The best canned mocktails are, ahem, proof you don't need alcohol for a good drink. (Jessica Dodell-Feder/Yahoo)
There's no doubt ready-to-drink mocktails are popular — the zero-proof beverage market is expected to grow by $10 billion this year alone — but do they live up to the hype? To find out, I, a former food magazine editor and Yahoo's resident home and kitchen expert, gathered a group of sober-curious staffers to sample 28 popular options. And I'm going to be honest with you: While we liked many, even the best nonalcoholic cocktails aren't always great at replicating the complex flavors of a well-crafted drink. You're better off enjoying these NA drinks on their own merits, ideally over ice (and should you need suggestions for what to make it in, I included great ice cube molds, plus glasses and other accessories at the end of this story).
More of a beer person? Check out our guide to the best nonalcoholic beers, and for more NA options, read our stories on the best zero-proof wines and the best nonalcoholic drinks overall.
Update, Aug. 6, 2025: We checked all product prices and availability. After a new round of testing, we added a best nonalcoholic paloma and updated our pick for best nonalcoholic gin and tonic. Our number one pick for the best nonalcoholic cocktail overall remains unchanged.
For insulation on a budget, Tahoe Trails can coolers are a good bet. They're vacuum-sealed to keep your drink chilly and are dishwasher safe for when the party's over. "I am amazed by this product. Even the last drop of a 12-ounce drink is still cold. I have bought four more as gifts," wrote one of the 2,200 five-star reviewers.
Glass or can? You don't have to choose with these funky tumblers, which are perfect for beer, cocktails, juice or anything in between. No surprise they earn a near-perfect 4.8 stars from more than 4,200 Amazon reviews.
Sugar content: 9 grams | Features: Vegan, adaptogens, gluten-free | Size: 8 fl. oz. | Count: 4 pack
One of the highest scorers of any canned cocktail we tested, with 13.5 out of 20 points, this tasty concoction from Katy Perry's brand won us over with its bold flavor and pleasant sweetness. Several commenters thought it tasted like a fruity tea. "I get hints of hibiscus. Love!" read one comment. "Definitely tastes like a fruity alcoholic drink!" praised another tester.
In addition to pomegranate, cranberry, ginger spice and rosemary, this drink is made with adaptogens including L-theanine and lion's mane, which are meant to naturally relax you.
The dietician who developed our list of the best nonalcoholic drinks also loved De Soi's St. Moritz Mule, naming it her favorite apertif. "Adaptogenic nonalcoholic beverages are an exciting new option in the expanding NA market," she wrote. "Feeling good should be a top priority, and if there are legal beverages to help you enhance your health, I consider that a win in my book."
Sugar content: 21 grams | Features: Vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO | Size: 8.4 fl. oz. | Count: 4 pack
Though you probably won't mistake this for a rum-spiked cocktail, this Danish brand's drink won over many testers with its light, zesty flavor. "Like lemon-lime soda. Easiest to drink," wrote one tester.
Another detected notes of spearmint tea and ginger. Interestingly, it is made with mint along with lime and lemon, but no ginger. The spicy notes probably come from the nutmeg and capsicum extract in the ingredients list.
Sugar content: 8 grams | Features: Vegan, gluten-free, no added sugar | Size: 8 fl. oz. | Count: 12 pack
"Good balance of sweet and bitter," noted one tester of this crisp spritz made with lime juice, yuzu juice, lemon balm extract and elderflower extract. Though few testers thought it tasted like a true cocktail replacement, it rated third-highest for overall enjoyment after the two mocktails above.
Sugar content: 19 grams | Features: Vegan, gluten-free | Size: 8.4 fl. oz. | Count: 1 can
For a zero-proof take on a classic cocktail, you can't do much better than this can from Blind Tiger, which was one of our highest scorers for flavor and overall enjoyment.
A French 75 is traditionally made with gin, which the brand captures with notes of juniper. Lavender, cherry and lemon add a floral fruitiness. "I could see drinking this in a fun glass with a garnish," noted a tester.
While most enjoyed the taste, a few testers found it a bit syrupy, so keep that in mind if you don't like sweet stuff.
Pardon the pun, but this glass is incredibly cool — it comes with a silicone mold for creating a wedge of ice that fits perfectly in the glass. Though it's labeled a whiskey glass, it's great for any cocktail or mocktail, plus it earned more than 2,600 five-star reviews.
This fluted coupe makes even sparkling water feel fancy. And though it's hand-blown, it's also dishwasher-safe for when the party's over.
Do it like the French do and sip your spritz from one of these casually sophisticated tumblers. Made by Duralex, these glasses are a Parisian cafe staple — and they're chip- and impact-resistant, so they're party-friendly, too.
Bring a little flower power to your drink with these funky faceted molds. They produce some of the most intricate ice cubes we've ever seen!
Sugar content: 7 grams | Features: Vegan, gluten-free, no artificial colors | Size: 12 fl. oz. | Count: 4 pack
One of the highest-scoring mocktails in our testing, with 14.4 points, this zesty drink won over our panel with its strong grapefruit flavor. No surprise, then, that concentrated grapefruit juice is a main ingredient, along with carbonated water, organic agave syrup, citric acid and sea salt.
"Kind of like a light rosé lemonade," commented one taste-tester. "Quite refreshing," raved another.
Sugar content: 10 grams | Features: Vegan, gluten-free | Size: 8.4 fl. oz. | Count: 12 pack
Pardon the pun, but this buzzy brand proved its worth with this impressively accurate version of a gin and tonic. In fact, it was one of the only canned mocktails we tried that tasted similar to its inspiration, probably thanks to its inclusion of quinine (the ingredient that gives tonic water its bitterness) and cucumber extract.
"It tastes very close to a G&T. I'd drink this with a ton of ice on a hot day," praised one tester. A fellow fan (who also happens to have formal wine training) added, "Herbal. I like it!"
A tray makes serving up a round of drinks much easier — and this one makes a literal statement. The lettering, which is inspired by century-old typography, was designed by artist Barrett Reid-Maroney. A melamine resin coating helps protect the surface from spills and splashes.
We gathered more than 20 Yahoo staffers, all with different drinking preferences, for two taste tests. Some folks identified as teetotalers, others sober-curious and others avid drinkers. All were curious about the best nonalcoholic drinks on the market. We poured each NA canned cocktail into a cup labeled only with a letter to keep brand loyalty from into play.
Then came the fun part! Each tester sipped to their heart's content and filled out a rubric rating each drink from a scale of one to five on flavor, carbonation, accuracy (was it a satisfying cocktail replacement?) and overall enjoyment. We also asked the testers to jot down any thoughts they had about the samples.
Mingle Mocktails Key Lime Margarita: This sparkler from the popular brand Mingle (Bethenny Frankel's an investor) came very close to making it to our top picks, thanks to its zesty flavor. "Tastes like a dessert," noted one tester (up to you if that's a good thing!). Strangely, two folks thought it tasted faintly of cinnamon.
Mingle Mocktails Cranberry Cosmo: Though one tester correctly ID'd it as a cosmo and another said "it has a more interesting flavor than most," this drink didn't fare as well as the brand's margarita. Many folks thought it was too sweet and juice-like.
Ghia Soda: Ghia makes one of the most popular NA aperitifs, and the brand's signature spritz did okay among our testers. It's meant to taste bitter, and some folks found it off-puttingly so. Many also noted a strong grapefruit flavor — though the citrus fruit doesn't appear in the ingredients list.
ISH G&T: This gin-inspired spritz had a refreshing flavor that tasted very similar to its inspiration. "Definitely gin-and-tonic like," said one tester. It's high in sugar, though, and expensive at $5 per can. And it didn't score as high in overall enjoyment as our top gin and tonic pick.
ISH Paloma: While it didn't do as well as the other Ish drinks we tried, this take on a paloma did boast a strong grapefruit flavor. Ultimately, its bitter aftertaste was too much for our panel.
De Soi Golden Hour: With ingredients like reishi mushroom and L-theanine, this spritz promises to help with mental clarity and relaxation. But most of our testers were distracted by the slightly chemical flavor (the lemony drink is also made with bergamot, rosemary and bay leaf extracts).
Lapo's Negroni: Our panel found this drink from the Italian brand Lapo's bitter — too bitter in many cases. "Want to like it, but I don't," wrote one tester. That said, it's definitely reminiscent of a negroni!
Recess Lime Margarita: Sadly, this drink had too faint a flavor to win us over. It is made with adaptogens, though, and guayusa, which is rich in antioxidants.
Recess Grapefruit Paloma: Testers were torn on whether or not the extreme bitterness of this drink was appealing. Several noted a gingery flavor and just one person thought it tasted reminiscent of an actual paloma.
Recess Classic Cosmo: Some of our panel found this orange- and cranberry-flavored concoction pleasant; others not so much. We were also torn on the level of sweetness — who knew a non-alcoholic cosmopolitan could be so divisive?!
Spindrift Cosnopolitan: It's best to enjoy this sparkling water as just that versus a cocktail replacement. All of our testers thought it was watery.
Spindrift Nojito: This nonalcoholic riff on a mojito fared better than the brand's "cosmopolitan," but testers still found its flavor too watery. That said, it did earn some fans, with one person saying that they enjoyed the notes of lime and mint.
Curious Elixirs No. 1 Pomegranate Negroni Sbagliato: An adaptogen-packed ode to the classic negroni, this drink tasted complex in a polarizing way. "It's too strong," said one person; "Tastes most like an actual cocktail," said another. As a third tester put it, "I'm not sure what to make of this."
Curious Elixirs No. 6 Coconut Pineapple Painkiller: This scored the lowest of any drink we tested, partly because of its creamy consistency (a riff on the classic tropical cocktail, the painkiller, it's made with cream of coconut pineapple, citrus and oat milk). Some testers also found the inclusion of nutmeg offputting.
Little Saints Ginger Mule: "Sparkling pine needles, but slightly sweet and sour. It's at least trying something," noted one of our testers of this drink that has notes of ginger beer, lime and lavender. It's made with reishi mushroom extract and botanical terpenes, which are derived from plants and are thought to have some health benefits.
Little Saints Negroni Spritz: This Little Saints drink was less successful than the Ginger Mule. Most testers found its bitterness overwhelming.
Little Saints Paloma: Three folks on our panel remarked on this drink's medicinal taste — two thought it reminded them of Pepto Bismol and one noted hints of Alka-Seltzer! That was enough to knock it out of the running.
St. Agrestis Phony Negroni: A New York City restaurant and bar mainstay, this popular made-in-Brooklyn mocktail definitely tastes like a negroni, with notes of juniper and citrus. But it was too syrupy-sweet for some.
Free AF Apero Spritz: The brand behind our favorite nonalcoholic gin and tonic also makes a pretty decent NA spritz. Just don't ask the taste-tester who described it as "orange soda that fell in the bushes." Another panelist got "Pez dispenser vibes."
Free AF Whiskey Ginger: This drink was one of Free AF's less successful offerings, with the lowest score of the brand's options we tried. A few testers thought it tasted weak, like a less flavorful ginger beer.
Loverboy Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Lemon Iced Tea: If you haven't already seen Loverboy's sparkling hard tea, you probably don't watch the Bravo reality show Summer House, where it appears in nearly every scene. A couple of the cast members founded the brand, and the nonalcoholic version is perfectly fine. It tastes like iced tea, but some testers noted an artificial sweetness.
Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Gin and Tonic: Several testers found the quinine in this zero-proof gin and tonic too strong. Others enjoyed the crisp, bitter flavor. It scored fairly high, with 12.3 points, but not as high as our top pick from Free AF.
It's hard to pinpoint just one beloved mocktail, but if we had to narrow it down, we'd say the Shirley Temple and the Arnold Palmer. Also, don't forget about nonalcoholic versions of tropical drinks like a virgin pina colada and virgin daiquiri, which are typically made with the same ingredients as the traditional options minus the booze.
Because they don't contain alcohol and are generally lower in sugar and calories than traditional cocktails, mocktails are generally better for your health. But keep in mind they can still contain added sugar or other flavorings you may not want to consume a lot of.
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
