Choose Your Own Adventure: Mocktail Style

So you set out to make a mocktail at home. You want something tropical due to it getting dark at 4pm and you'd much rather be on a beach or at the pool, and having to put on extra layers just to go start your car before work in the morning is just not the vibe. So you choose pineapple juice as a base, it's rather sweet too so you'll need something to balance that.

Acid is needed for balance, lemon or lime are options. Lime is less punch-y tart so you choose lime. And don't you dare reach for that little plastic shaped lime juice you see in the produce section. They're there to temp you with an easy adorably shaped bottle and a slew of unnecessary ingredients. Pick up a couple of real limes and store them in the fridge so they're cold when you go to make your mocktail.

Starting with pineapple and lime takes you down a tropical road that needs a little more lively ingredients. Cream of coconut, or coconut pureé could be your choice if you like piña coladas (and getting caught in the rain). You could also add orange juice to go in the 'pain killer' route. Coconut water is also an easy ingredient to add that adds volume without adding many calories.

Zero proof Italian Aperitifs from brands like Ghia, Ritual and Free Spirits could also be great options if you're in the mood for a 'Jungle Bird' style cocktail. Adding a brown sugar syrup or maple syrup to that would be a great substitute for the flavor that dark rum gives that cocktail.

Two new items in the grocery store, Orange & Cream and Strawberry & Cream Coconut Milk for mocktails and cocktails also could be delicious to pair with your tropical journey. You could go further down the 'pain killer' route with the Orange & Cream Coconut Milk. Or You could go down an entirely experimental route with the Strawberry & Cream Coconut Milk. If you had pineapple & lime juice and added strawberry & cream coconut milk you could add ingredients like; pineapple spindrift to give it a fizzy feel, ice & blend to give it a daiquiri vibe, a bit of orange infused agave & ice blended for a margarita essence.

The mocktail adventure lands you on the perfect bev. And at the end of your journey you're sipping a deliciously tropical mocktail and sit down to watch your favorite beachy movie Baywatch and escape the cold for just a little bit while Zac Effron and Dwayne Johnson flex their pecks on screen.

Cheers!