The non-alcoholic Mojito

A classic mojito is two ounces of white rum, an ounce of lime juice, two teaspoons of sugar and six to ten mint leaves, muddled gently, stirred with crushed ice and topped with soda water. Each part has a clear job:

• Mint brings the fresh, cooling aroma that defines the drink. It should smell bright, not grassy.
• Lime brings the sour.
• Sugar balances the lime. Traditionally it's white sugar muddled with the lime, which also helps pull oil out of the mint.
• Rum brings a light sugarcane sweetness and some warmth from the alcohol.
• Soda water lengthens it and makes it refreshing.

The good news: four of those five parts don't contain alcohol. The zero-proof challenge is replacing the rum's body and warmth:

• Use a rum alternative if you can. It adds depth and a little spice, so the drink tastes like a cocktail rather than a mint lemonade.
• Don't over-sweeten. It's tempting to add sugar to make up for the missing rum. A little extra lime usually does more.
• Muddle gently. Press the mint to release its oils; don't shred it. Torn, bruised mint tastes bitter and grassy.
• Use crushed ice. It chills fast, dilutes a little, and keeps the mint suspended through the glass.
• Top with soda last, and don't overdo it. Two ounces is plenty. Too much soda thins the drink.

Moment Lychee Mojito is the one canned mojito we list. It's lychee and fresh mint in a sparkling mocktail with ashwagandha and L-theanine: floral and cooling, a mojito without the rum or the sugar rush. It's not a classic lime-and-mint mojito, but poured over crushed ice with a lime wedge and a sprig of mint it's a good lighter option. Add an ounce of Lyre's White Cane for more body.

The other close relative is Lyre's Rum Mule, a canned rum mule with gently spiced ginger, tart lime and a toffee note from Lyre's dark cane spirit. It's not a mojito, but pour it over crushed ice with a handful of fresh mint and a lime wedge and it becomes a pleasant, gingery mojito-mule hybrid in about ten seconds. That's also a quick answer to the mojito mocktail with ginger beer, which is a popular twist.

On a non-alcoholic mojito mix: most are lime juice, sugar and mint flavoring. The fresh mint is the point of a mojito, and bottled mixes can't match it. If you want speed, make a batch of mint syrup ahead (below) and keep it in the fridge.

The rum

This is the question most people ask: what's the best non-alcoholic rum for mojitos? A mojito wants a light, white-rum style: sugarcane, a little sweetness, nothing too dark or heavy. A few now fit.

• Lyre's White Cane Spirit is our pick and what our house recipe uses. It's sugar cane, caramel and coconut, light and gently spiced, and it's built for a mojito, daiquiri or piña colada. It's the closest to a white rum on our list, so it adds backbone without changing the drink's color or freshness.
• Ritual Rum Alternative has vanilla, ripe banana, burnt orange and molasses, with Ritual's peppery warmth, and it mixes one-for-one. It's closer to a gold rum than a white one, so your mojito will be darker and rounder. The pepper is useful: it brings back some of the warmth alcohol would add. It's especially good in the strawberry mojito and with ginger beer.
• ISH Caribbean Spiced is caramel, vanilla, nutmeg and baked apple, with zero sugar. It makes a spiced mojito, and because it's unsweetened it won't push the drink sweeter.
• Abstinence Cape Spice is allspice, cassia, clove, cardamom and orange peel, with vanilla, coconut and honeybush. Sugar-free, too. It's the most spice-forward option; try it in a winter mojito with a little extra lime.

The dark and heavily spiced rum alternatives, such as Lyre's Dark Cane and Fluère Spiced Cane Dark Roast, are better saved for a Dark 'n' Stormy.

Without a rum alternative

You can make a mojito without rum, and many bars do. To stop it tasting thin:

• Seedlip Garden 108 is peas, hay and garden herbs, with spearmint and rosemary. An ounce in place of the rum doubles down on the green, minty side of the drink and adds structure without sugar. It's our favorite workaround.
• St. Agrestis Amaro Falso is a ready-to-pour amaro of 20 herbs, spices and citrus, led by mint and gentian. A quarter-ounce adds bitterness and a mint echo. More than that and it takes over.
• A pinch of salt and a few drops of vanilla add surprising depth, a rough stand-in for rum's sugarcane roundness.

The mint, lime and sugar

• Mint: spearmint is the classic. Use the top sprigs; the small, tender leaves have the most aroma and the least bitterness. Clap a sprig between your hands for the garnish to wake up the scent.
• Lime: fresh, always. One ounce per drink. Cut a few lime wedges and muddle them with the mint if you like it more tart and with a little peel bitterness.
• Sugar: simple syrup (equal parts sugar and hot water) dissolves easily. Superfine sugar muddled with lime is traditional and a little more textured. For a bigger batch, steep a handful of mint in warm simple syrup for 20 minutes, strain and chill: mint syrup makes fast, consistent mojitos.

Building it, step by step

The order matters, because mint bruises easily and crushed ice melts fast.

1. Put the mint, lime juice and syrup in the bottom of a tall glass.
2. Press the mint gently with a muddler or the back of a spoon, four or five times. You should smell it straight away. If the leaves are torn into small pieces, you've gone too far.
3. Add the rum alternative and a pinch of salt.
4. Fill the glass two-thirds with crushed ice and stir, lifting the mint up through the ice.
5. Top with more crushed ice, then a splash of soda water.
6. Garnish with a mint sprig, slapped between your palms first, and a lime wheel. Put the mint right next to the straw so you smell it as you drink.

The soda: soda water, Sprite or ginger beer

• Soda water is classic and keeps the drink dry.
• A non-alcoholic mojito with Sprite or another lemon-lime soda is a common shortcut. It works, but it adds a lot of sugar, so leave out the syrup entirely and add a squeeze more lime.
• Ginger beer makes a spicier, rounder drink, halfway to a mule. Good with Ritual's peppery rum alternative.

This is our classic: Lyre's White Cane for backbone, fresh mint, a full ounce of lime and just enough syrup to balance it.

If you don't have a rum alternative, use an ounce of Seedlip Garden 108 and add a pinch of salt.

The non-alcoholic strawberry mojito

Muddle two or three ripe strawberries with the mint. The fruit adds color and sweetness, so you'll need less syrup. Ritual's vanilla and banana notes suit the berries.

The virgin mojito pitcher recipe

For a crowd, build the base in a pitcher and add the soda just before serving. Muddling in a pitcher is awkward, so use mint syrup and whole mint in the jug.

The rum alternative and the catalogue picks that help a mojito, compared. Ratings are a rough average of reviews from around the web; see each bottle's page for the sources.

The mojito sits in a family of long, lime-and-sugar drinks. Once you've got it down:

• Daiquiri: rum, lime and sugar, shaken and served up, with no mint or soda. The purer test of a rum alternative.
• Moscow Mule: ginger beer and lime with a vodka stand-in, in a copper mug. If you liked the ginger-beer mojito, this is next.
• Dark 'n' Stormy: dark rum over ginger beer with lime. Lyre's Rum Mule is close to one straight from the can.
• Watermelon mojito: muddle a few cubes of watermelon with the mint. Hiyo Watermelon Lime, a fruity, low-sugar sparkling tonic, can stand in for the soda.
• Gin mojito (South Side): a gin alternative in place of the rum, shaken and served up. Pentire Adrift, with sage and lime, is lovely here.

Almost every bar can make a virgin mojito, but the best ones come from bars that use fresh mint and a rum alternative rather than a sugary mix. A few worth the trip: