The best canned mocktails: We tested 21 — these booze-free sips brought the party

Yahoo

07-02-2025

If you're looking for all the fun of a cocktail minus the booze, you'll be delighted to know that there are dozens of brands that promise to quench your thirst. The zero-proof beer and cocktail market is booming — and while that's a good thing, especially now that the surgeon general has called for cancer warnings on alcohol — it means you could spend months sipping just to figure out the best canned mocktail for your tastes.
To help, we gathered a group of Yahoo staffers and sampled 21 (the irony was not lost on us!) of the most popular ready-to-drink nonalcoholic cocktails. And I'm going to be honest with you: While we enjoyed many, most canned mocktails aren't great at replicating the complex flavors of a well-crafted drink. You're better off enjoying them on their own merits versus comparing them to a traditional cocktail.
With that in mind, keep reading for the best mocktails, according to our blind taste test, plus all the glasses, ice cube molds and other bar essentials you need to serve them. More of a beer person? Check out our guide to the best nonalcoholic beers, and for more NA options, read our stories on the best zero-proof wines and the best nonalcoholic drinks overall.
(Pssst, we'll continue testing more of the best mocktails this year and will update this story with our findings. Coming soon: St. Agrestis Phony Negroni and several NA canned cocktails from AF Drinks.)
We gathered a total of 18 Yahoo staffers, all with different drinking preferences, for two blind taste tests. Some folks identified as teetotalers, others sober-curious and others avid drinkers. All were curious about the best nonalcoholic drinks on the market. We poured each NA canned cocktail into a cup labeled only with a letter to keep the test blind.
Then came the fun part! Each tester sipped to their heart's content and filled out a rubric rating each drink from a scale of one to five on flavor, carbonation, accuracy (was it a satisfying cocktail replacement?) and overall enjoyment. We also asked the testers to jot down any thoughts they had about the samples.
Mingle Mocktails Key Lime Margarita: This sparkler from the popular brand Mingle (Bethenny Frankel's an investor) came very close to making it to our top picks, thanks to its zesty flavor. "Tastes like a dessert," noted one tester (up to you if that's a good thing!). Strangely, two folks thought it tasted faintly of cinnamon.
Mingle Mocktails Cranberry Cosmo: Though one tester correctly ID'd it as a cosmo and another said "it has a more interesting flavor than most," this drink didn't fare as well as the brand's margarita. Many folks thought it was too sweet and juice-like.
Ghia Soda: Ghia makes one of the most popular NA aperitifs, and the brand's signature spritz did okay among our testers. It's meant to taste bitter, and some folks found it off-puttingly so. Many also noted a strong grapefruit flavor — though the citrus fruit doesn't appear in the ingredients list.
ISH Paloma: While it didn't score as high as our top Ish picks above, this take on a Paloma did boast a strong grapefruit flavor. Ultimately, its bitter aftertaste was too much for our panel.
De Soi Golden Hour: With ingredients like reishi mushroom and L-theanine, this spritz promises to help with mental clarity and relaxation. But most of our testers were distracted by the slightly chemical flavor (the lemony drink is also made with bergamot, rosemary and bay leaf extracts).
Lapo's Negroni: Our panel found this drink from the Italian brand Lapo's bitter — too bitter in many cases. "Want to like it, but I don't," wrote one tester. That said, it's definitely reminiscent of a Negroni!
Recess Lime Margarita: Sadly, this drink had too faint a flavor to win us over. It is made with adaptogens, though, and guayusa, which is rich in antioxidants.
Recess Grapefruit Paloma: Testers were torn on whether or not the extreme bitterness of this drink was appealing. Several noted a gingery flavor and just one person thought it tasted reminiscent of an actual paloma.
Recess Classic Cosmo: Some of our panel found this orange- and cranberry-flavored concoction pleasant; others not so much. We were also torn on the level of sweetness — who knew a non-alcoholic cosmopolitan could be so divisive?!
Spindrift Cosmopolitan: It's best to enjoy this sparkling water as just that versus a cocktail replacement. All of our testers thought it was watery.
Spindrift Nojito: This nonalcoholic riff on a mojito fared better than the brand's "cosmopolitan," but testers still found its flavor too watery. That said, it did earn some fans, with one person saying that they enjoyed the notes of lime and mint.
Curious Elixirs No. 1 Pomegranate Negroni Sbagliato: An adaptogen-packed ode to the classic negroni, this drink tasted complex in a polarizing way. "It's too strong," said one person; "Tastes most like an actual cocktail," said another. As a third tester put it, "I'm not sure what to make of this."
Curious Elixirs No. 6 Coconut Pineapple Painkiller: This scored the lowest of any drink we tested, partly because of its creamy consistency (a riff on the classic tropical cocktail, the painkiller, it's made with cream of coconut pineapple, citrus and oat milk). Some testers also found the inclusion of nutmeg offputting.
Little Saints Ginger Mule: "Sparkling pine needles, but slightly sweet and sour. It's at least trying something," noted one of our testers of this drink that has notes of ginger beer, lime and lavender. It's made with reishi mushroom extract and botanical terpenes, which are derived from plants and are thought to have some health benefits.
Little Saints Negroni Spritz: This Little Saints drink was less successful than the Ginger Mule. Most testers found its bitterness overwhelming.
Little Saints Paloma: Three folks on our panel remarked on this drink's medicinal taste — two thought it reminded them of Pepto Bismol and one noted hints of Alka-Seltzer! That was enough to knock it out of the running.
It's hard to pinpoint just one beloved mocktail, but if we had to narrow it down, we'd say the Shirley Temple and the Arnold Palmer. Also, don't forget about nonalcoholic versions of tropical drinks like a virgin pina colada and virgin daiquiri, which are typically made with the same ingredients as the traditional options minus the booze.
Because they don't contain alcohol and are generally lower in sugar and calories than traditional cocktails, mocktails are generally better for your health. But keep in mind they can still contain added sugar or other flavorings you may not want to consume a lot of.
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.