Hot Super Bowl Mocktail Recipes

If you invited a vegetarian to your Super Bowl party, you'd make sure to have some meatless options on your buffet table. So why wouldn't you make sure to include those who don't drink alcohol -- especially kids and pregnant women -- when preparing your party menu?

Natalie Bovis-Nelson, also known as "The Liquid Muse," is a professional mixologist in Los Angeles and author of "Preggatinis™: Mixology for the Mom-To-Be," and her cocktails have been featured at famous venues ranging from high-end restaurants to the Playboy Mansion.

She tells ParentDish that delicious and refreshing beverages don't need alcohol to make them interesting.

"My focus is on incorporating quality ingredients into non-alcoholic drinks just as I would ones with liquor -- freshly squeezed juices, organic when possible, proper bartending technique and a balanced drink, one that is not too sweet, not too tart," says Bovis-Nelson.

Bovis-Nelson isn't talking about your average Shirley Temple, or cranberry juice mixed with a spritz of seltzer water. The drink recipes she developed for her book are based on high-quality juices and unusual combinations.

Why would you settle for offering your guests ordinary non-alcoholic beverage alternatives when you can serve up a virgin cocktail like The Sweet Sister, which includes ingredients like rose nectar and pomegranate syrup.

"When serving drinks at home, it's thoughtful to include all of the guests in the festivities," says Bovis-Nelson. "Presenting non-alcoholic options on the drink list is the right thing to do. No one should feel left out of a party just because they don't drink alcohol."

That includes expectant moms, who inspired her book.

"I came up with the concept when my girlfriends were becoming pregnant and were asking me for interesting drinks for their baby showers," Bovis-Nelson explains. "I'd shake up healthful, colorful tasty drinks in fancy stemware for them -- without alcohol, of course -- and they loved it."

That concept can easily be translated to kids, she adds, who shouldn't be left out of the fun. The base of all her drinks is juice, a healthy alternative to soda or other caffeine-laden beverages.

But what about the notion that serving kids mocktails influences them to experiment with alcohol?

"Ridiculous," Bovis-Nelson says. "People feed their children fast food and sodas all the time, both of which are extremely unhealthy. By encouraging children to concoct their own healthful, fruit-juice based drinks, [parents] are helping them to drink responsibly."

Serving fun and festive fruit-based drinks in grown-up glassware can help teach children that certain beverages are for special occasions only and should be used in moderation.

She adds that it isn't about whether or not the drink is served in a fancy cocktail glass, but rather what goes into that glass.

"When parents provide organic fruit juices and teach their kids how to squeeze their own lemons, limes and oranges, they are setting them up to seek out quality food and drink in their later lives," says Bovis-Nelson.

Bovis-Nelson suggests this mocktail -- Sparkling Citrus -- for Super Bowl parties:

Ingredients:
Stirrings Tangerini Rimming Sugar
2 ounces freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
1 ounce tangerine juice
Dash grapefruit bitters (optional)
2 ounces blood orange soda

Directions:
Rub the rim of a Champagne flute with a lemon wedge and dip it into the rimming sugar. Pour in juices, dash of bitters and top with blood orange soda.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Jan. 29, 2010.

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