Nici Wickes: Non-alcoholic drinks for the holiday season

Here are some refreshing non-alcoholic drinks to get you through the silly season. The only thing you’ll feel the next morning is smug.  <br />Raspberry shrub <br />Shrubs are fruity vinegar drinks and they’re amazing! Standard recipe is equal parts fruit, sugar and viengar but you can adjust these to your taste. <br />Makes 200mls syrup <br />450g fresh raspberries <br />1 cup caster sugar <br />½ cup red wine vinegar <br />Soda water to serve <br />Ice to serve <br /><br /> In a bowl, toss fruit with sugar, cover with a breathable cloth and leave to sit for 48 hours, stirring every now and again. In very warm weather, do this stage in the fridge.<br /> Drain the syrup (saving the fruit for ice cream, smoothiesetc)adn stir in red wine vinegar. Pour into sterilised bottle or jar and seal for 3 days before tasting. <br /> To make the shrubs, pour syrup into glasses and top with soda water and ice. I use a ration of 1:4 syrup to soda water but make them to your taste.<br /><br />Mojito/Faux-jito <br />Makes 1 L <br />½ cup brown <br />¼ cup water <br />Big handful of mint leaves + extra <br />2 teaspoons raw sugar <br />1 L Soda water <br />¼ cup lime juice <br />Plenty of ice <br /><br /> Make a sugar syrup by simmering brown sugar with water for 6-8 minutes. Leave to cool.<br /> Smash the mint with the raw sugar in a mortar and pestle.<br /> In a jug (or divide between individual glasses) swizzle together sugar syrup, smashed mint/sugar, soda, lime and ice. Serve with more fresh lime and wedges of lime.<br /><br /> LISTEN ABOVE<br />