Five Veganuary Cocktails You Have To Try & Their Mocktail Equivalents

Ahh, January. The time for resolutions, reformations and, well, terrible weather. Veganuary has become a staple feature, with people of all ages now determined to embrace the month-long lifestyle change. While vegan produce can be found in every corner of your supermarket these days, a slightly more deceptive item is alcohol. 

“Alcohol?” You ask, raising one brow at your screen. Yes, alcohol. Although typical ingredients such as barley, hops and fruit are free of animal products, it’s a little more complicated than that. Often beverages that may seem well-meaning and Morrisey-approved, may in fact be otherwise. 

Don’t be discouraged, however - we’ve got you covered. Offering an entirely vegan range of alcoholic beverages, at NOVELTEA we’re experts in plant-based mixology. 

We’ve listed our top five vegan cocktails, each with a step-by-step guide to get you through Veganuary seamlessly. Taking on dry January too? You can find mocktail alternatives beneath each recipe. 

Each of these serves 1. 

1. Moroccan Mint Fizz

Festive feasting can leave your stomach in a rather peculiar position come January. There’s no regrets, of course, but we do wish our tums would be slightly less grumbly and bloated… Enter: the Moroccan Mint Fizz. Moroccan mint is famed for digestive relief properties and this zingy version promises a pinch of rum to wash it down.

Moroccan Mint Fizz

Ingredients 

50ml NOVELTEA Tale of Moroccan Mint

12.5ml Elderflower liqueur

12.5ml Fresh lime juice

Prosecco, to top

Method

  1. Shake with ice
  2. Double strain into a chilled glass
  3. Top with Prosecco
  4. Garnish with lime

Make it a mocktail by using 50ml of iced mint green tea and 12.5ml of sparkling elderflower soda.

2. Espresso Martini 

Nothing beats a strong coffee - especially to dust of those January cobwebs. While you may prefer your coffee first thing in the morning, you might want to postpone this one until after lunch. Keep it vegan by using Tia Maria or Patrón XO Café Coffee Liqueur as your liqueur of choice.

Espresso Martini

Ingredients

50ml Vodka (Absolut and Smirnoff are both vegan) 

25ml Coffee liqueur (Tia Maria or Patrón XO Café)

25ml Freshly brewed espresso 

Ice

Coffee beans, to serve

Method 

  1. Shake with ice
  2. Pour into a chilled martini glass 
  3. Serve - preferably in a classic martini glass 
  4. Top with a few coffee beans 

Make it a mocktail by using 50ml espresso, 25ml vanilla syrup and 25ml water. 

3. Bloody Mary 

Famed for its hangover-healing properties, it’s no surprise that New Year’s Day is National Bloody Mary Day. For anyone trying to marry beating the January blues with a fitness-focused resolution, a Bloody Mary counts as one of your five a day. Tenuous, we’ll admit. However, we won’t tell if you don’t… 

Typically non-vegan due to the Worcestershire Sauce, pick up a vegan Worcestershire for Veganuary or simply swap it out for 1:1 soy sauce and a dash of allspice! 

Bloody Mary

Ingredients 

50ml Vodka

250ml Tomato juice

2 tsp Lemon juice

Few drops of vegan Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce and allspice)

Few drops of Tabasco

Pinch of salt and pepper

Ice

Celery stick, lemon wedge and olives, to serve

Method 

  1. Pour the vodka, tomato juice and lemon juice onto ice in a tall glass 
  2. Add the Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce and allspice)
  3. Dust in the salt and pepper, and stir
  4. Finish with garnishes

Make it a mocktail by simply removing the vodka.

4. Hot Toddy 

Bloody Marys aren’t the only cocktail celebrated in January. The 11th of the month is National Hot Toddy Day. The perfect winter warmer for those frosty January eves, you may also recognise it as a grandparent’s favourite remedy for a cold. 

Hot Toddy

Ingredients

200ml Boiling water

50ml Single malt whisky (Jura, Glenmorangie and Glenfiddich are all vegan)

1 tsp Maple syrup

1 tsp Lemon juice

2-3 Cloves

1 Cinnamon stick, to serve

Method

  1. Pour the whisky into your favourite mug 
  2. Add the maple syrup, lemon, cloves and cinnamon stick 
  3. Top with boiling water

Make it a mocktail by swapping out the whisky and water for 250ml apple juice you’ve simmered in a pan.

5. Old Fashioned

Not for the fainthearted, this short, sipping cocktail made a name for itself in the 1920s. Seeing as we’re all in unspoken agreement that 2020 didn’t count, let’s celebrate the ‘20s for real this time with the perfect drink to mark the occasion. 

Old Fashioned

Ingredients

60ml Bourbon (Jack Daniels is suitable for vegans)

2-3 Dashes of Angostura bitters

1 tsp Demerara sugar 

1 tsp Water

Orange peel, to serve

Method

  1. Mix the bitters, sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved
  2. Add the bourbon and stir 
  3. Pour into a separate glass over ice 
  4. Finish with an orange peel 

Make it a mocktail by replacing the bourbon with iced spiced tea, and the bitters with a pinch of fine orange rind and allspice. 

Easier than you thought, right?

For many, Veganuary becomes way more than a month-long resolution. If that’s you, we’ve got a range of delightful, vegan-friendly treats you can enjoy. Blending complementary flavours of tea and alcohol, our products are a hedonists dream. See for yourself and explore our drinks collection.