Mocktails with Kombucha: 8 Easy Summer Drinks, No Alcohol Needed

Kombucha is the easiest mocktail base going. It's already fizzy, already tangy, already low in sugar, and it has enough going on that you don't need a cupboard of syrups to make a drink taste like a drink. Add some fruit, some ice and something green and you're done.

These are the ones we actually make at the brewery and at home over summer. Nothing needs a cocktail shaker. Everything uses a bottle of rok Kombucha or one of our Waves & Caves sodas and mixers, and a couple of things from the fruit bowl.

A few rules before you start

• Keep the kombucha cold right up until you pour it. Warm booch goes flat fast.
• Pour it last, and pour it gently down the side of the glass. It's live, so it fizzes up if you hurry it.
• Don't shake kombucha. Stir, or just build the drink in the glass.
• Big ice. Small ice melts and waters everything down.

1. Yuzu Lime Fizz

The simplest one and probably the best. Fill a tall glass with ice, squeeze in half a lime, add a few mint leaves you've clapped between your hands, then top with rok Yuzu Lime. Stir once. If you want it longer, go half kombucha, half Pure Sparkling Water.

2. Ginger Pop Mule

A Moscow mule without the vodka, and honestly you won't miss it. Ice, a good squeeze of lime, two or three slices of fresh ginger muddled in the bottom of the glass, then top with rok Ginger Pop. Garnish with a lime wheel. Want more kick? Use Waves & Caves Ginger Beer for half the pour.

3. Passionfruit Rap Spritz

Scoop the pulp of one fresh passionfruit into a wine glass, add ice and a few basil leaves, then top with rok Passionfruit Rap. This one looks the part for a table full of people. For a bigger batch, do it in a jug: four passionfruit, a handful of basil, two bottles of Passionfruit Rap, top with Waves & Cavess Sparkling Water.

4. Berry Beats Sour

Muddle a small handful of frozen mixed berries in the bottom of a short glass, add ice, squeeze in a wedge of lemon, and top with rok Berry Beats. Tart, dark and good with a barbecue.

5. Tropical Mango Cooler

Ice, a few chunks of fresh or frozen mango, a squeeze of lime, a pinch of chilli flakes if you're that way inclined, then top with rok Tropical Mango. This is the one people who say they don't like kombucha end up drinking two of.

6. The No-Gin and Tonic

Not kombucha, but it belongs here. Big ice in a balloon glass, a slice of pink grapefruit, a sprig of rosemary, then Waves & Caves Dry Tonic over the top. The dry tonic has enough bitterness to carry the drink on its own. Swap in Indian Tonic if you like it sweeter and more classic.

7. Kombucha Shandy

Half a bottle of rok Ginger Pop, half a bottle of Waves & Caves Lemonade, over ice with a lemon wedge. Tastes like a shandy, no beer involved. Good for kids' tables and designated drivers alike.

Making a jug for a crowd

For a group, build the fruit, herbs and ice in the jug first, then pour the kombucha in just before you serve, not an hour before. Two 750ml bottles of rok makes about eight glasses once you add ice and fruit. The 750ml sizes of Yuzu Lime, Ginger Pop and Passionfruit Rap exist for exactly this.

Why kombucha works better than juice or cordial here

Juice is sweet and flat. Cordial is sweeter and flat. Kombucha brings its own acid and its own bubbles, so the drink tastes balanced without you adding sugar to fix it. And because rok is brewed raw and live, you're getting the actual fermented drink, not a flavoured soft drink dressed up as one. If you're curious what's in the bottle, here's the honest answer.

Got a mocktail of your own using our stuff? Tag us on Instagram, we're @rokmargaretriver and @wavesandcavesdrinks, and we'll share the good ones.