ingredients
- 45 ml tequila blanco
- 25 ml fresh lime juice
- 15 ml agave syrup
- 3 to 4 jalapeño slices
- Pinch of salt, plus salt for the rim
- Ice
- Lime wheel, for garnish
- Steps
- Run a lime wedge around a rocks glass, dip in salt.
- Shake tequila, lime juice, agave, jalapeño, salt, and ice.
- Double strain over fresh ice, garnish with a lime wheel.
- Notes: about 1.5 UK units per serve. For a milder version, skip the jalapeño or remove the seeds.
Recipe: Berry Bliss Cocktail
Bright berries with a floral lift.
- Ingredients
- 40 ml vodka
- 50 g mixed berries, fresh or frozen
- 15 ml elderflower cordial
- 15 ml fresh lemon juice
- Ice
- Mint sprig, for garnish
- Steps
- Muddle berries in a shaker.
- Add vodka, elderflower, lemon, and ice, then shake hard.
- Fine strain into a chilled coupe, garnish with mint.
- Tip: frozen berries work well, thaw slightly for easier muddling. Around 1.3 UK units.
Recipe: Coconut Dream
Creamy, sunny, and smooth.
- Ingredients
- 40 ml white rum
- 40 ml coconut milk, well shaken
- 50 ml pineapple juice
- 10 ml fresh lime juice
- Ice
- Pineapple leaf or grated nutmeg, for garnish
- Steps
- Shake rum, coconut milk, pineapple, and lime with plenty of ice.
- Strain into a chilled coupe or rocks glass over ice.
- Garnish with a pineapple leaf or a light dust of nutmeg.
- Autumn twist: add a thin slice of fresh ginger in the shake for warmth. About 1.2 UK units.
Fun and Fizzy Vegan Mocktails
Great hosting includes everyone. Mocktails bring flavour, texture, and style without alcohol. They hydrate, avoid hangovers, and keep energy steady. Use fresh juice, crushed ice, and clean garnishes for a grown-up feel.
Recipe: Fresh Mint Mocktail Mojito
Zingy, minty, and crisp.
- Ingredients (1 serving)
- 6 to 8 mint leaves, plus extra for garnish
- 25 ml fresh lime juice
- 15 ml sugar syrup
- Soda water to top
- Crushed ice
- Steps
- Gently muddle mint with syrup in a tall glass.
- Add lime juice and crushed ice.
- Top with soda, stir, add more crushed ice, garnish with mint.
Recipe: Ginger Zest Mocktail
Spicy, bright, and apple-fresh.
- Ingredients (1 serving)
- 90 ml ginger beer
- 40 ml cloudy apple juice
- 10 ml fresh lemon juice
- 2 mint leaves
- Ice
- Apple fan, for garnish
- Steps
- Fill a rocks glass with ice.
- Add apple juice and lemon, stir.
- Top with ginger beer, clap the mint and drop it in, garnish with apple.
For a seasonal lift, add a rosemary sprig to either mocktail. It pairs well with apple and citrus in October.
No-Alcohol Artisan Aperitifs
Everleaf is a brand of award-winning no-alcohol aperitifs, ideal for making mocktails (no drink can be 0% alcohol, as even fruit has a little booze). Just mix one part with 3 parts mixer over ice, then add a garnish, for summer in a glass. Choose from:
- Forest (saffron, vanilla, orange blossom)
- Mountain (cherry blossom, bittersweet rosehip)
- Marine (sea buckthorn, bergamot, kelp – avoid for thyroid issues)
This brand was founded by a conservation biologist, who spent years learning how to observe and learn from the natural world. All ingredients are sustainably-harvested, and the brand gives back to conservation causes worldwide.
Wilfred’s Aperitif is made without alcohol and unlike most brands, is free from honey. This is a crafted blend of natural botanicals along with zesty bitter orange, aromatic rosemary, clove and a hint of rhubarb. Created by an engineer after 100 experiments! His site has simple mocktail recipes.
Gibson’s Organic Liqueurs are made in the Cotswolds, and include:
- Elderflower – a floral taste of an English summer
- Blackberry (add a splash to bubbly, or drizzle into vegan ice-cream or crumble)
- Raspberry (add to vegan ice-cream, crumble or trifle)
Grow Your Own Cocktail Herbs
Herboo Cocktail Herbs Kit is from a company that makes seed kits for small spaces. This contains seeds to grow Basil (sweet Genovese), borage and spearmint.
Many seeds (including borage, spearmint and poppies) are unsafe near animal friends. Learn how to create pet-safe gardens (including indoor plants to avoid – even brushing a tail against can harm).
Avoid facing indoor plants to gardens, to help stop bird strike.
The kits all include clear instructions and are designed and prepared in London, to inspire those who have limited space. An emphasis is on organic seeds where possible, and the seeds are packed in moisture-free foil sachets, inside easy-to-recycle sleeves.
Herboo recommends sowing seeds in small batches. That way if something goes wrong, you have enough left to have another go!
