A mocktail is a non-alcoholic drink built using genuine cocktail technique — but the word itself is far older than most people would ever guess, and its most famous example comes with a genuinely surprising twist about how the person it was named after actually felt about it.
What Actually Separates a Mocktail From "Just a Soft Drink"
Not every non-alcoholic drink automatically qualifies for the title. A genuine mocktail generally shares these specific traits with the alcoholic cocktail it's deliberately imitating, rather than simply being any soft drink served in a nicer glass.
Multiple Deliberate Ingredients
Combines several components with genuine intention behind the pairing, rather than being a single flavour poured straight from a can or bottle without any further thought.
Genuine Cocktail Technique
Shaken, stirred, layered, or built with the same care and attention as an alcoholic cocktail, rather than simply mixed and served without ceremony.
Proper Garnish and Presentation
Served in appropriate glassware with a considered garnish, deliberately matching the visual ceremony of whichever cocktail it's standing in for on the menu.
The Word "Mocktail" Dates Back to 1916
Long before it became a trendy modern term splashed across restaurant menus, "mocktail" was already in genuine documented use, and the underlying concept of a deliberately non-alcoholic cocktail stretches back even further still, with references dating to the 1700s. Before "mocktail" became the standard, widely recognised term, these drinks were also known as "Temperance drinks" or "soft cocktails" — names that directly reflect their close historical association with the broader temperance movement, which actively campaigned against alcohol consumption across both Britain and America for well over a century.
Prohibition Gave the Category Its Biggest Boost
When alcohol became illegal across the United States between 1920 and 1933, bars and restaurants suddenly needed something genuinely appealing and celebratory to fill the obvious gap. Lemonades of every possible description — orangeades, limeades, ginger lemonades, even egg lemonades — became common bar staples almost overnight, and bartenders leaned heavily into fresh herbs, real fruit juice, and creative flavour combinations to keep the experience of drinking out feeling genuinely special without the alcohol that had previously anchored it. Some particularly dedicated bartenders even experimented with tannins, cloves, and other naturally astringent ingredients to recreate the faint "burning" sensation alcohol provides on the palate, showing how seriously this category was taken early on, rather than treated as an afterthought.
The "Original" Mocktail Has a Genuinely Disputed Birth
The Shirley Temple — ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda), a dash of grenadine, and a maraschino cherry — is widely considered the first true mocktail, created in the early 1930s. Its exact origin, though, is a genuine mystery.
As reported by NPR and Fox News Digital, cocktail historians generally agree the true origin will likely never be definitively settled.
Shirley Temple Herself Actually Hated It
In a 1986 NPR interview, the by-then-grown actress described her own namesake drink as a "saccharine sweet, icky drink" that she genuinely disliked. She was protective of the name too — in 1988, when a company called Soda Pop Kids tried marketing a bottled cherry soda called "Shirley T" without permission, she pursued civil legal action, arguing her name wasn't a generic term free for anyone to use commercially. The drink has clearly outlived any personal feelings about it: in October 2024, 7UP launched a limited-edition "Shirley Temple" flavour, blending lemon-lime with pomegranate and cherry — proof the category she unwittingly started is still evolving nearly a century later.
Read the Full Guide
Are Juice and Soft Drinks the Same Thing? →
Related Reading
Best Non-Alcoholic Mocktail Mixers (UK Guide) →