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Lockdown in South Africa has been extended to the end of April and the sale of alcohol remains prohibited. Now is the ideal time to have some fun and let the creative juices flow by making some innovative Rooibos inspired cocktails and mocktails.
Cocktails are all the rage and there has been a growing trend to include Rooibos as an ingredient in bars in some of the most popular cocktail capitals of the world. Both professional bartenders and their discerning patrons are finding that balance and healthy lifestyle choices are becoming more and more important. Cutting edge bars and restaurants are embracing non-alcoholic and spirit-free options in their range of cocktails, providing their tee-totalling guests with beverages that look and taste just as good as alcohol-based cocktails.
The health benefits of Rooibos are endless and it is a smart alternative to the sugary mixers that cocktails are commonly made of. Swapping calorie-rich ingredients for Rooibos – which contains no fat or carbohydrates – offers not only a great slimming alternative, but also contains disease-preventing antioxidants, which protects against cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
We’ve put together 6 examples of Rooibos inspired mocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, and traditional cocktail recipes that are fun to make and taste just as good with or without the alcohol.
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The Nojito is the mocktail (non-alcoholic) version of the mojito, which is just as tasty as the Cuban classic, without the alcohol. This recipe has a delightful South African twist.
Serves 1
- 30 ml Rooibos syrup (see recipe below)
- 10 ml rum extract
- 2 to 3 lime wedges
- a generous amount of mint leaves, without stalks
- 5 ice cubes, crushed
- soda water, Sprite or 7-up
Place the Rooibos syrup, rum extract, lime wedges and mint in a tall, sturdy glass.
Crush the mixture with a muddler* or the back of a wooden spoon.
Add the crushed ice and top up with soda water, Sprite or 7-up.
Stir vigorously and serve immediately.
* A muddler is a bartender’s tool, used to ‘muddle’ — or make a mash of — fruits, herbs, and/or spices in the bottom of a glass to release their flavour.
Adapted from Anida van der Spuy’s Rooibos Mojito recipe
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Serves 1
- 2 tots (50 ml) Rooibos iced tea (see recipe below)
- 70 ml apple, pear or grape juice or cold Rooibos tea
- 5 ml lemon juice
- ice cubes
- slice of lemon or sprig of rosemary for garnish
Pour the Rooibos iced tea into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
Cook rapidly until the liquid has been reduced to a syrupy consistency. Set aside to cool.
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake well.
Strain the contents of the shaker through a strainer into a chilled Martini glass.
Garnish with a twist of lemon or sprig of rosemary.
Adapted from Chris Maré’s Rooibos Martini recipe
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| Serves 1
- 60 ml freshly squeezed ruby grapefruit juice
- 20 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- 15 ml Rooibos syrup (see recipe below)
- 2 dashes of Angostura or other aromatic bitters (optional)
- Rooibos-Vanilla Ice (see recipe below)
- 1 - 2 glacé cherries to garnish (optional)
Pour the grapefruit juice, lime juice, Rooibos syrup and if desired aromatic bitters into a cocktail shaker.
Fill with crushed Rooibos-Vanilla ice. Shake hard and fast to mix. Pour into a chilled glass.
Garnish with glacé cherries (optional).
Adapted from Reuben Riffel’s Ruby Grapefruit & Rooibos Daiquiri recipe
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| Serves 12
- 750 ml strong, hot Rooibos
- 75 ml sugar
- 300 ml orange juice
- 200 ml granadilla juice
- 250 ml pineapple juice
- 500 ml still or sparkling apple, pear or grape juice, chilled
- orange peel and glacé cherries to decorate (optional)
Mix Rooibos and sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate.
Add cold fruit juices.
Add chilled still or sparkling apple, pear or grape juice before serving. Decorate with orange peel and glacé cherries.
Adapted from Rooibos Limited’s Fruit Cocktail recipe
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| Makes 4 litres
- 1 litre strong, hot Rooibos
- 200 ml sugar
- 1 litre orange juice
- 1 litre pineapple juice
- 1 litre sparkling grape juice or Rooibos kombucha
- crushed ice
- orange slices to garnish (optional)
Mix Rooibos and sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate.
Add cold fruit juices.
Add sparkling grape juice or Rooibos kombucha and crushed ice before serving and decorate with orange slices.
Adapted from Rooibos Limited’s Champagne Punch
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Serves 2
- 240 ml extra strong, cold Rooibos
- 15 ml beef bouillon liquid or 2.5 ml beefy Bovril (optional)
- 480 ml tomato juice
- dash of lemon juice
- 10 ml Worcestershire sauce
- 4 drops Tabasco sauce, or to taste
- 5 ml powdered black pepper
- 5 ml celery salt
- crushed ice
- salt to decorate the rim of the glasses
- celery stalk, washed and trimmed to serve (optional)
- baby tomato, cut in half to garnish (optional)
Wet the glass rims and dip into the salt, so that the rim is covered with salt.
Place the Rooibos, bouillon (optional), juices, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, black pepper, celery salt and ice into a cocktail shaker.
Shake to mix well.
Pour into the prepared glasses and serve with a celery stalk and baby tomato.
Created for Rooibos Limited
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Makes about 300 to 350 ml
- 2 litres (8 x 250 ml) water
- 5 Rooibos tea bags
- 50 ml honey
- 280 g (350 ml) white sugar
- 20 ml lemon juice
- 10 ml vanilla essence
Combine all the ingredients, except the vanilla essence, in a large saucepan.
Stir over low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Boil over moderate heat for 45 to 50 minutes until reduced and syrupy.
Remove the tea bags. Add the vanilla essence.
Allow the syrup to cool before using.
Supplied by Anida van der Spuy
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| Makes about 2 litres
- 2 litres water
- 9 Rooibos tea bags
- 65 ml honey
- 3 whole star anise pods
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 100 g (125 ml) sugar
- 250 ml apple juice
Place all the ingredients, except the apple juice, in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Strain the Rooibos mixture into a jug or container. Add the apple juice. Mix well.
Place in the refrigerator until cold.
Supplied by Chris Maré
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| Makes about 1,5 litres
- 1,5 litres strong Rooibos
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
Mix the Rooibos and vanilla seeds together thoroughly. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays.
Freeze overnight. Crush the Rooibos ice in an ice crusher.
Alternatively, place the ice cubes in a clean tea towel, wrap and crack the cubes with a rolling pin.
Serve this ice with cocktails and homemade lemonade.
Or, blend together with banana, mango, pineapple, mineral water and ginger.
Blended with papaya, orange, lime and Hanepoot grapes, it makes a delicious drink.
Supplied by Reuben Riffel
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| Rooibos Limited is giving you the chance to win a R400 voucher to spend in our online Rooibos store, Shop Rooibos. To enter the competition, share your #RooibosExperience with us on social media and use the above mentioned hashtag. Punch up the drama in your zero-proof cocktail by getting creative with presentation. Adding some glam touches will have all and sundry (imbibers or not) jealous of your luscious liquor-free lockdown libation! The grand winner will be announced on our social media pages on Tuesday 5 May 2020 . The voucher can be used towards the purchase of any of the Rooibos products available on Shop Rooibos and will be delivered after the lockdown.
We can’t wait to see your posts!
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| Stay home, stay safe and have some fun with Rooibos. To find out more about Rooibos and its health benefits visit: www.rooibosltd.co.za
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