Alcohol-free options have become more common on bar menus, with many New Jersey bars taking just as much care to build their mocktail lists as standard cocktails options. Below, some of the most unique and exciting mocktails around the state.
✅ BLOOD ORANGE MOCKTAIL MULE
If you’re craving a mule, Cinder Bar has you covered, though you’ll get a bigger hit of sweetness with the Blood Orange Mocktail Mule. The blood orange is incorporated as a puree, adding a little more texture to this drink, but the base ingredients remain the same: lime juice and ginger beer. You still get the bite of a traditional mule without the alcohol taste or effects.
Cinder Bar | 410 Berlin Cross Keys Rd., Williamstown | 856.818.0800 | cinderbar.com
✅ CITRUS MINT SPRITZ
For a bright, non-alcoholic choice, Reyla’s Citrus Mint Spritz is the perfect flavor combination. Mint soda serves as a bright-flavored, bubbly base, and it’s enhanced with fresh lemon and orange blossom for the perfect pick-me-up at any time of day. The restaurant’s other mocktail, the Basically Delicious, incorporates unique flavors, too, with its own housemade, alcohol-free botanical spirit, plus basil and citrus.
Reyla | 603 Mattison Ave., Asbury Park | 732.455.8333 | heyreyla.com
✅ HIBISCUS FAUX-GRONI
Steve & Cookie’s infuses its house-made pine and juniper hydrosol—an aromatic floral water—into this flavorful mocktail. It’s paired with hibiscus aperitivo and verjus rouge, the latter of which is tart yet refreshing juice made from unripened grapes. The result is a blend of fruity, earthy flavors that sets this drink apart from the ultra-sweet mocktails that often grace menus.
Steve & Cookie’s | 9700 Amherst Ave., Margate | 609.823.1163 | steveandcookies.com
✅ LIMONATA COCKTAIL
The mocktail menu at Bar Franco includes more than just lemonade and iced tea. These mocktails are crafted with the same care as an alcoholic beverage, off ering an enhanced experience without the ABV. The restaurant’s Limonata mocktail contains Limonata di Sicilia, which is a sweet, bubbly lemon soda, plus watermelon juice and San Pellegrino’s Sanbittèr—a nonalcoholic aperitif with a similar fl avor to Campari. The result is a refreshing drink that looks pretty, too.
Bar Franco | 15 Church St., Montclair | 973.337.5100 | frescodafranco.com
✅ SPILL THE TEA
Agricola gives a new meaning to iced tea with this green tea mocktail made with so much more than just the antioxidant-rich tea. The Spill the Tea also includes citrus cordial— a sweet, citrus-flavored syrup made with citrus peels and sugar—along with pineapple and lemon juice, plus raspberry juice for bright color and punchy flavor.
Agricola | 11 Witherspoon St., Princeton | 609.921.2798 | agricolaeatery.com
✅ SWEET NOTHINGS
The Parkside Social’s drink menu is crafted with care and prepared by standout mixologists, and it shows in the restaurant’s spirit-free options, too. The base of its Sweet Nothings is an alcohol-free sparkling rosé enhanced with lavender and grapefruit notes. A hint of lemon and a dash of club soda bring this elevated drink together for a mocktail that exudes elegance.
The Parkside Social | 706 Bloomfield Ave., Verona | 609.248.4596 | theparksidesocial.com
