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The best canned mocktails aren’t just mixers minus booze. In fact, the best non-alcoholic cocktails are a lot like the best canned cocktails that do contain alcohol. They bring together several flavor elements—sweet, bitter, floral, earthy, astringent, etc.—to create something nuanced and highly sippable. If a canned mocktail is made well, you don’t miss the booze. I’m telling you, Dry January doesn’t have to suck. 

For our first taste test, I did a little shopping at my local non-alcoholic bottle shop (a thing that actually exists in Los Angeles). I got a pret-ty excellent sampling of the best canned mocktails on the market. But for our second taste test, I went a little broader and tried to find some of the best canned mocktails you might actually find at your local liquor store or supermarket. This list is long because so many of the mocktails we tasted were so, so good. If you’re quitting drinking for good, doing a Dry January challenge, or just taking a night off the sauce, stock your fridge with these 14 best canned mocktails.

Best Risky

As I wrote in my taste test notes, this canned mocktail is “so. weird.” Tangerine and basil seem like such an odd pairing, but it works. The basil is my favorite aspect of the flavor profile. Be forewarned: If you do not like basil, you will not like this non-alcoholic cocktail one bit. But if you like basil, give this a shot even if you think it sounds weird. It’s very sweet and very herbaceous. It could use a little more tartness, but Mockly leaned into the sweetness of tangerine rather than the tartness of orange, and that’s fine. So many canned mocktails just taste like soda, but this one has more going on—you won’t mistake it for orange soda, that’s for sure. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Mockly

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best for Coffee Lovers

Does this canned mocktail taste like an Espresso Martini? Not really. Vodka is very key to that flavor profile, but if you’re a coffee lover, you’re going to be into this all the same. The key to its success—and what keeps it from tasting like a can of sweetened iced coffee—is the nitro widget, which gives this non-alcoholic cocktail a creamy mouthfeel, just like a freshly shaken Espresso Martini. Still dubious that this is good? Take into account that Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling thought this was one of the best canned Espresso Martinis, period.

Credit: Liv Averett / Drinkmocktails.com

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Negroni Dupe

This bottled mocktail from St Agrestis has a powerful bitterness and a little bit of an artificial sweetener-esque aftertaste I didn’t love, but if you’re craving a Negroni and can’t do booze, this will do the trick. When Justine was pregnant, this was her go-to Negroni dupe (and Justine knows cocktails). 

Credit: Liv Averett / St Agrestis

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Smoky

This canned mocktail from Crisp & Crude—which has a flavor profile that includes Rio red grapefruit, charred oak, and a dash of salt—is a little weird upon first sip, but then you’re like, “Oh! I get it!” It’s not too sweet and you get a smokiness that perfectly mimics the smokiness of mezcal. The red grapefruit is tart and not too sweet. And you can taste the hint of salt. Totally delicious. And Justine really liked how the small bubbles make it super refreshing.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Mule

This canned mocktail from Crisp & Crude includes pineapple, ginger for heat, and muddled mint. On first blush, it’s a slightly strange combo (particularly pineapple and mint), but somehow it all comes together perfectly. You can taste each component without any of them being too prominent; we tasted another minty mocktail that, sadly, gave us mouthwash vibes. Besides the ginger burn, this has a mild flavor that makes it extremely quaffable. Bet you can drink more than one—and not feel guilty about it. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Floral

Kin canned mocktails contain “euphorics” that are supposed to make socializing easier if you’re kicking booze, society’s go-to social lubricant. All three of their mocktails are good, but this is the best canned mocktail they make. I’m having a hard time attempting to describe the flavor profile, but it’s kind of like a carbonated, really mildly sweet punch (almost not sweet at all!), with a tiny hint of bitterness (if you don’t like bitter mocktails, you’ll still like this!) and floral notes. Anecdotally, Kin’s canned mocktails are also the most accessible—I was able to pick these up at our local BevMo. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Earthy

Mushrooms are it. The ultimate pizza topping. Nature’s restorers and fungal friends—and it turns out they taste great in mocktails, too. This De Soi canned mocktail is nice and earthy, but there’s also a deep fruity flavor, almost like dried apricots (sure enough, apricot is listed among the ingredients). If mushrooms freak you out, don’t worry—here they contribute just a touch of pleasant funk. Delicious. 

Credit: Liv Averett / De Soi

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Fizz (Runner-Up)

Ghia is a big name in the booze-free booze world. Like De Soi, they make a bottled aperitif you can use to make your own cocktails at home, but their pre-mixed canned spritzes absolutely rule. This may not be the best canned mocktail Ghia makes, but it’s still so, so good. It tastes like citrus rind, soda, and bitters—a super elegant combo—but the best part of Ghia’s spritzes are their incredible effervescence. If you make a Ghia spritz at home with canned seltzer or club soda (we’d suggest Polar), you’ll get big bubbles rather than the teeny-tiny bubbles in this can. “This tastes like the rind of a grapefruit,” Justine said. “That’s so hard to get from an N/A cocktail.” The only pre-mixed Ghia spritz we tried that didn’t make the list is the Lime & Salt—the saltiness was a swing and a miss for me.   

Credit: Liv Averett / Ghia

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Fizz

Ghia’s Ginger Le Spritz is the best of the company’s pre-mixed canned spritzes. Bitterness is the prevailing flavor profile in all Ghia bevs, but the ginger version has just a little bit of gingery burn that makes it more interesting overall. If you’re missing Moscow Mules, this spritz rules. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Ghia

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Sweet (Runner-Up)

This canned mocktail lacks the nuance that makes some of these other canned mocktails sparkle, but chili peppers give it a beautiful burn that makes it worthy of a best canned mocktails list. It has nice fizz, pomegranate juice sweetness, and a pleasant dose of tea flavor, but the heat really is the star. If you’re into cocktails with a jalapeño kick, you’ll like this. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Mocktail Club

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Sweet

The Capri Spritz from Mocktail Club is made with a cranberry shrub, which gives it a little bit of a vinegar-y tang. (A shrub is a syrup made of fruit and vinegar, btw.) If you like kombucha (or hard kombucha), you’ll like this. Pomegranate juice brings a pleasant, generic sort of sweetness, while lemongrass contributes some citrussy brightness. Again, lots of flavors coming together in perfect harmony, in a convenient little can. This one also gets bonus points for being a beautiful, deep magenta that would look great in a fancy glass. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Mocktail Club

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Unique

De Soi makes non-alcoholic aperitifs that come in beautiful, colorful bottles you can use to make your own mocktails, but, as we’ve already noted on this list, they also make some of the best premixed canned spritzes. Golden Hour is the best of them. If you’re not that into bitterness, this could be the best non-alcoholic cocktail for you. A sip of this sent me on a sensory journey. Justine said the taste reminded her of new age stores in her hometown in Northern California. There’s something nostalgic and comforting about this combination of leafy herbs, lemongrass, and citrus. It’s like witchy incense you can sip.

Credit: Liv Averett / De Soi

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best Bitter

I love For Bitter For Worse. In my notes I described their Rose City Fizz as “outrageously delicious,” but you probably want details. It’s fruity, refreshing, fizzy, and has a slightly thicker consistency that makes it suited to being served over ice like a real cocktail. It also has a delicious Campari-esque bitterness that stays with you as you sip. The ginger really comes through and brings a little bit of a faux boozy burn, and the strawberry and cherry juice concentrates add just a touch of tart fruitiness. It reminded Justine of an Americano (Campari with sweet vermouth and club soda for sparkle). It’s one of the best canned mocktails out there because it really feels like a craft cocktail a pro mixologist labored over. Clap a basil leaf between your palms and sip away. 

Credit: Liv Averett / For Bitter For Worse

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Bitter cocktails are big, so I guess it’s no surprise that bitter mocktails would be big, too. What is surprising about this canned cocktail from For Bitter For Worse—the best canned mocktail we tasted out of dozens—is how many fascinating flavors come together in this cute little can. “Sunshine on bare shoulders” is listed as an ingredient (along with rhubarb and citrus), and even though I have a low tolerance for twee, I’m willing to let it slide because it feels true. There’s something so warm and bright about this mocktail. It’s sweet but not at all cloying, and every sip makes you ponder its components. Sporked’s’ Jordan Myrick thought they tasted turmeric when they took a sip, but maybe it was the dandelion root? Who knows! It’s sophisticated and perfect, and the cans are pretty, too.

Credit: Liv Averett / For Bitter For Worse

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other products we tried: Parch Prickly Paloma, Parch Spiced Pinarita, Mocktail Club Manhattan Berry, Mocktail Club Havana Twist, Kin Euphorics Kin Spritz, Kin Euphorics Lightwave, De Soi Purple Lune, Lyre’s American Malt & Cola, Ghia Lime & Salt, Cranberry Fauxmosa with Hibiscus, Free AF Non Alcoholic Cuba LIbre with Afterglow,

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