My blood orange mocktail is ultra refreshing, sweet, and juicy! Let me show you how to make this smash style drink with amazing flavor and zero alcohol in just a few minutes. You'll want to enjoy as many as possible while blood orange season lasts.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my grapefruit mint mocktail, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Quick and Easy - You only need five minutes to craft this non-alcoholic blood orange mocktail drink at home. And you don't need fancy bartending skills or special tools to pull it off using my pro tips below.
Fresh Flavor - You'll taste the sweet-tart citrus flavor of winter blood oranges with spicy ginger and a hint of mint. This unique blood orange spritz is a fizzy thirst quencher that has been love at first sip for me and my family.
Fruity mocktail recipes are kinda my thing so I have several more to share with you. Check out my spring mocktail with thyme, coconut water mocktail, frozen piña colada mocktail, pineapple lychee mocktail, and hibiscus spritzer mocktail next!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Blood Oranges are the superstar of this recipe and we're using the zest, the juice, and a slice or two for aesthetic. Grab any blood orange variety you like.
Ginger Honey Syrup adds ginger flavor and a touch of sweetness that you can dial up or down based on your preference. Homemade ginger honey syrup only takes a few minutes to make and I use it in lots of my mocktails and tea recipes so I keep a jar on deck!
Fresh Mint helps keep this drink light and you can use whichever kind of mint you like and have available, including spearmint, chocolate mint, and peppermint.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Sparkling Water - Use any brand of sparkling water, seltzer, or club soda to make this drink, including San Pellegrino, Perrier, and the Texas fan fave, Top Chico.
Or Soda - As a shortcut, you can use ginger ale, ginger beer, or ginger kombucha instead of sparkling water. All three will add effervescence but the first two will also add sweetness sweetness, with ginger beer having a stronger ginger bite between the two. If you go this route, omit the ginger honey syrup and note that the blood orange flavor won't be as strong as it would be with carbonated water.
Other Herbs - Feel free to mix in other herbal flavors like basil, thyme, or rosemary instead of the mint or in addition to it. You can include these in the muddling step (instructions below) or as garnish options.
Sweetener - You can also use different sweeteners like plain simple syrup, maple syrup or your favorite zero sugar option. Or incorporate my citrus simple syrup or ginger turmeric honey syrup to play with the flavor profile a lil bit.
Garnish - The instructions just below include fun garnish ideas like a zesty salted rim and I honestly believe they will give you the best taste and experience, however, they are optional. So do you!
How to Make the Best Blood Orange Mocktail
- Step 1: Zest one of the oranges then mix the zest with coarse sea salt.
- Step 2: Run the juicy part of the orange around the rim of a rocks glass then dip the rim into the zest salt mixture.
Pro Tip #1
The salted blood orange zest rims adds a salty contrast to the sweetness of this drink and citrusy aroma with each sip. This step takes a couple of minutes but is so worth it!
- Step 3: Muddle mint leaves and honey syrup together.
- Step 4: Add ice to glass then squeeze in blood orange juice, top up with sparkling water, and stir.
Pro Tip #3
Make sure to stir the drink gently but very well to mix all of the layers. Otherwise, you will wind up with too much sweetness at the bottom.
- Step 5: Garnish with a stem of mint and blood orange slice, if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
To batch blood orange mocktails for a party or something else, add 24 mint leaves and two ounces honey syrup to a pitcher then muddle until leaves are bruised and wilted. Pour in the juice from 10 blood oranges and about eight ounces of sparkling water then fill the pitcher halfway with ice and stir until combined. Serves four.
How to Serve
This easy blood orange juice mocktail should be served ice cold for the most refreshing taste. Crushed or pebbled ice creates the best aesthetic and my cheat code is grabbing a cup of ice from Sonic since I don't have a crushed ice maker.
More Favorite Blood Orange Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this blood orange ginger mocktail soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Blood Orange Smash Mocktail
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 plate
- 1 rocks glass
- 1 jigger or shot glass
- 1 muddler or kitchen spoon
- 1 citrus juicer optional
- 1 bar spoon or table spoon
Ingredients
- 3 blood oranges
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 6 leaves fresh mint
- ½ ounce ginger honey syrup
- ice
- sparkling water
- 1 stem fresh mint optional garnish
Instructions
- Cut blood oranges into halves then cut off one slice about ⅓ inch thick and set aside. Zest one of the orange halves onto plate.3 blood oranges
- Combine blood orange zest with sea salt. Run the juicy part of an orange piece around the rim of the rocks glass then dip the rim into the salt and zest mixture.½ teaspoon sea salt
- Add mint leaves and syrup to rocks glass then press with the muddler until the mint leaves are bruised and wilted.6 leaves fresh mint, ½ ounce ginger honey syrup
- Fill glass halfway with ice. Squeeze in blood orange juice then top up with sparkling water and stir gently but thoroughly in order to have a consistent tasting drink from start to finish.ice, sparkling water
- Garnish with mint stem and blood orange slice and serve cold.1 stem fresh mint
Notes
-
Peel four inches fresh ginger root and slice into small pieces no more than ¼ inch thick.
-
Add ginger to saucepan with water and honey over medium-high heat and stir until honey is dissolved.
-
Bring mixture to a boil then remove from heat. Steep honey ginger syrup for at least 30 minutes, to allow flavor to infuse. Makes about 16 ounces.
Michelle says
I hesitated to make the honey ginger syrup but it was quick to do and really made this drink pop. I will be making this for my partner and I throughout Dry January! Thanks!