Holiday party mocktails

Batching is how bartenders survive busy nights, and it works at home for the same reasons:

• You make it once. Mix the base in the afternoon, add the fizz when guests arrive, and your job is done.
• Guests serve themselves. A punch bowl or pitcher is an invitation. Nobody has to ask for "the non-alcoholic option."
• It's consistent. Every glass tastes the same, and it tastes the way you tested it.
• It's cheaper. One bottle of bitter aperitif and some juice go a long way when they're stretched across twelve glasses.

The rules are simple. Mix everything still ahead of time and keep it cold. Add anything sparkling at the last minute. Use one big block of ice rather than cubes, so the punch chills without watering down. And taste before guests arrive: a batch that's slightly too tart is easy to fix with a little syrup, and one that's too sweet needs more citrus or soda.

A mocktail bar for a party doesn't need to be big. Five bottles, a handful of mixers and good garnishes make dozens of drinks.

The bottles

• A bitter aperitif. The backbone of grown-up party drinks. Lyre's Italian Orange is the Campari slot: blood orange, rhubarb and a clean bitter finish. Lyre's Italian Spritz is the Aperol-style one, gentler and brighter.
• A zero-proof gin. Lyre's Dry London Spirit is classic juniper, citrus and coriander, and makes G&Ts, French 75s and fizzes.
• A dry sparkling wine. Buy more than you think. Giesen 0% Sparkling Brut is crisp, dry and good value; Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Sparkling Rosé has strawberry and red currant with fine bubbles and looks festive.
• Something dark and fruity. Ghia Berry Apéritif is dark, juicy and tart, with a faint bitter finish. One part with three of soda or tonic is a drink by itself.

The mixers

• Ginger beer, for mules and punches. Q Ginger Beer has chili heat and not much sugar. Top Note Ginger Beer has a rich, dried-fruit depth from date sugar.
• Tonic: Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic is the benchmark.
• Soda water in quantity: Fever-Tree Premium Club Soda.
• Juices: cranberry, fresh lime and lemon, and orange or blood orange.

Garnishes, ice and glasses

Garnishes do most of the visual work at a holiday party. Put out rosemary sprigs (they look like tiny trees), fresh cranberries, orange and lime wheels, pomegranate seeds and cinnamon sticks. Buy more ice than seems reasonable, and freeze a block in a bundt pan or loaf tin for each punch bowl, with cranberries and rosemary frozen inside if you want to show off.

Use proper glasses for everyone: wine glasses, coupes, rocks glasses. A zero-proof drink in a real glass feels like a party drink. Put a small card by each batch saying what's in it, so guests don't have to ask.

How much to buy

A common rule of thumb for parties is two drinks per guest in the first hour and one an hour after that. Plan that many non-alcoholic servings for your guests who aren't drinking, then add extra, because at most parties some drinkers switch to the zero-proof punch partway through. A 750 ml bottle of sparkling wine gives about five flute pours.

Five batch drinks for a holiday party, from a cold punch to a warm pot on the stove. Pick one or two, not all five.

The Christmas punch

Cranberry and lime with rosemary syrup, a bitter orange backbone and a big top of ginger beer. It's tart, spicy and red, and it's the holiday punch we'd make first.

Mulled wine, zero proof

For a cold night or an open house. Warm it on the stove and keep it on the lowest heat or in a slow cooker. Non-alcoholic red, apple cider, orange and whole spices; the whole house will smell like the holidays.

The New Year's Eve bowl

A French 75 made by the bowl: juniper, lemon and sugar under two bottles of dry bubbles. It's the drink for the countdown.

The easy pitcher

Mules are the simplest party drink there is, and a pitcher of them fits the holiday mood better than you'd expect with a few rosemary sprigs and cranberries dropped in.

For Christmas morning

A big-bowl mimosa with a little grapefruit and bitter orange, for brunch and present-opening.

If you'd rather make drinks to order for a small group, these are our favorites.

• Berry Royale. A splash of Ghia Berry under dry bubbles: dark red, festive and one-step.
• White Cosmo. A zero-proof Cosmopolitan with white cranberry, topped with sparkling white tea. Pale, crisp and wintry.
• Espresso Martini. The late-night one. Spiritless Espresso Martini is a bottled version made with real brewed coffee; shake a pour hard over ice for the foam. It contains caffeine.

New Year's Eve is about the midnight toast, so the sparkling matters more than anything else. Buy a bottle that looks and tastes like the real thing in a flute. Bolle Blanc de Blancs is refermented for natural bubbles and has a toasty, bready edge. French Bloom Le Blanc is made as a Champagne stand-in for toasts. Gruvi Dry Secco comes in single-serve 275 ml bottles, which is ideal for a party: everyone gets their own bottle at midnight and nothing goes flat.

Before midnight, keep the French 75 punch going. After midnight, set out a pot of coffee and a bottle of non-alcoholic amaro for anyone staying late.

• Sour and sweet in balance. Most punches are too sweet. Start with about one part fresh citrus to three or four parts juice, then adjust.
• A bitter backbone. Two to four ounces of a bitter aperitif per bowl makes a punch taste like an adult drink.
• Spice. Ginger beer, rather than ginger ale, adds heat that stands in for alcohol's bite.
• Dilution control. One big block of ice, and fizz added last.
• Something to look at. Citrus wheels, cranberries and herbs floating in the bowl.

If you're the guest, bring something to share. Cans and single-serve bottles are best: easy to carry, easy to hand around, and no half-finished 750 at the end of the night. Lyre's Amalfi Spritz is Lyre's Italian Spritz topped with bubbles in a can. Ghia Le Spritz is bitter, dry and properly adult. Mocktail Club Capri Spritz is pomegranate and cranberry shrub with gentian, tart and lightly bitter, which suits the season. For the host, a bottle of dry sparkling is always welcome; see our non-alcoholic gifts guide for more.

Make a separate, simpler batch: cranberry juice, a squeeze of lime, sparkling water and plenty of fruit. Leave out the bitter aperitifs, which kids don't need and generally don't like, and keep anything with caffeine away from the kids' table. Serve it in real glasses so they feel part of the toast.

Our first picks for a holiday party bar.

The French 75 and the Moscow Mule guides go deeper on the two drinks behind our favorite batches, and the sparkling guide ranks every non-alcoholic bubbly we list.

If you'd rather someone else made the drinks, alcohol-free bars are busy and festive in December. A few worth the trip: