Seasonal & Holiday
Pomegranate Mocktail
A pomegranate mocktail is a champagne-cocktail build with the wine taken out and nothing missing. Tart, tannic 100% pomegranate juice does the structural work, fresh lemon sharpens its edges, a quarter ounce of simple syrup rounds the finish, and a cold sparkling topper carries the whole thing up the flute. Pomegranate is one of the few juices with real grip — that faintly dry pull on the tongue reads the way red wine does — so the drink tastes composed and adult rather than merely sweet.
This one earns its place at midnight on New Year's Eve, poured down a row of flutes with a spoonful of arils dropped into each; they sink to the bottom, catch the bubbles, and glint like ornaments through the countdown. One rule matters more than any other: no ice in the glass. Dilution comes from a short stir before the pour, and every component goes in cold, because a flute cannot recover from a lukewarm start the way a rocks glass packed with ice can.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Total
- 5 min
- Makes
- 1 drink
- Calories
- ~60 per serving
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz (45 ml) 100% pomegranate juice, chilled
- 1/2 oz (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 oz (7 ml) simple syrup, plus more to taste
- 3 oz (90 ml) chilled sparkling water or alcohol-free sparkling wine, to top
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate arils, to garnish
- Lemon twist or small rosemary sprig, to garnish
How to make it
- 1
Chill the flute
Put the flute in the freezer and the sparkling water or alcohol-free sparkling wine in the coldest part of the fridge. With no ice in the finished drink, all the temperature has to come from the components.
- 2
Stir the base
Combine the pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a mixing glass with ice. Stir for about 15 seconds — enough to chill the mix and pick up a little dilution without washing out the fruit.
- 3
Taste and strain
Taste the base with a bar spoon — pomegranate juices vary in tartness, so stir in a few drops of syrup now if it bites too hard. Fine-strain into the chilled flute, filling it just under halfway.
- 4
Top with sparkle
Pour the sparkling water or alcohol-free sparkling wine slowly down the inside of the glass to preserve carbonation, then give one gentle lift with a bar spoon to integrate the layers.
- 5
Garnish and serve
Drop in a spoonful of pomegranate arils — they sink to the bottom and stream bubbles as the drink sits — and finish with a lemon twist or a small rosemary sprig.
Bartender’s notes
- Buy 100% pomegranate juice, not a "pomegranate cocktail" blend — the blends are mostly apple and white grape juice and pour flat and syrupy against the lemon.
- Never put ice in the flute. All the dilution should come from the 15-second stir; ice in the glass strips carbonation and waters the drink down as it melts.
- Batching for a crowd? Multiply the juice, lemon, and syrup and refrigerate the mix, but top each flute individually — sparkling anything dies in a pitcher.
- A dash of aromatic bitters deepens the fruit, but most cocktail bitters contain alcohol — use an explicitly alcohol-free bottling so the drink stays fully zero-proof.
Variations
- Midnight upgrade: top with chilled Noughty alcohol-free sparkling chardonnay (or its rosé) instead of sparkling water — drier and toastier, and the flute reads like a proper countdown pour.
- Aperitivo edge: add 3/4 oz (22 ml) Ghia to the base and cut the syrup to a bar spoon; its rosy bitterness and ginger heat push the drink toward a sparkling spritz.
- Pomegranate-ginger fizz: skip the syrup and top with ginger beer instead — warmer and spicier, and better suited to a rocks glass with ice than a flute.
Bottles that make it better
Non-alcoholic brands from our directory that fit this build — each page lists where to find them near you.
Noughty
0.0% ABV
Thomson & Scott’s organic alcohol-free sparkling and still wines — the style-forward 0.0% pour on many top NA bar lists.
Where to find Noughty →Ghia
0.0%
Mediterranean-inspired non-alcoholic aperitif built around gentian, yuzu, and rosemary. Drinks like a bittersweet spritz and anchors most modern zero-proof menus.
Where to find Ghia →Giffard
0.0%
Giffard is a family-owned French liqueur and syrup house founded in 1885 in the Loire Valley, now in its fifth generation of family ownership. Its non-alcoholic Aperitif Bitter syrup is a widely-used substitute for Campari in zero-proof Negronis and Spritzes, built on bitter orange, gentian root, quinquina, and spice. Giffard also produces a Spritz Alcohol Free expression. The non-alcoholic range is positioned as a cocktail-mixer rather than a bottled spirit.
Where to find Giffard →Rather have it made for you?
These verified bars and restaurants pour pomegranate mocktail-style builds from their own zero-proof menus — no shaker required.
Overlook Lounge
The Strip (Wynn Las Vegas)
Overlook Lounge, Aperitifs & Spirits is an opulent European-glamour cocktail lounge inside Wynn Las Vegas, set in an anchor space overlooking the resort's Lake of Dreams waterfall and lush atrium (in the former Parasol Up location, redesigned by Wynn's Todd-Avery Lenahan with jewel tones, crystal chandeliers and vintage European furnishings). The drink program comes from Wynn master mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini, a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist (and finalist) for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. The menu is built around five spritzes, five reinterpreted classics, and a standing trio of named zero-proof mocktails, with every drink named for iconic figures from fashion, film, history and mythology. The three alcohol-free options are the Ava (a zero-proof Italian orange spritz), the Ruby (a sparkling pomegranate and Pompelmo spritz), and the Wilde (an exotic sparkling yuzu lemonade), so non-drinkers get crafted, on-menu choices rather than an afterthought. The lounge is open daily, seats first-come, first-served (no reservations), and requires upscale resort attire.
Ellē
Mount Pleasant
Michelin Bib Gourmand neighborhood bakery-cafe by day and full-service restaurant by night in Mount Pleasant, with a curated non-alcoholic cocktail and wine list.
Lapis
Adams Morgan
Family-run Afghan bistro in Adams Morgan with a downstairs cocktail bar (Lapop), serving named non-alcoholic drinks like the pomegranate-and-rosewater Anar alongside its dumplings and stews.
Frequently asked
Yes. Multiply the pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup by your guest count and refrigerate the base for up to a day. At serving time, pour about 2 1/4 oz (65 ml) of base into each chilled flute and top with cold sparkling water or alcohol-free sparkling wine. Never add the bubbles to the batch — carbonation fades within minutes in an open pitcher.