Cannabis Mocktail Recipes with NY-Licensed Drops

Cannabis mocktails are the entertaining format we've been waiting for. A THC beverage enhancer — Ayrloom drops or similar, gives you a pre-measured dose in a 1–2ml drop; you add it to anything, the flavor is neutral to faintly citrus, and the result is a proper cocktail without the alcohol. Your guests get to opt in. You get to host without making the cannabis the centerpiece.

Six recipes that work. Each assumes a starting dose of 2.5–5mg THC per drink (one to two drops depending on the drop brand's concentration, read the label). Scale as appropriate; taste before you serve.

1. The Spiced Old-Fashioned

A non-alcoholic take on the old-fashioned that reads as an adult drink without trying too hard.

• 4 oz ginger beer (real, dry — Fever-Tree or similar)
• ½ oz demerara or brown sugar syrup
• 3 dashes aromatic bitters (alcohol-free Seedlip or equivalent)
• 1 drop Ayrloom THC enhancer (or to preferred dose)
• Orange peel, expressed over the glass

Stir over a large cube in a rocks glass. The bitters and the demerara do the heavy lifting; the drop disappears into the flavor. Served with a single cube, this is the most convincingly adult cannabis mocktail we've built.

2. The Summer Paloma

A party-ready grapefruit drink for a hot afternoon.

• 4 oz fresh grapefruit juice (pink grapefruit for color, white for a drier profile)
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz simple syrup
• Pinch of flaky salt
• Top with club soda
• 1 drop Ayrloom THC enhancer

Shake the juices, salt, and syrup with ice; strain over fresh ice in a highball. Top with soda, add the drop last, stir gently. The grapefruit masks any faint herbal note from the drop.

3. The Cucumber-Basil Spritz

A summer patio drink with the green freshness of a garden.

• 3 thin cucumber slices
• 3 basil leaves (slightly torn)
• ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz honey syrup (1:1 honey and warm water)
• Top with dry non-alcoholic sparkling wine (Gruvi, Giesen, etc.)
• 1 drop Ayrloom THC enhancer

Muddle cucumber and basil lightly in a wine glass; add lemon and honey; top with sparkling NA wine and add the drop. Stir once. Garnish with an additional cucumber slice.

4. The Hibiscus Cooler

Pairs especially well with a Hudson Valley farm dinner or any meal heavy on spice.

• 4 oz brewed hibiscus tea, chilled
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz agave syrup
• Pinch of cayenne (optional)
• Top with club soda
• 1 drop Ayrloom THC enhancer

Shake the tea, lime, agave, and cayenne with ice. Strain over fresh ice; top with soda; add the drop. If you use Harney's hibiscus cannabis seltzer in place of the plain tea + soda + drop combination, you skip the need for the enhancer, one product, less math. See our Harney profile for details on their hibiscus line.

5. The Espresso Slow-Down

A post-dinner drink that replaces the espresso martini in the category of "thing to have at 10 PM that isn't quite coffee and isn't quite dessert."

• 1½ oz cold brew concentrate
• ¾ oz sweetened condensed milk (or oat milk + ¼ oz maple syrup)
• Splash of vanilla extract
• 1 drop Ayrloom THC enhancer

Shake everything with ice, hard, for a proper foam. Strain into a coupe. The coffee flavor masks any other note from the drop; the richness makes this feel like dessert.

6. The Quiet Bourbon

A single-drink cocktail for the end of a long evening, using a non-alcoholic whiskey alternative. This is the one for bourbon drinkers who are taking the night off.

• 2 oz Spiritless Kentucky 74 (or any NA bourbon)
• ½ oz maple syrup
• 2 dashes aromatic bitters
• Orange peel
• 1 drop Ayrloom THC enhancer

Stir over ice; strain over a single large cube; express the orange peel over the glass. This drinks like a bourbon old-fashioned if you don't think too hard. Most guests won't notice the cannabis; those who do will appreciate the dose landing after the first few sips.

Hosting notes

A few practical rules for serving cannabis mocktails:

Label everything. If guests can't tell which drink has THC and which doesn't, someone will accidentally drink one they didn't mean to. A small paper tag on the glass is all it takes.

Offer both versions. Make the mocktails with and without the drops, side by side. Let guests opt in. Forcing cannabis on a guest who didn't order it is the fastest way to ruin the evening.

Don't stack drinks. Two cannabis mocktails in an evening is plenty for most guests. If someone's on their third, offer them the non-cannabis version for the last round.

Eat. These are social drinks, not pre-dinner-on-an-empty-stomach drinks. Serve with food.

Where to buy drops

Ayrloom drops are the most widely distributed in New York and the default for these recipes. Most Hudson Valley dispensaries carry them, see our dispensary guide. A few other brands make similar enhancers; the recipes work with any properly-dosed drop product.

Related: The Hudson Valley THC Drink Guide · California Sober in the Hudson Valley · Cannabis Weddings