Friday Mocktails: 4 July Recipes Using What’s in Season Right Now

Citrus mocktail drinks for July in Brisbane — seasonal winter recipes

July in Brisbane is the good stuff. Cool mornings, clear skies and the kind of evenings that actually make you want to light a candle and sit down for five minutes. It is also peak citrus season, which means the mandarins and grapefruit at the markets right now are ridiculous.

These four mocktails are built around what is in season right now. Two are warm, two are cold, all of them are made with real ingredients you can actually find at your local shops. No syrups from specialty stores, no weird equipment.

1. Warm Spiced Mandarin and Ginger

This one smells like winter should. Mandarins are at their absolute best in July and this drink is the easiest way to make use of a big bag of them. Kids love it, adults love it, and it takes about 10 minutes.

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • Juice of 5 to 6 mandarins (about 180ml)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 whole cloves
  • Mandarin slices to garnish

Method

  1. Add water, honey, ginger, cinnamon and cloves to a small saucepan.
  2. Simmer on low for 5 minutes to let the spices infuse.
  3. Add mandarin juice and heat gently for another 2 minutes. Do not boil.
  4. Strain into mugs. Garnish with a mandarin slice and extra cinnamon stick if you have one.

Tip: If you are making this for under-ones, swap the honey for a tiny pinch of brown sugar or just leave it unsweetened. The mandarin is sweet enough on its own.

Warm Spiced Mandarin and Ginger mocktail recipe card

2. Hot Citrus and Ginger Soother

This is the drink you want when someone in the house has the sniffles, or honestly just when it is cold and you want something that feels like it is doing something good. Lemon and orange juice, fresh ginger, honey and a pinch of turmeric. It sounds like a wellness cliché but it genuinely tastes great.

Ingredients (serves 1)

  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (or a pinch of ground ginger)
  • Pinch of ground turmeric
  • 1.5 cups hot water (not boiling)

Method

  1. Squeeze lemon and orange juice into your favourite mug.
  2. Add honey and ginger and give it a quick stir.
  3. Pour over hot water and stir until honey dissolves.
  4. Add a pinch of turmeric, stir once more and garnish with a lemon slice.

Tip: Use water that has just come off the boil and cooled for 30 seconds. Boiling water kills some of the vitamin C in the citrus juice, which defeats the point a bit.

Hot Citrus and Ginger Soother mocktail recipe card

3. Queensland Pineapple and Ginger Fizz

Queensland pineapple is good year-round but the winter crop is particularly sweet and the price comes right down in July. This is the cold option in the lineup and it works brilliantly for kids. The combination of pineapple and ginger beer with a squeeze of lime is tart, sweet and completely refreshing.

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 200ml fresh pineapple juice (or blended fresh pineapple, strained)
  • 300ml ginger beer (non-alcoholic)
  • Juice of half a lime
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Ice
  • Pineapple wedge to garnish

Method

  1. Fill two glasses with ice.
  2. Divide the pineapple juice between the glasses.
  3. Top each with ginger beer and add a squeeze of lime.
  4. Stir gently, garnish with mint and a pineapple wedge and serve immediately.

Tip: If you are making this for a crowd, mix the pineapple juice and lime in a jug first, then pour over ice and top with ginger beer at the table. Add the mint last so it does not bruise and go bitter.

Queensland Pineapple and Ginger Fizz mocktail recipe card

4. Ruby Grapefruit and Rosemary Spritz

This is the grown-up one. Ruby grapefruit is at peak season in July and the flavour is genuinely incredible right now — less bitter than regular grapefruit, almost floral. Paired with a muddled rosemary sprig and sparkling water, it looks and tastes like something you would order at a nice restaurant.

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • Juice of 1 large ruby grapefruit (about 150ml)
  • 1 tsp caster sugar or agave syrup
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 300ml sparkling water
  • Ice
  • Grapefruit slices to garnish

Method

  1. In the bottom of each glass, muddle one rosemary sprig with half the sugar using the back of a spoon. You want to bruise the rosemary to release the oils, not shred it.
  2. Add grapefruit juice and stir until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Fill with ice and top with sparkling water.
  4. Garnish with a fresh rosemary sprig and a grapefruit slice.

Tip: Make a small batch of rosemary simple syrup on the weekend (equal parts sugar and water, simmered with a few sprigs for 10 minutes, then cooled) and keep it in the fridge. It makes this drink even easier to put together on a Friday evening.

Ruby Grapefruit and Rosemary Spritz mocktail recipe card

A Note on Sweetness

All four of these recipes give you control over how sweet the final drink is. Queensland citrus in July is naturally sweeter than it is at other times of year, so taste as you go and adjust. If you are making these for kids, they will probably want them a touch sweeter. If you are making them for yourself after a long day, you might not want them sweet at all.

These also all work well as a base if you want to add a splash of something for the adults at the table. That is entirely your business.