Mocktails

Drug Info's collection of literary mocktails provide a fun alternative to alcohol with book-themed recipes to suit all tastes and seasons.

Literary mocktails are an opportunity to promote healthy drinking in the community. Public libraries are encouraged to use these resources to run alcohol awareness education activities - either as a standalone event or as an additional activity for other library events.

About mocktails

Literary mocktails are book-themed, alcohol-free drinks, inspired by well-known literary works. The names were suggested and voted upon by library fans:

• Bah humbug
• Blue grit
• Fraise in the sun
• Grape expectations
• Sidecar named desire
• Tequila mockingbird
• The toddy in the library
• Turn of the screwdriver

The recipes feature a range of different flavours to suit a wide audience. 

This page provides information and resources to help you run mocktail events in your library.

Ideas for activities

Mocktail tastings

Mocktail tastings can be included as part of Drug Info's Know Your Standards program, as well as making a perfect accompaniment to author talks and other general library programming.

Summer mocktail promotion

Summer is a time for enjoying the sunshine and spending time with family and friends. It doesn’t have to involve overindulging in alcohol however. The summer mocktail campaign promotes fun and refreshing alternatives to alcohol, in addition to serving as a reminder to take care of yourself during the festive season. We have created two mocktails for the summer mocktail campaign:

• Fraise in the Sun: This mocktail's title is inspired by Neville Cardus’ cricketing classic Days in the Sun, and with a refreshing mix of strawberry, apple and ginger, Fraise in the Sun will be enjoyed by cricket lovers and non-lovers alike. 
• Bah Humbug: The Bah Humbug is our lime and pomegranate homage to Dickens. Festive revellers can get into the spirit sans spirits with this delicious, zesty summer blend.

Suggested activities and displays

• Mocktail tasting - Host a mocktail making event, or serve our summer mocktails at other library events. Summer mocktails make a great addition to any library programming. 
• Christmas display - Distribute Bah Humbug and Fraise in the Sun mocktail cards with your Christmas displays. Include our colourful summer mocktail posters to make your display stand out.
• National Backyard Cricket Day - National Backyard Cricket Day is a campaign to fund educational initiatives in Australia and in cricketing nations worldwide. With its cricketing theme, Fraise in the Sun is the perfect drink to serve at your library’s National Backyard Cricket Day event. 

Social media

Promote summer mocktails through your library's social media channels. Use the suggested text below and download a selection of images to use here.

suggested social media posts

• Enjoying the summer of cricket? Drug Info’s new cricket-themed mocktail is a delicious, refreshing accompaniment. Find the recipe here: druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/fraise-sun   #LiteraryMocktails #KnowYourStandards 
• Trying to reduce your alcohol intake over the festive season? Enjoy some guilt-free fun with a Bah Humbug, Drug Info’s Dickens-inspired mocktail druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/bah-humbug  #LiteraryMocktails #KnowYourStandards 
• Did you know the Australian alcohol guidelines recommend no more than two standard drinks per day for women and men? Reduce your alcohol intake this festive season with Drug Info’s summer mocktails druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/fraise-sun #LiteraryMocktails #KnowYourStandards 

Winter mocktail promotion

Drawing inspiration from Agatha Christie's 1942 mystery The Body in the Library, The Toddy in the Library is a delicious tea-based drink served hot or warm. The theme of this promotional campaign is winter, and the mocktail can be promoted to your library users as the perfect accompaniment to a night in with a great book or served at library events and activities.

Suggested activities and displays

Public libraries can support the winter mocktail campaign through online promotion and in-library activities and displays.

• Create a library book display themed on winter or crime/mystery fiction. Liven up your display with a Toddy in the Library poster and include promotional postcards for your library users to take.
• Include postcards in your library book kits and make them available to any book clubs and other groups that meet in your library.
• Serve The Toddy in the Library to attendees at in-library author talks and other events. Brew tea in a large urn, add cinnamon sticks and lemon wedge garnish to cups and invite attendees to add honey and lemon juice.
• Host a mocktail making event and invite attendees to make their own Toddy in the Library.

Social media

Promote The Toddy in the Library through your library's social media channels. Use the suggested text below and download a selection of images to use here.

suggested social media posts

Winter is here! Enjoy a delicious warm alternative to alcohol with Drug Info's The Toddy in the Library, the latest addition to our collection of #LiteraryMocktails druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/toddy-library  #NSWPublicLibraries #MakeitaMocktail

Winter nights are the perfect time for cosy nights in with a great read, and Drug Info has the perfect accompaniment. The Toddy in the Library is a tea-based mocktail adding flavours of honey, lemon and cinnamon for a delicious alcohol-free winter treat. Learn more at druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/toddy-library  #DrugInfo #NSWPublicLibraries #MakeitaMocktail

Looking for an alternative to alcohol this winter? See Drug Info's literary mocktails page for some great book-themed recipes, including The Toddy in the Library, a delicious tea-based winter warmer druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails  #DrugInfo #NSWPublicLibraries #MakeitaMocktail

Mocktails for the NSW Seniors Festival

Australians over 70 are the age group most likely to drink alcohol on a daily basis (National Drug Strategy Household Survey, AIHW 2019). It is important that older Australians are aware of the risks associated with long-term, frequent use of alcohol, and the alcohol guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council. The annual NSW Seniors Festival is a great opportunity to promote this message and start a conversation about healthier attitudes to alcohol.

To celebrate the NSW Seniors Festival the Drug Info team has created a western-themed recipe which pays homage to the 1968 Charles Portis novel True Grit. 'Blue Grit' combines the classic flavour combination of blueberry and lemon with soda water for fizz, a dash of hot sauce for that western spice and a sprig of rosemary to add the grit to a unique and delicious alternative to alcohol.

Suggested activities and display

Public libraries can support this mocktail campaign through online promotion and in-library activities and displays.

• Create a western-themed book display, or add Blue Grit posters and recipe cards to your existing Seniors Festival display. 
• Include postcards in your home library service deliveries, and add to library book club kits.
• Serve Blue Grit to attendees at NSW Seniors Festival events and other activities in the library. 
• Host a mocktail making event and invite attendees to make their own Blue Grit.
• Play a round of Drug Fact Bingo and distribute Blue Grit recipe cards.

Social Media

Share the recipe via social media and feature the mocktail in your library's eNewsletter.

Promote Blue Grit through your library's social media channels. Use the suggested text below and download a selection of images to use Package icon here.

Suggested social media posts

• Spice up your afternoon with a Blue Grit, the latest addition to our collection of #LiteraryMocktails. A delicious and healthy alternative to alcohol with a western flavour druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/blue-grit #NSWPublicLibraries #MakeitaMocktail
• Escape to the old west with Drug Info's latest mocktail recipe. Blue Grit honours Charles Portis' 1968 classic and combines flavours of blueberry, lemon and chilli for a delicious alcohol-free western-themed treat. Learn more at druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/blue-grit #NSWPublicLibraries #MakeitaMocktail
• Looking for an alternative to alcohol? See Drug Info's literary mocktails page for some great book-themed recipes, including Blue Grit, a spicy western delight druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails #DrugInfo #NSWPublicLibraries #MakeitaMocktail

 

Make it a mocktail campaign

The Make it a Mocktail campaign was created as a response to COVID-19. Even with the end of COVID-19 restrictions however, the Make it a Mocktail campaign resources are a colourful reminder about healthy living through reduced alcohol consumption which can be shared on social media.

Promote Make it a Mocktail through your library's social media channels. Use the suggested text below and download a selection of images to use Package icon here.

suggested social media posts

• Stuck in endless online meetings? Time to #MakeItAMocktail druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/alcohol/literary-mocktails
• Finding out there’s such as thing as ‘too much family time’? Time to #MakeItAMocktail druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/alcohol/literary-mocktails

• Mocktail Moment [mok-teyl moh-muhnt]

  (noun)

  A situation that causes stress and makes one think ‘I need a drink’.

  Feeling like life right now has got you drinking more than usual? Why not make it a mocktail! druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/alcohol/literary-mocktails

Examples of library activities

• Wollondilly Shire Libraries hosted 'Mocktails and Monet', a paint-and-sip activity in which participants could develop their artistic skills while sampling mocktails from Drug Info's collection. Some brave participants even tried painting while wearing beer goggles!
• Sutherland Shire Libraries presented 'Shaken, stirred, mixed and drunk', a talk on alcohol and literature accompanied by literary mocktail recipes. Participants enjoyed a choice of three literary mocktails as they listened to speaker David Lewis, who gave a history of some famous writers with a liking for hard liquor. Sutherland's Facebook page featured a 20-second film clip to highlight one of the mocktails they would be creating at the event, and one of their talented staff created literary mocktail-themed 3D-printed swizzle sticks to give away in a goodie bag.
• Katoomba Library celebrated their fifth birthday with literary mocktails. Inspired by the State Library’s recipes and coupled with the colourful postcards, the icy-cold, fruity concoctions such as ‘Grape Expectations’ and ‘Tequila Mockingbird’ intrigued and refreshed visitors of all ages as they enjoyed music, art and entertainment throughout the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre.
• Burwood Library hosted 'Burwood Bar and Beats', a Mocktail event at Burwood Park during Youth Week. The event featured a pop up library providing drug and alcohol info, a bar providing free mocktails, an activity using the beer goggles where youth had to navigate the cones and a Know Your Standards activity. Over six hundred mocktails were served and one hundred showbags of drug and alcohol info for youth distributed. 
• City of Canada Bay Libraries held a Drop-In style event for teens aged 12-18. The library borrowed a set of beer goggles from the State Library and made mocktails for attendees to taste-test. They also displayed YouTube videos shown on large screen with effects of alcohol and drugs and made take away goodie bags. The event was a wonderful chance for library staff to start a conversation with young people and parents. 

Looking for ideas?

Use the Drug Info activity booklet for inspiration. The activity booklet features a range of suggestions for incorporating Drug Info into your library programming.

Resources

The following resources can be used to support and deliver your library programs, events and promotional activities.

Video

Did you know the effects of alcohol can last longer than a hangover? 

This video, produced in partnership with the NSW Ministry of Health, shows some of the long-term effects of alcohol. You can link to the video from your social media channels or website or show on a digital screen.

 

Promotional material

The following items can be use to promote your library programs, events and promotional activities.

Recipe cards

 

Posters

Accordion content.

 

You can order mocktail recipe cards and other Drug Info promotional material via online form

Order form

Social media 

Public libraries can join in by sharing posts and tweets or posting about their own activities. You could use these channels to provide links to useful online resources in order to reinforce the messages and to promote the Literary Mocktails and other Know Your Standards material.

Use the following hashtags:

#literarymocktails

#knowyourstandards

#nswpubliclibraries

#druginfolibsnsw

suggested social media posts

There are a number of opportunities throughout the year to promote mocktails as an alternative to alcohol. Long weekends, holidays and celebrations, as well as campaigns such as Dry July are a few examples. 

• This Easter long weekend, stay safe and #MakeItAMocktail. Find more recipes here druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails  #LiteraryMocktails #KnowYourStandards 
• Every Friday in #DryJuly we're featuring a Drug Info mocktail. This weekend how about a Turn of the Screwdriver? Head to druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails/turn-screwdriver  for the recipe #LiteraryMocktails 
• Looking for an alternative to alcohol for your NYE? Why not try one of our Literary Mocktails? Find the recipes here: druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au/alcohol/literary-mocktails #LiteraryMocktails #KnowYourStandards 

Check our social media page for other campaign resources and suggested text for posting on your library’s social media channels. 

Feedback

If you run a mocktail event in your library, we'd love to hear about it. Let us know about your event via the form below.

Feedback form