This Sumo Citrus Orange Grapefruit Mocktail with thyme and lemon is a refreshingly delicious mocktail that will have you coming back for more! The inspiration for this mocktail comes from those perfectly balanced sweet-tart drinks that have a touch of something extra. The beautifully sweet Sumo Citrus Mandarins are the star of the show in this mocktail, with the fresh grapefruit juice bringing a wonderful, tart depth of flavor. With all the yumminess going on in this mocktail, no one will be missing the alcohol!
Fresh thyme may not be the first ingredient that comes to mind for a mocktail, but it’s certainly a great addition in here. We love adding fresh herbs to mocktails for a fun twist that’s unexpected and absolutely delicious.
To use the thyme in this recipe, we steep it in some water and agave nectar, to infuse the liquid. This gets added to the orange, grapefruit, and lemon juices, along with sparkling water to top things off. The sugar rim for the glasses is an optional but tasty step, for a touch of extra sweetness with each sip. Then more fresh thyme sprigs finish off these mocktails, as a fun garnish for serving!
Ingredients
½ cup filtered water
¼ cup agave nectar
4 fresh thyme sprigs
3 Sumo Citrus Mandarins
2/3 cup fresh grapefruit juice (1 to 2 grapefruits)
1 lemon
2 to 3 tbsp pure organic cane sugar
2 cups sparkling water
Instructions
In a small saucepan, add filtered water. Bring to boil, then turn off heat. Stir in agave nectar until combined. Add 1 full sprig of thyme, including all the secondary smaller branches and stem. Stir and let cool completely.
Cut Sumo Citrus Mandarins across the middle and squeeze all juice out of 2 of them into a measuring jug with a spout, or cocktail shaker, for easy serving. Peel remaining Sumo Citrus mandarin and cut into chunks for garnish. Add fresh grapefruit juice to jug. Add juice of ½ the lemon into jug and stir. To rim glasses with sugar, cut remaining lemon in half and squeeze juice onto a small plate. On a second small
plate, spread out the sugar. Dip rim of glasses into lemon juice, then into sugar. Cut remaining quarter of lemon into chunks for garnish.
Fill glasses ¾ full with ice cubes. Divide juice mixture equally between glasses. Add 1 to 3 tbsp agave mixture, to taste, into each glass. Top with up to 2 cups total sparkling water, dividing the sparkling water equally among glasses. Garnish with orange and lemon, and any remaining grapefruit can be sliced to garnish also. Add a sprig of thyme into each glass for garnish.
