7 Mint Mocktails: Cucumber, Lemon, Watermelon, Ginger, Grapefruit (and the Mojito)

By Jason LaValla, founder, Casamara Club · September 2026

Jump to:

• Mint, Done Right
• Cucumber Mint Cooler
• Lemon Mint Fizz
• Watermelon Mint
• Ginger Mint
• Grapefruit Mint
• Mint Iced Tea
• The Virgin Mojito
• All Seven at a Glance
• The Mint Drink We Sell
• FAQ

A bunch of mint is the cheapest way to make a soft drink taste like somebody made it. Every drink below has the same shape: fresh mint, a sour, a sweetener, cold fizz on top. Seven versions with measures for one glass, then the can we built with the mint already in it.

The short answer: A mint mocktail is 8 to 10 fresh spearmint leaves, slapped or gently pressed, ¾ to 1 ounce of citrus juice, ½ to ¾ ounce of simple syrup, and 4 ounces of cold soda water over ice in a highball. Swap the citrus and add one fruit or vegetable, and you have the whole family.

Mint, Done Right

Buy spearmint, handle it gently, make a syrup only for a crowd.

Spearmint or peppermint. Spearmint is the mint bars use in a mojito: sweet, green, soft, its aroma carried by carvone. Peppermint carries far more menthol, so it tastes colder and stronger. Spearmint is the safe default; peppermint is the sharper choice, and the one in our can. More on peppermint in our Botanical Index.

Slap, don't shred. The aromatic oil sits on the surface of the leaf; a clap between your palms or a gentle press releases it. Grinding tears the leaf and pulls out chlorophyll and bitter compounds, so the drink goes grassy and murky. Press until you smell mint, then stop.

When to make a syrup. One glass, whole leaves. A pitcher, or a clear drink with no leaves in it, mint syrup; the method is in the FAQ.

Cucumber Mint Cooler

Probably the best-known mint mocktail after the mojito: cool, green, barely sweet.

Cucumber Mint Cooler (single serve)

• 3 thin slices of cucumber, plus a long ribbon to garnish
• 8 fresh mint leaves, plus a sprig
• ¾ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz simple syrup (1:1)
• 4 oz soda water, cold
• Ice

1. Put the cucumber slices, mint leaves, lime juice, and syrup in a highball glass.
2. Press gently with a muddler or the back of a spoon, four or five turns, until the cucumber gives up some juice and you can smell the mint.
3. Fill the glass with ice.
4. Top with soda water and stir once from the bottom.
5. Garnish with the cucumber ribbon and a slapped mint sprig.

Lemon Mint Fizz

Lemonade that grew up. Shaken, so the mint stays out of your teeth.

Lemon Mint Fizz (single serve)

• 8 fresh mint leaves
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• ¾ oz simple syrup, or ½ oz honey syrup (2:1 honey to warm water)
• 3 to 4 oz soda water, cold
• Ice; lemon wheel and mint sprig to garnish

1. Slap the mint between your palms and drop it in a shaker with the lemon juice and syrup.
2. Add ice and shake hard for 10 seconds.
3. Fine-strain over fresh ice in a highball or Collins glass.
4. Top with soda water. Garnish with a lemon wheel and a mint sprig.

Cut the syrup to ½ oz if you like it tart.

Watermelon Mint

Summer in a low tumbler. The fruit does the sweetening, so the syrup is optional.

Watermelon Mint (single serve)

• 3 oz fresh watermelon juice (about 1 cup of seedless cubes, blended and strained)
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ¼ oz simple syrup, only if the melon is pale
• 2 oz soda water, cold
• Ice; a small watermelon wedge and mint sprig to garnish

1. Shake the watermelon juice, mint, lime, and syrup with ice for 10 seconds.
2. Strain over ice in a low tumbler.
3. Top with soda water and stir once. Garnish with the wedge and a sprig.

For a pitcher, blend 4 cups of cubes with 2 limes and a handful of mint, strain, chill, and add soda at the table.

Ginger Mint

Heat and cool in the same sip. Two ways to get there; one takes two seconds.

Ginger Mint (single serve, from scratch)

• 8 fresh mint leaves
• ¾ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz ginger syrup, or 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger plus ½ oz simple syrup
• 4 oz soda water, cold
• Ice; lime wedge and mint sprig

1. Press the mint gently with the lime and ginger in a highball.
2. Fill with ice, top with soda, stir once from the bottom.
3. Garnish with a lime wedge and a slapped sprig.

The two-second version. Our Isla botanical soda is built on lime juice and ginger juice with warm island spice, and the garnish we print for it is a lime wedge, a mint sprig, or both. Pour it cold over ice, slap a sprig, drop it in. At 5g of sugar per 12oz can it lands drier than the from-scratch build. More on ginger and lime in the Botanical Index.

Grapefruit Mint

Bitter citrus and cool mint, for people who like the edge.

Grapefruit Mint (single serve)

• 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ¼ oz simple syrup
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• 2 to 3 oz soda water, cold
• Ice; grapefruit twist and mint sprig

1. Shake the grapefruit, lime, syrup, and mint with ice for 10 seconds.
2. Fine-strain over ice in a highball.
3. Top with soda. Garnish with the twist and a slapped sprig.

The shortcut. Our Sera botanical soda is built around tart grapefruit with cinnamon and allspice behind it. Over ice with a slapped mint sprig and a squeeze of lime, it is close to the same drink at 4g of sugar per 12oz can.

Mint Iced Tea

The lowest effort and the biggest batch.

Mint Iced Tea (pitcher, serves 6)

• 6 cups water
• 4 black tea bags, or 3 green
• 1 large bunch fresh mint, about 40 leaves, plus sprigs
• 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, to taste
• 1 lemon, cut into wheels

1. Boil the water, take it off the heat, and steep the tea: 4 minutes for black, 3 for green. Remove the bags.
2. Stir in the sugar while hot, add the mint, and let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
3. Strain out the mint, chill, and serve over ice with lemon wheels and a fresh sprig.

The Virgin Mojito

The original mint mocktail and the reference for the rest: 8 to 10 mint leaves, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 oz lime pressed together, crushed ice, 4 to 5 oz soda. The full recipe, the pitcher for eight, and the mistakes to avoid are in our virgin mojito recipe; more on the non-alcoholic mojito here.

All Seven at a Glance

Pick by sweetness and effort.

Ice, glassware, and the slow pour down the wall of the glass are in how to serve Casamara Club. More mixed drinks on our recipes page.

The Mint Drink We Sell

Superclasico Mojito is a non-alcoholic mojito in an 8oz can: lime, peppermint, Demerara cane sugar, sparkling water, no muddler.

We built it because the mojito is the drink nobody makes on a Tuesday. The label reads Sparkling Water, Lime Juice, Demerara Cane Sugar, with Extracts of Peppermint, and Lime Peel: lime peel up front, peppermint through the middle, demerara on the finish. Peppermint-forward by design, colder than a spearmint mojito, not subtle. 55 calories and 14g of sugar per 8oz can, real sugar, no stevia. Coming soon in 12-can packs and up; tap Notify Me on the product page and it takes your email.

The rum build, from the product page: "Start with rum and ice at the bottom of a highball. Pour the Mojito down the wall of the glass, not directly over the ice. Superclasico comes in 8oz cans only, and they will do just fine. No muddler, no mint syrup. A lime wheel is enough. Add rum if you like."

The soda-weight option. For the mint at soda weight, Como is our Alpine-style botanical soda with peppermint among its botanicals, alongside mandarin orange, chamomile, and grapefruit. Extra dry, 4g of sugar per 12oz, closer to a mountain amaro than to a mojito. Over ice, with a slapped sprig on top.

Coming soon

Superclasico Mojito

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which mint is best for mocktails?

A: Spearmint: the standard bar mint, softer than peppermint, and it will not take over a drink. Peppermint is colder and stronger; use fewer leaves, or choose it on purpose for the edge. Unlabeled grocery-store mint is usually spearmint, we find.

Q: How do I keep fresh mint from wilting?

A: Trim the stems, stand the bunch in a glass of water, cover loosely with a bag, and refrigerate; change the water every couple of days and it keeps about a week. Wash it only when you use it.

Q: Can I use dried mint?

A: We would not. Drying loses the bright top notes and leaves something closer to hay, fine in hot tea and wrong in a cold sparkling drink. Without fresh mint, a mint syrup made earlier in the week, or a can with the mint already in it, is the fallback.

Q: How do I make mint syrup?

A: Heat 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water until dissolved, take it off the heat, add about 40 mint leaves, and steep 10 to 15 minutes. Strain, cool, refrigerate; it keeps about a week. Use ½ to ¾ oz per drink in place of plain syrup and skip the leaves.

Q: What flavors pair with mint?

A: Lime and lemon first, then cucumber, watermelon, ginger, grapefruit, strawberry, and black or green tea. Mint reads as cool, so it flatters anything bright or tart and anything with a little heat.

Sources

• Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking (Scribner, revised 2004), herbs chapter: spearmint's carvone, peppermint's menthol, and oil glands on the leaf surface.
• Difford's Guide, "Mojito" and "How to muddle": press, don't grind; slap mint to release aroma. https://www.diffordsguide.com/
• MasterClass, "Learn the Difference Between Spearmint and Peppermint": carvone vs menthol. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/spearmint-vs-peppermint-explained
• Dave Arnold, Liquid Intelligence (W. W. Norton, 2014): simple syrup ratios and fresh-juice handling.

Find Casamara Club at casamaraclub.com. Ships to all 50 states.

For restaurant wholesale inquiries: sales@casamaraclub.com