Mocktail recipes for parties with Trini fruit and flavours

The best mocktail recipes for parties use the same balance as a cocktail: a flavour base, something sour, something sweet and something fizzy. Below are seven easy recipes built on Trini flavours (sorrel, passion fruit, portugal, chadon beni, coconut water and ginger beer), each with measures for one glass and for a jug that serves about 20 guests.

Why mocktails matter at a Trini party

At most T&T gatherings, a good share of guests are not drinking alcohol: Muslim guests, many Hindu and some Christian families, children, drivers, anyone pregnant, and people who simply prefer not to. A glass of sweet drink from a two-litre bottle tells them they were an afterthought.

The wider drinks world is moving the same way. IWSR, the drinks market analyst, estimates that global volumes of no-alcohol drinks grew by 9% in 2025, and found that health and moderation were the most common reasons people bought them.

Note: Angostura bitters are about 44.7% alcohol by volume. A dash is a lovely Trini finish, but leave it out of any drink meant for guests who avoid alcohol completely.

The mocktail formula

Simple syrup is equal parts sugar and hot water, stirred until clear and cooled. Make a litre and keep it in the fridge.

1. Sorrel Lemonade Fizz

• Per glass: 60 ml sorrel, 20 ml lime juice, 10 ml simple syrup, 100 ml soda water
• Jug for 20: 1.2 litres sorrel, 400 ml lime juice, 200 ml syrup, then 2 litres soda added at serving

Build over ice and garnish with a lime wheel. For the sorrel itself, follow our Trinidad sorrel recipe, which keeps for about a week in the fridge.

2. Passion Fruit Cooler

Start with Simply Trini Cooking's passion fruit juice: scoop the pulp of 4 yellow passion fruits into a bowl, whisk with about ¼ cup of water until the pulp separates from the seeds, strain, then add about 2 more cups of water and sugar to taste (around 4 tablespoons). Leave out the half teaspoon of bitters in that recipe for a zero-proof drink.

• Per glass: 120 ml passion fruit juice, 60 ml soda water, a sprig of mint
• Jug for 20: about 2.4 litres of juice (roughly four batches of the recipe above, so 16 passion fruits), then 1.2 litres soda at serving

3. Portugal Sunrise

Portugals, the local relative of the clementine, are in season around February, according to the Trinidad Guardian. Out of season, use tangerines or oranges.

• Per glass: 120 ml fresh portugal juice, 15 ml lime juice, 60 ml soda water, then 15 ml sorrel or sorrel syrup poured in last so it sinks
• Jug for 20: 2.4 litres portugal juice and 300 ml lime juice, with 1.2 litres soda and the sorrel added glass by glass

4. Chadon Beni Lime Smash

Chadon beni (culantro) has a strong, distinctive flavour related to cilantro, as Simply Trini Cooking notes, so a little goes a long way.

• Per glass: muddle 3 chadon beni leaves with 20 ml lime juice and 20 ml simple syrup, fill with ice, top with 120 ml soda water or coconut water
• Jug for 20: blend 40 leaves with 400 ml lime juice and 400 ml syrup, strain, then top each glass with soda or coconut water

Strain out the leaf bits so no one gets a mouthful. It is bright, savoury and very good with pholourie and doubles.

5. Coconut Water Cooler

• Per glass: 150 ml cold coconut water, 15 ml lime juice, 10 ml simple syrup, 3 slices of cucumber, mint
• Jug for 20: 3 litres coconut water, 300 ml lime, 200 ml syrup, a sliced cucumber and a handful of mint

Fresh coconut water from a vendor tastes best but varies in sweetness, so taste before adding syrup. Keep it on ice and use it the same day. More ideas in our guide to coconut water drinks.

6. Ginger Beer Mule (zero-proof)

• Per glass: 15 ml lime juice, 150 ml ginger beer, a lime wedge, a slice of cucumber
• Jug for 20: squeeze 300 ml lime juice into the jug, then top each glass with ginger beer as you serve

Homemade Trini ginger beer has more bite than shop-bought. Simply Trini Cooking's version is just fresh ginger, water, sugar and lime peel, left to ferment for about a day.

7. Mauby Spritz

For guests who like something less sweet.

• Per glass: 60 ml mauby, 100 ml soda water, a strip of orange peel
• Jug for 20: 1.2 litres mauby with 2 litres soda added at serving

How much to make for 20 guests

A sensible starting point is two to three mocktails per non-drinking guest across an evening, plus extra for drinkers who switch to something lighter later on. For 20 guests at a dry event, that means 40 to 60 drinks.

1. Choose two or three recipes, not all seven. One fruity, one fresh, one spicy works well.
2. Make the bases the day before (sorrel, mauby, syrup) and juice fruit on the day.
3. Chill everything, including the soda.
4. Add fizz at the last minute, glass by glass or in small jugs, so drinks stay lively.
5. Plan the ice. Mocktails are mostly ice and mixer, so read how much ice you need for a party.

Make mocktails feel special

• Use the same glassware as the cocktails. A highball with a dried orange wheel looks the part.
• Give each drink a name on the menu board. Our signature cocktail ideas have naming tips that work for mocktails too.
• Serve them from the same bar, by the same bartender, so non-drinkers never have to ask twice.
• Garnish generously. A sprig of mint, a dried citrus wheel or a cinnamon stick costs little and makes a mocktail look as considered as any cocktail.
• Offer a tasting size. Small glasses let guests try two or three flavours, which is half the fun at a long party.

Next steps

Want the work done for you? Our Mocktail Party Kit makes 12 drinks (a lemon-lime fizz, a blood orange spritz and a grenadine sunrise, all on Angostura Chill), built for baby showers, school functions and every guest who is driving.