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Home » Holiday Recipes » Christmas Recipes

Candy Cane Mocktail

Published: Nov 23, 2018 · Modified: Mar 8, 2022 by Brooke Fajcz · This post may contain affiliate links, which can earn us a commission.

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Looking for a festive holiday drink that will be fun for the whole family?  Try this candy cane mocktail and your little guests won't be disappointed.

If you're looking for other Christmas drinks, make sure to try our recipes for sparkling cranberry mocktail and this English wassail.

people doing a toast with two candy cane mocktails

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • How to Make
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Serve
  • Expert Tips
  • More Mocktail Recipes You'll Love
  • Recipe
  • Candy Cane Mocktail
  • Comments

Ingredients

glass bowls of ingredients for candy cane mocktail

You don't need a ton of ingredients to make this candy cane mocktail! Grab a few things to make the strawberry syrup, and a few other ingredients to assemble the drink.

  • 100% cranberry juice
  • Strawberry simple syrup
  • Cranberry Sprite
  • Sparkling mineral water
  • Grenadine
  • Angostura bitters

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make

Start by gathering the ingredients for the strawberry simple syrup.

making the strawberry syrup and rimming the glass
  1. Dissolve the sugar in the water, stirring constantly over medium high heat.  Reduce the heat and add the strawberries and vanilla extract, then simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to infuse for two hours.
  2. While the syrup is infusing, garnish the drink.  Dip the rim in lemon juice, then in colored sugar.
pouring the drink ingredients into a glass and stirring

3. To build this in the glass, start off with the cranberry juice, strawberry simple syrup, and the grenadine. Pour in the cranberry Sprite and the sparkling mineral water, then top it off with the Angostura bitters.

4. Gently stir with a long handled spoon.

garnishing and serving the candy cane mocktail

5. Garnish will a mini candy cane.

6. Enjoy this candy cane mocktail right away. It's sure to be a hit!

Recipe FAQs

What kind of sugar do you use to rim a glass?

Try plain white granulated sugar, sanding sugar, or demerara sugar.

How do you make colored sugar for glass rims?

Food processor: add drops of food coloring to the granulated sugar.  Pulse until well mixed.
In a plastic bag: add sugar and a few drops of food coloring.  Seal bag and shake.
In a jar: add sugar and a few drops of food coloring.  Tighten lid.  Shake.
On a plate: add sugar and a few drops of food coloring.  Rub between your hands.

How many calories are in one serving?

For one 8 fl. oz. serving, there are 166 calories and 40.9g of carbs. This recipe is also high in vitamin C. For more nutritional information, scroll past the recipe card.

Serve

Looking for other fun festive mocktails to enjoy during the holidays? You'll definitely want to try our non-alcoholic sangria. If you're looking for New Year's Eve drinks, you'll want to try this indulgent chocolate mocha martini or peek through this roundup of 11 New Year's Eve drinks.

Expert Tips

  • Make the strawberry simple syrup up to two weeks ahead of time and store in fridge.
  • Decorate the rims of the glasses at one time.  You can do this up to two hours in advance.
  • Mix up a pitcher full of the drink and chill it in the fridge.  Add the sparkling mineral water and Sprite just before serving.
  • Quadruple the recipe and serve it in a punch bowl for your next holiday party.

More Mocktail Recipes You'll Love

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    Virgin Piña Colada
  • two glasses of virgin strawberry daiquiri
    Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri

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Recipe

two candy cane mocktails in margarita glasses

Candy Cane Mocktail

Candy cane mocktail is a fun nonalcoholic recipe that’s perfect for kids and families during the holidays.  This fun drink is made with an infused strawberry simple syrup.  It’s sparkling, festive, and best of all—low calorie!  Make up a big pitcher for a crowd at your next Christmas party; your friends will love it.
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Beverage
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes minutes
Servings: 45 ounces
Calories: 321kcal
Author: Brooke & Emma

Ingredients
 

For the Strawberry Simple Syrup

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup strawberries, hulled and sliced (fresh or frozen)
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Rim & Garnish

  • ⅓ cup concentrated lemon juice
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • few drops of red food coloring
  • 4 mini candy canes, one for each glass

For the Drink

  • 1 cup 100% cranberry juice, chilled
  • 1 cup strawberry simple syrup, chilled
  • 1 cup sparkling water, chilled
  • 1 ⅓ cup cranberry Sprite, chilled
  • 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons grenadine, 4
  • 1 teaspoon Angostura bitters
Keep your screen on while you work!

Instructions

Making the Strawberry Simple Syrup

  • Pour the sugar and water into a small saucepan set over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is dissolved.
  • Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the strawberries and the vanilla.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool.  Let the strawberries infuse in the simple syrup for a minimum of 2 hours to achieve maximum flavor, then strain out the strawberries and pour the syrup into an airtight mason jar.  It can keep in the fridge for two weeks.

Decorating the Rim

  • Pour the lemon juice and sugar into two separate, shallow bowls.  Add a few drops of red food coloring to the sugar and mix it together by rubbing the sugar between your hands.
  • Dip the rim of the glass in the lemon juice, then swirl it in the colored sugar.

Making the Drink

  • Mix the cranberry juice, strawberry simple syrup, sparkling water, cranberry Sprite, grenadine, and Angostura bitters in a large pitcher.  Pour into the prepared glasses and garnish with a mini candy cane.  Serve cold.
  • For an individual serving, pour ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon cranberry juice, ¼ cup strawberry simple syrup, ⅓ cup cranberry Sprite, ¼ cup sparkling water, 2 teaspoons Grenadine, and ⅛ teaspoon Angostura bitters into a glass.  Stir until blended.  Garnish with a mini candy cane.  Serve cold.

Notes

  • Up to two weeks ahead of time make the strawberry simple syrup and store in fridge.
  • Up to two hours ahead of time, decorate the rims of the glasses at one time.
  • Need a larger batch?  Mix up a pitcher full, but leave out the bubbly ingredients then chill it in the fridge.  Just before serving add the sparkling water and the Sprite.
  • Need this in a punch bowl?  Quadruple the recipe for your next holiday party.

Nutrition

Calories: 321kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 85g (28%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 1g (2%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 73mg (3%)Potassium: 107mg (3%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 82g (91%)Vitamin A: 28IU (1%)Vitamin C: 6mg (7%)Calcium: 21mg (2%)Iron: 3mg (17%)

Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. OtterNonsense

    August 28, 2023 at 3:06 pm

    If people are avoiding alcohol they should stay away from the Angostura!

    Reply
    • Emma Fajcz

      August 28, 2023 at 4:23 pm

      Yes, it's easy to omit if you'd like.

      Reply
  2. Beth

    October 18, 2019 at 2:03 pm

    5 stars
    This is festive and cheery with it's red shine. This is interesting because it contains strawberries 🍓 and cranberries.

    Reply
    • Emma

      October 19, 2019 at 7:30 am

      Yes, the combination of strawberries and cranberries is really nice. I'm glad that you enjoyed this drink, Beth!

      Reply

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Welcome to our kitchen! We're Brooke & Emma Fajcz, the mother-daughter team behind Savor the Flavour. Increase your kitchen confidence with our recipes, instructional photos, and helpful tips and facts. Our recipes have been featured in Oprah Magazine, The Guardian, Parade, Insider, Delish, and BuzzFeed.

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