Celebrate New Year’s Eve With These Marijuana Mocktails

Along with the cheer of the holiday season’s celebrations and get-togethers, there are of course countless opportunities to overindulge in all kinds of seasonal delights. Even while making resolutions of better self-care and healthier choices, it’s incredibly easy to be swept up in moments of making merry involving traditional cocktails and overdoing it. This year, why not try toasting in the new year with a delicious marijuana mocktail instead?

We’ve provided recipes for two alternative ways to celebrate. The first is a sweet, tangy, good and good-for-you cannabis-infused shrub. Shrubs, or “drinking vinegars,” originally developed as a way to settle the stomach during the pre-refrigeration era, and have been coming back in popularity as a versatile, flavorful ingredient in craft cocktails that adds the natural health benefits of fermentation and vinegar. The second is a refreshing drink that draws in pomegranate, a tart and beautiful seasonal winter fruit.

Marijuana mocktails give you the option of a very adult way to celebrate and get buzzed, without the guilt of ravaging your health and well-being that often accompanies consuming too much alcohol. Plus, no hangover! Just glorious, deep sleep. What a time to be alive!

All things in moderation, as the saying goes. The shrub recipe is for a very potent 25 mg of THC per serving, so if you’re planning on having quite a few, or prefer a lighter version, half the amount of cannabis for 12 1/2 mg of THC per drink, and so on. Take it slow, allowing at least an hour before consuming another drink, and pay attention to other variables such as what and how much you’ve eaten that day. Enjoy these delicious marijuana mocktails and cheers to a healthy 2024!

Cranberry Rosemary Cannabis Shrub

Inspired by a recipe by Becky Streipe for a sweet orange rosemary shrub. Makes approximately 3 cups of infused liquid.

• 2 grams of 15% THC cannabis flower = 300 mg THC
• 6 1/2 cup (4 oz) serving = 25 mg THC per serving
• Yield: 6 1/2 cup (4 oz) drinks

Ingredients

• 2 grams 15% or higher THC-cured cannabis flower
• 1 cup white cranberry juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp liquid sunflower lecithin
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (plus more for garnish)
• Chilled sparkling water
• Orange peel for garnish
• Fresh cannabis leaves for garnish, if available

Instructions

(Pro tip: Prep a day ahead of time to let the smell of vinegar fade before guests arrive. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to two months.)

1. Grind cannabis and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Put in the oven for an hour at 240 degrees Fahrenheit to decarboxylate the cannabis (to transform the THCA into active THC)
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberry juice, sugar, apple cider vinegar, and 2 sprigs of rosemary.
3. Bring to a simmer and stir for 10 minutes.
4. Add the decarboxylated cannabis, mix thoroughly.
5. Add 1/2 tbsp liquid sunflower lecithin and mix thoroughly.
6. Let cool to room temperature.
7. Carefully strain solids out of the liquid with a cheesecloth or coffee filter and funnel into a clean glass jar with an airtight lid.

To serve

1. Pour 1/2 cup infused drinking vinegar into each glass for serving.
2. Add chilled sparkling water and stir.
3. Add ice, then garnish with a sprig of rosemary, an orange peel, and the cannabis leaf. (I like to add a leaf as an easy visual indicator of which drink is cannabis-infused, so party guests don’t forget.)

Seasonal Pomegranate Marijuana Mocktail

If the starting cannabis flower is about 10% THC, then 4 grams equals 400 mg THC total. As the recipe makes 3 cups of liquid/24 oz, each oz would contain about 16-17% THC. Since the mocktail calls for 3 oz of simple syrup, each drink would have 50mg of THC per serving, which is intended for a heavy user with no major plans for the evening. I’d alter the recipe to 1 oz infused simple syrup for a light cannabis consumer, for a drink with 16-17% THC, and 2 oz infused syrup for a medium tolerance, for a drink with about 33 per activated THC per serving.

(Because of the way the drink is built, the sweetness of the syrup can be offset by the amount of sparkling water added to suit taste preference/dosage strength per mocktail.)

Ingredients

• 3 oz cannabis simple syrup
• Pomegranate sparkling water (can be substituted with regular sparkling water or club soda)
• Pomegranate seeds
• Cannabis leaf for garnish

Instructions

(Pro tip: leave the fresh leaf in the drink so the cannabis drinks will be easily identifiable)

1. Pour the sparkling water into a glass.
2. Add the cannabis simple syrup and stir thoroughly.
3. Top with more sparkling water, then garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and a leaf.