Mocktail Name Generator

Good mocktail names do two jobs at once: they tell the guest what is in the glass and they make the drink feel like a choice rather than a consolation prize. The fastest way to do that is flavor-first naming, with the lead ingredient plus a format word such as cooler, spritz, fizz, smash or shrub: Cucumber Mint Cooler, Blackberry Sage Smash, Strawberry Rhubarb Shrub. Format words also set expectations. A fizz or spritz is carbonated and light, a cooler is long and iced, a shrub has vinegar tang, a mule means ginger beer and lime.

The second style plays with the classics. Nojito, No-groni and Faux Paloma work because everyone knows the original, and a zero-proof bar can use them sparingly for a laugh. Classic names with their own history, such as Shirley Temple, Roy Rogers, Arnold Palmer and Virgin Mary, are always safe. The third style is evocative: Golden Hour Fizz, Midnight in Marrakech, Sunday Porch or Harbor Lights suggest a mood and let the description carry the ingredients.

Whatever style you pick, keep it to two to four words, avoid sounding apologetic (no lite, skinny or just), and make sure the name still reads well printed beside cocktails on the same menu.