Foodie Friday - Festive Cheer With Mocktails

Well I'm eventually starting to get into the festive spirit, the tree goes up tomorrow, we're 7 days into our advent calenders, and of course a lot of us have had snow this week - yes it's a pain but it does make everything look a bit more Christmassy :), It's now to start thinking about festive food and of course festive drinks. All the sparkling wines, mulled wines and bucks fizz have been added to the Christmas food order but what about the people that don't drink, well we've ordered the usual suspects lots of fizzy pop, sparkling water, and fruit juices but sometimes it all seems just a bit boring and samey.

Drinking and driving isn't cool so why aren't alcohol free options a bit more interesting, well they can be, I was recently contacted on behalf of a company called My Cocktail, one of the brand leaders in premixed and frozen cocktails. They've recognised that not everyone can or wants to drink alcohol so they've introduced a line called My Mocktail, a line of  ready to server alcohol free, fruit juice based cocktail substitutes, professionally mixed for maximum taste, flavour and enjoyment.

They currently come in two varieties, the Woo Woo and the traditional Pina Colada - I was kindly sent a carton of each to review for you, and of course I roped in Mummy Lou to help

My Mocktail Pina Colada

You don't have to have been on holiday anywhere tropical or exotic to have consumed a Pina Colada. This coconut and pineapple based drink is popular all over the world and with good reason - even if your in cold snowy, Co Durham the taste can transport you, to hot and sunny sandy beach. It's not surprising that that 90% of sun cream smells of a Pina Colada.

The traditional Pina Colada contains a mixture of pineapple juice, rum, and coconut cream, or more often than not now Malibu and a dash of cream. Obviously the My Mocktail version doesn't contain the alcoholic elements instead it contains a mixture of pineapple juice, flavourings, water and sweetened milk.

The My Mocktails come packaged in 1 litre cardboard cartons, with a screw top cap that makes easy to store in the fridge, and  easy to pour. These are best served chilled, and over ice but I didn't have any
so I just popped it into a tall glass.

I have to say both me and Mummy Lou really enjoyed this one, it tasted exactly like a proper Pina Colada in fact I would probably see I preferred it. It wasn't as sweet or as sickly as Pina Coladas can often be, the pineapple juice dominated which left a much fresher taste in the mouth - making it an ideal alcohol free alternative, which I think even children would enjoy, just garnish it with a cherry and an umbrella and your set. If you do fancy a little bit of alcohol though you can add a measure of your favourite run to make it into a more conventional Pina Colada :)

My Mocktail Woo Woo

A relatively new kid on the cocktail scene, the Woo Woo, is a trendy almost Sex And The City style cocktail. It traditionally contains a mixture of vodka, peach schnapps and cranberry juice

The My Mocktail Woo Woo, contains a mixture of red grape juice, peach puree and cranberry juice.

This was the complete opposite of the Pina Colada on the flavour scale, which given the ingredients in unsurprising. The Woo Woo had an almost dry and slightly acidic taste, you could taste the tartness of the grape and cranberry, but you also get a sweet almost tinned peaches flavour. I didn't mind this but Mummy Lou found it just a bit too acidic and not sweet enough for her tastes. To make a more traditional Woo Woo you can also add a shot of vodka to your mocktail, this actually made it even more acidic and dry which didn't particularly agree with either of us never mind we still drank it and after a couple if didn't really matter what it tasted like you can see Mummy Lou giving  this one her best shot here (excuse the bare walls behind here - the wallpapering is finished now ;)

If you like slightly dry and acidic flavour then this one might be a bit more for you. This is definitely has more adult flavours so I don't think that this would be popular with the little people, or some bigger people.

I have to say I really liked the idea of the mocktails, they definitely provide more options for people who are abstaining from alcohol for whatever reasons, and of course they provide a good base for a traditional alcohol based cocktail. I will definitely purchase the Pina Colada version again but the Woo Woo version wasn't for me. My Mocktails are available from ASDA stores, and have a recommended retail price of £2.49 for a 1 litre carton, but they are currently for sale on the ASDA groceries website for £1.97. You find out more about My Mocktails and other products from the MY Cocktails on their website, you can also find them on facebook and on twitter What drinks do you serve to your guests at Christmas? and do you have any great alcohol free alternatives? let me know in the comments x

(Both The Products In This Post Were Provided For Review / Promotional Purposes)