Sparkling Cherry Mocktail With Lime
This cherry mocktail is a great non-alcoholic drink the whole family will love. It has a combo of tart cherry juice, homemade cherry syrup, fresh lime juice, and sparkling water over ice.
Looking for more mocktail recipes? Try my sparkling cranberry mocktail with ginger and orange, grapefruit paloma mocktail, or dairy free strawberry Italian cream soda.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this tart cherry mocktail:
- Frozen dark sweet cherries
- Organic cane sugar – to make the homemade simple syrup.
- Fresh lime juice
- 100% red tart cherry juice
- Club soda
- Ice cubes
- Fresh mint sprigs
How to Make Cherry Mocktail: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Heat the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves then reduce to medium heat.
- Add the frozen cherries and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reserve half of the cherries for later, let cool then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Transfer the infused simple syrup with the remaining cherries to a blender. Blend until completely smooth then pour through a fine mesh strainer into a jar. Let the syrup cool completely, then store it in the fridge for at least an hour before using it.
- Mix the tart cherry juice, lime juice, and cherry simple syrup in the bottom of a lowball or highball glass until well combined.
- Add ice and fill the glass the rest of the way with sparkling water. Serve with a lime wedge, the syrup-soaked cherries, and a sprig of mint.
Helpful Tips
- You can use fresh cherries to make the cherry simple syrup. However, it’s much more cost-effective to use frozen cherries. Plus, you don’t have to remove their seeds.
- For best results, don’t skip the homemade syrup and substitute maple syrup. It doesn’t mix in as easily and will affect the taste.
- Blending some of the cherries with the infused syrup gives it a more concentrated cherry flavor. If you can’t be bothered to dirty a blender, you can skip the blending step.
Quick Tip: Make the homemade cherry syrup ahead so it has time to chill before using.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this cherry mocktail recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No organic cane sugar? – you can also use white granulated sugar or honey for a refined sugar free option.
- Add-ins– lime zest, lime peel or vanilla extract into the cherry syrup for more flavor.
- Variations – use lemon-lime soda instead of club soda.
- Switch up the simple syrup – such as cinnamon (with a cinnamon stick garnish), pear, apple, etc. Get more ideas in my infused simple syrups post.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tart cherries are significantly more sour than sweet cherries due to their higher acidity. Sweet cherries are typically eaten fresh, whereas tart cherries are often used in pies and tarts since they are balanced out by the sugar in the recipes.
This cherry lime mocktail tastes very balanced because it uses both tart cherry juice and sweet cherries. Which means it’s not overly sweet or sour.
More Mocktail Ideas
- Sparkling Cranberry Mocktail With Ginger and Orange
- Grapefruit Paloma Mocktail
- Strawberry Italian Cream Soda (dairy free)
- Watermelon Slushie Mocktail
I hope you love this Cherry Mocktail! If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Sparkling Cherry Mocktail With Lime
Ingredients
Homemade Cherry Simple Syrup
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 ½ cups pitted frozen dark sweet cherries
Cherry Mocktail
- ¼ cup tart cherry juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons cherry simple syrup to taste
- handful ice cubes
- sparkling water
Garnishes
- syrup soaked cherries
- lime wedges
- fresh mint sprigs
Instructions
- Heat the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves then reduce to medium heat.
- Add the frozen cherries and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reserve half of the cherries for later, let cool then store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Transfer the infused simple syrup with the remaining cherries to a blender. Blend until completely smooth then pour through a fine mesh strainer into a jar. Let the syrup cool completely, then store it in the fridge for at least an hour before using it.
- Mix the tart cherry juice, lime juice, and cherry simple syrup in the bottom of a lowball or highball glass until well combined.
- Add ice and fill the glass the rest of the way with sparkling water. Serve with a lime wedge, the syrup-soaked cherries, and a sprig of mint.