This Hibiscus Mocktail is made with easy homemade hibiscus syrup and lots of fresh orange and lemon juice. It's floral, refreshing, and perfect for the summer! You can easily make a pitcher version for a crowd as well!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Hibiscus Mocktail
Floral, light, and refreshing - Forget overly sweet mocktails with no flavor, this hibiscus mocktail is floral, tangy, and just the right amount of sweet! You can make it either as single drinks or in a pitcher. It's simple but totally restaurant-worthy; your guests will love it!
Made with homemade syrup - If you're not used to making your own syrups at home, I highly recommend giving it a try! It's so easy, and it's a great way to add flavor to your drinks without any weird ingredients or artificial flavors. The syrup in this drink is made in 10 minutes with just hibiscus tea bags, water, and cane sugar!
Easy to prep ahead or make in a pitcher - You can store the syrup in the fridge for 2 weeks, and you can juice your citrus ahead as well. The recipe includes measurements for a pitcher so that you can easily serve this at any BBQ, dinner, or any party!
Ingredients
- Hibiscus syrup - To make your own syrup, you'll need water, hibiscus tea bags (or dried hibiscus flowers), and cane sugar. I like cane sugar because it's less processed than white sugar, but it still has a neutral flavor. An optional add-in is rose water for an even more floral flavor. You can also use store-bought syrup.
- Orange juice and lemon juice - I highly recommend using freshly squeezed juice for both for the best flavor whenever possible, especially for the orange juice. You can use lime juice in a pinch, but lemon juice works best here.
- Hibiscus bitters - I like adding hibiscus bitters to up the flavor even more, but it's totally optional. It's important to keep in mind that most bitters are similar to extracts and have alcohol.
- Sparkling water - I like using lightly flavored sugar-free sparkling water like LaCroix or any plain sparkling water. Club soda or tonic water works as well. I don't recommend any soda with a strong flavor because it could overpower the hibiscus flavor.
Variations and Substitutions
- Store-bought syrup - I recommend looking for local, small-batch syrups. I find they're always the best quality and have the best flavor without any weird additives or artificial flavors. If you can't find any, my go-to brand is Monin for a lot of syrups. Torani is also a popular one.
- Sugar-free syrup - Feel free to use any sugar substitute that can be used in a 1:1 ratio instead of the cane sugar for the syrup. Keep in mind that the sugar acts as a preservative, so if you skip it, the syrup will go bad faster.
- Maple syrup or honey - If you prefer, you can make the syrup with maple syrup or honey instead of cane sugar, but it might change the flavor.
- Ginger ale - If you want to add a little bit of spicy ginger flavor, top up the drink with ginger ale instead of plain sparkling water. I don't recommend ginger beer (non-alcoholic) because it has a stronger flavor that might overpower the hibiscus.
Step-by-Step Instructions
I recommend making the syrup ahead of time to speed up the process of making the mocktail. You can make a ½ batch or a double batch very easily, and the syrup stores really well in both the fridge and the freezer!
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for more detailed instructions and Hibiscus Simple Syrup for tips and other uses for the syrup.
Hibiscus Syrup
- Bring water in a small saucepan on the stove to a boil and take it off the heat.
Add the hibiscus tea bags and steep for 10 minutes. Take the teabags out, squeezing as much tea out of them as you can. - Add cane sugar and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly until the sugar melts completely.
- Lower the heat and simmer the syrup for 10 minutes.
- Take the syrup off the heat and stir in rose water if using.
Hibiscus Mocktail
- Into a cocktail shaker, add orange juice, lemon juice, hibiscus syrup, and hibiscus bitters if using.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
- Fill a short glass with ice and set aside. Add a handful of ice to your cocktail shaker.
- Shake the mocktail vigorously for a few seconds until very cool to the touch.
- Strain the drink into your prepared glass over ice and top up with sparkling water.
- Garnish with orange and/or lemon slices and enjoy! You can also garnish the drink with a strawberry on the rim of the glass or with a sprig of fresh mint.
Pitcher Version
You can easily make this drink in a pitcher by multiplying the ingredients by however many servings you need and stirring everything (except sparkling water) in a pitcher.
See the recipe card for exact measurements. I recommend mixing everything but the sparkling water in your pitcher and then adding it to each drink separately to avoid it losing its fizz but this is up to you.
Tips & Tricks!
- Prep everything ahead of time - If you're making more than just one drink, I recommend juicing the citrus and making the syrup ahead of time and storing them in jars in the fridge. This will speed things up and you'll have less clean-up!
- Look up any contraindications for hibiscus - Just like anything else, and especially with flowers and specialty teas, make sure you're not allergic or have any contraindications. According to this WebMD article about Hibiscus tea, it may not be safe to consume while pregnant, along with other conditions.
Storing
The actual drinks are best served right away, but you can make the hibiscus syrup a few days ahead. You can also juice your oranges and lemons the day before as well. I don't like to store them longer than that to keep them fresh, but prepping those ahead saves a ton of time!
Syrup storing: You can store the syrup in an airtight jar or a container in the refrigerator for up to 14 days. You can also store it in the freezer for 2-4 months in a freezer-safe container. Due to the high sugar content, the syrup never freezes completely solid, so it's scoopable straight from the freezer.
FAQs
You could add a shot of vodka, gin, or silver tequila. You could also add zero-proof spirits with similar flavors if you want it to taste like a cocktail without any alcohol.
Yes, the measurements for 6 are included in the recipe card notes. It's easy to multiply as well for even more servings!
Other Mocktail Recipes
If you want to try some other fun mocktails with homemade syrups, check out any of the four drinks linked below! They're easy to make and so delicious! Head over to Non-Alcoholic Drinks to see all the latest ones.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Have you tried this Hibiscus Mocktail? Please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my Newsletter for a free recipe e-book and new weekly recipes straight to your inbox. Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram to always stay in the loop!
Print📖 Recipe
Hibiscus Mocktail
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Mocktail
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Hibiscus Mocktail is made with easy homemade hibiscus syrup and lots of fresh orange and lemon juice. It's the perfect refreshing, floral drink for the summer!
Ingredients
Hibiscus Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 4 hibiscus tea bags (or 2-3 dried hibiscus flowers)
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 tbsp rose water (optional)
Hibiscus Mocktail
- 2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 oz hibiscus syrup
- 1-2 dashes hibiscus bitters (optional)
- ice
- Sparkling water or tonic water to top up (I used orange flavored unsweetened soda)
- Garnish options: lemon slice, orange slice, edible flowers
Instructions
Hibiscus Syrup
- Bring water in a small saucepan on the stove to a boil and take it off the heat.
- Add the hibiscus tea bags and steep for 10 minutes. Take the teabags out, squeezing as much tea out of them as you can.
- Add cane sugar and bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly until the sugar melts completely.
- Lower the heat and simmer the syrup for 10 minutes.
- Take the syrup off the heat and stir in rose water if using. Transfer to a jar and allow to cool. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer.
Hibiscus Mocktail
- Into a cocktail shaker, add orange juice, lemon juice, hibiscus syrup, and hibiscus bitters if using.
- Fill a short glass with ice and set aside. Add a handful of ice to your cocktail shaker.
- Shake the mocktail vigorously for a few seconds until very cool to the touch.
- Strain the drink into your prepared glass over ice and top up with sparkling water.
- Garnish with a lemon and an orange slice. Enjoy!
Notes
The syrup recipe makes 1 ⅓ cup of syrup
Pitcher for 6: 12 oz fresh orange juice, 3 oz lemon juice, 6 oz hibiscus syrup, 6 dashes hibiscus bitters, and 24 oz sparkling water. Mix the orange juice, lemon juice, hibiscus syrup, and hibiscus bitters in a pitcher and stir well. Add ice to cool it down or store it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Serve over ice, divided into 6 glasses, and top up with sparkling water.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Veronika Sykorova says
This will be my go-to refreshing drink all summer long! I'd love to hear how you liked it if you try it here in the comments! :)