Thanksgiving Mocktails: 6 Non-Alcoholic Drinks, One Can Each

There’s an hour on Thanksgiving that nobody plans for. The doorbell has gone three times, the coats are on the bed, the turkey has 40 minutes left according to someone who hasn’t checked, and you’re standing in a kitchen holding a drink you don’t want. The wine is open. It’s 2:15 in the afternoon. The internal monologue starts up:

• “If I start on the wine now, I’m asleep by the pie.”
• “Is there anything in this house that isn’t juice for kids or alcohol for adults?”
• “Why does every Thanksgiving mocktail recipe start with a cup of simple syrup?”

So we fixed it. Six Thanksgiving mocktails, every one of them built on a single can of lemonade, every one of them zero alcohol and zero calories before the garnish. Five take under three minutes. One is warm. None of them need a syrup you’d have to boil first.

One thing to say up front, because it matters at a family table: a can of San Buzi has 10mg of hemp-derived THC in it. These are adult drinks, 21+, and they belong in a different pitcher from the one the designated driver and the cousins are pouring from. Every recipe below has a zero-THC swap, and the pitcher for everybody else is at the end.

What a Thanksgiving mocktail actually has to do

Three jobs. It has to look like somebody tried (a sprig of something, a slice of something). It can’t be sweet, because the next four hours are nothing but sweet. And it has to stand up next to food, which is why the base here is lemonade and not a punch: tart cuts through gravy, stuffing and the third helping of everything. A cold can of Strawberry Lemonade (the Social Lifesaver, bright and a little chaotic) or Blueberry Lemonade (the Couch Command, jammy and deeply unbothered) does job two and three on its own. The recipes handle job one.

1. Cranberry Rosemary Fizz

Serves 1 — one can. The one that photographs.

What you need
1 can San Buzi Strawberry Lemonade, cold
2 oz unsweetened cranberry juice (the tart kind, not the cocktail)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
A few fresh cranberries, if the store had them
Ice

What you do
1. Fill a tall glass with ice and pour the cranberry juice over it.
2. Top with the can. Pour slowly so it keeps its fizz.
3. Slap the rosemary sprig against your palm once (it wakes up the smell) and drop it in with the cranberries.

Strawberry and cranberry are cousins; the rosemary makes it smell like the house is supposed to smell. Zero-THC swap: any plain sparkling lemonade, same amounts.

2. Apple Cider Blueberry Sparkler

Serves 1 — one can. Tastes like the orchard you drove past.

What you need
1 can San Buzi Blueberry Lemonade, cold
2 oz apple cider, chilled (cider, not juice)
1 cinnamon stick
1 thin apple slice
Ice

What you do
1. Ice in the glass, cider over the ice.
2. Top with the can.
3. Cinnamon stick in as the stirrer, apple slice on the rim.

Blueberry and apple is a pie, basically. The cinnamon stick is there so people stir it absentmindedly during the long conversation about traffic. Zero-THC swap: plain sparkling lemonade.

3. Pomegranate Lime Sour

Serves 1 — one can. For the guest who says they don’t like sweet drinks.

What you need
1 can San Buzi Blueberry Lemonade, cold
1 oz pomegranate juice
A squeeze of fresh lime
A spoonful of pomegranate seeds
Ice

What you do
1. Squeeze the lime into the glass first, then ice, then the pomegranate juice.
2. Top with the can.
3. Drop the seeds in. They sink, then float, then sink again. It’s a whole show.

Pomegranate is the only Thanksgiving fruit with any edge to it, and the lime pushes it further. This is the driest drink on the list. Zero-THC swap: plain sparkling lemonade.

4. The Strawberry Hot Toddy

Serves 1 — one can. The warm one, for after the dishes.

What you need
1 can San Buzi Strawberry Lemonade
1 teaspoon honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemon slice
2 whole cloves (optional)

What you do
1. Can, cinnamon stick and cloves into a small saucepan.
2. Low heat until it steams. Keep it off a boil; the fizz leaves on its own.
3. Into a mug, stir in the honey, float the lemon slice.

This one gets its own post: the non-alcoholic hot toddy. Warming the can doesn’t change the dose; it’s still one can, still 10mg. Zero-THC swap: plain lemonade, warmed the same way. You lose nothing but the fizz, which was leaving anyway.

5. Ginger Lemon Spritz

Serves 1 — one can. The palate cleanser.

What you need
1 can San Buzi Strawberry Lemonade, cold
A splash of ginger beer (non-alcoholic; check the label, a few aren’t)
1 lemon wheel
Ice

What you do
1. Ice, then the splash of ginger beer. A splash means it covers the bottom of the glass, not a third of it.
2. Top with the can.
3. Lemon wheel on top.

Ginger does the thing ginger does between courses. This is the one to hand someone who just said “I’m so full” and then reached for a roll. Zero-THC swap: plain sparkling lemonade.

6. The Pitcher for Everybody Else

Serves 8. Zero THC, zero alcohol. The designated driver’s pitcher.

What you need
1 liter plain sparkling lemonade, cold
2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
1 cup apple cider
1 orange, sliced into wheels
2 sprigs rosemary
Ice, in the glasses, not the pitcher

What you do
1. Cranberry, cider, orange wheels and rosemary into the pitcher. This part can sit in the fridge all morning.
2. Add the sparkling lemonade right before people arrive, so it’s still fizzy at the table.
3. Pour over ice.

This is the one that solves the table. Everyone who isn’t partaking gets a real drink that looks like the others, and anyone who is partaking pours a San Buzi over ice and adds a splash of the pitcher to it. Same look, same garnish, one is 10mg and one is 0. Label the pitcher. Label the cans. Nobody’s aunt should find out by accident.

The dosing math for a long afternoon

Thanksgiving is a five-hour event, which is exactly the situation THC drinks are easy to misjudge in. Plain rules:

• Count cans, not glasses. One can is 10mg, however you dress it. Split a can across two glasses and each is 5mg.
• Give it the hour. A THC drink usually takes 10 to 60 minutes to kick in and lasts roughly one to three hours, and everybody’s different. The second one you pour because the first “isn’t doing anything” is the mistake. Our onset and dosing guide has the details.
• Pick a lane. A San Buzi or the wine, not both in the same hour. Mixing alcohol and THC makes the effects harder to predict, and this is not the day for a surprise.
• New to 10mg? Half a can is a fine first Thanksgiving. Here’s 5mg vs. 10mg, explained.
• Whoever’s driving home drinks from the pitcher. Don’t drive after a THC drink. Keep the cans away from kids and pets, and skip them if you’re pregnant or nursing. Any THC can show up on a drug test.

Thanksgiving mocktail questions

Are these Thanksgiving mocktails really non-alcoholic?

Yes. San Buzi is 0% alcohol and every mixer above is alcohol-free (double-check the ginger beer; a few brands make a boozy one). The San Buzi versions do contain 10mg of hemp-derived THC per can, so they’re for adults 21+. The pitcher in recipe 6 has neither.

Can I make them ahead?

Make the base ahead (juice, cider, fruit, herbs) and keep it cold. Add the can, or the sparkling lemonade, when you pour. Carbonation doesn’t survive a morning in a pitcher.

What do I serve people who can’t have THC?

The same drink with plain sparkling lemonade in place of the can. Every recipe here has that swap, and the pitcher in recipe 6 is built for it. Keep the two clearly separate and tell people which is which.

Where do I get the cans in time?

We ship to adults 21+ in these states. Orders placed by Monday, November 17 should arrive before Thanksgiving at standard delivery speeds (we pack the same or next business day, and transit typically takes 2 to 5 business days). In Georgia, order online and pick up free at ATLRx in Atlanta or Alpharetta, or get it the same day on DoorDash. The Mixed Case has both flavors, which covers every recipe on this page.

Go ahead. Put a sprig of rosemary in a glass and let someone think you planned this weeks ago. You’ve earned it.