January is a month of resets: a return to work, refreshed intentions and a renewed commitment to healthier habits. Dry January – a month-long pause from alcohol – is one way to support that last goal.

Dry January does not have to be a dull January. These mocktails are festive and celebratory, whether you’re marking Shabbat, unwinding after a long day or enjoying a meal with friends.

“As an avowed cocktail lover and drink recipe developer, mocktails still embrace everything I love about cocktail making,” Jessie-Sierra Ross, author of “Seasons Around the Table,” and founder of Straight to the Hips, Baby, told The Journal. “Because we’re pushed to create drinks that can live up to their cocktail counterparts, the flavor layering and mixology techniques are really accentuated in a great mocktail recipe.”

Nonalcoholic drinks are also a great way to welcome more people to the table.

“Those who are living sober and/or celebrating Dry January, or simply don’t like the taste of spirits or wine, can still enjoy a fantastic festive drink with friends,” she said. “As a bonus, you can indulge in a couple of tasty mocktails without any repercussions the next morning!”

Alcohol Free Cherry-Lime Rickey

Makes two 8 ounce drinks or one very large 16 ounce drink

6 fresh or frozen cherries, pitted and roughly chopped

2 ounces fresh lime juice

2 ounces cherry infused simple syrup *see below*

chilled club soda

Ice

1. In a cocktail shaker or large glass, muddle together the fresh cherries and lime juice.

2. Next, fill 2 good sized tumbler glasses (or one very large glass, if a single serving) with ice, and place a small sieve on top.

3. Strain the lime and cherry mix into the glass, and discard the cherry remnants. (We tried keeping them, but they always plug up the straw, and make drinking a challenge.)

4. Now, add the cherry simple syrup and top with the club soda.

5. Stir gently, and garnish with a lime round or a cherry.

6. This drink benefits from resting for a few minutes before enjoying.

Cherry Infused Simple Syrup

Makes 8 ounces

1 cup of granulated white sugar

1 cup of water

1/2 cup fresh or frozen pitted cherries

1. Combine all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan and give it a quick stir.

2. Place over medium-high heat and allow to come to a low (small bubbles) simmer, while stirring occasionally.

3. Once at a simmer, cook for 8-10 minutes, until all the sugar has dissolved and the cherries have softened.

4. Remove from the heat and let stand for five minutes.

5. Next, smash the cherries in the pan with a potato masher and then strain over a sieve set over a medium sized bowl.

6. Allow to cool completely. Transfer to a covered container (I like using an old jam jar) and chill.

7. Simple syrup keeps for 7-10 days.

“My 450-pound ad-man dad was obsessed with every product he marketed,” Dawn Lerman, nutritionist and the author “My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love and Family, With Recipes,” told The Journal.

“During Dry January, when he was assigned the Taster’s Choice campaign, he built it into his mornings, his nights and his diet,” she said. “(He was) guided by a single belief: you don’t quit what you love, you find new ways to use it”

He made this coffee-infused martini a staple in his dry January ritual. 

“He also turned the slogan for the mocktail – ’Times like this were made for Taster’s Choice’ — into an iconic campaign,” Lerman said.

Zero-Proof, Full Buzz Coffee Martini

2 ounces fresh espresso, cooled, or 4 ounces strong brewed Taster’s Choice coffee, cooled

1 ounce oat milk or almond milk (plus a little extra to foam for the top)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cacao powder (plus more for garnish, optional)

Ice

1. Brew the coffee and allow it to cool completely.

2. Add the coffee, milk of choice, vanilla extract, cacao powder and ice to a shaker.

3. Shake vigorously for 20–30 seconds until very cold and lightly foamy. 

4. Strain into a chilled glass. Add a little more milk to the shaker till you get a nice foam; pour it into the glass over the coffee

5. Dust lightly with cacao powder.

Hilary Sheinbaum’s French 89 is a Taylor Swift-inspired twist on the French 75. The French 75 is a bubbly cocktail, typically made with gin (but sometimes cognac), lemon juice and simple syrup, along with champagne or sparkling wine. Her version uses nonalcoholic alternatives.

Sheinbaum is founder of GoingDry.co, an N.A. events and menu curation company and author of “Going Dry: A Workbook: A Practical Guide to Drinking Less and Living More” and “The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month.”

Sheinbaum has been sober-curious, and a dry month participant, since January 2017. 

The French 89

 1 ounce non-alcoholic gin

1/4 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 ounce simple syrup 

Lemon rind to make a lemon twist 

3 ounces chilled non-alcoholic sparkling wine

1. Build the drink by adding the nonalcoholic gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a glass. Stir.

2. Pour into a Champagne Flute or coup. Add the nonalcoholic sparkling wine.

3. Garnish with a lemon peel. 

4. Enjoy!

For more from Sheinbaum, check out next week’s Taste Buds with Deb: JewishJournal.com/podcasts