Non-alcoholic cocktails

Not everyone drinks. My eldest son, Ferdy, 20, for example, is resolutely teetotal and can’t understand what his mother, brother and I see in grape and grain. I can’t think where we went wrong.

Actually, Ferdy is annoyingly au courant: many of his peers feel likewise, with one in three people under 20 having reduced their consumption and one in four choosing not to drink at all these days.

These enlightened folk and drivers, too, need to be looked after at Christmas. Fortunately, there are many non-alcoholic drinks for them to try, from wine and beer to de-alcoholised spirits or premixed ‘mocktails’. These are my two favourite non-alcoholic cocktails.

The Pussyfoot

When I was at university, I was struck down by a particularly savage bout of glandular fever and was forbidden alcohol for a year. This was the drink I clung to – refreshing, nourishing and tasty.

75ml fresh orange juice

25ml fresh lemon juice

20ml fresh lime juice

15ml fresh grapefruit juice

15ml pineapple juice (from a carton will do)

15ml grenadine

1 egg yolk

Shake all the ingredients over ice and serve in a tall, ice-filled glass adding a straw.

The Bloody Shame

This is simply a Bloody Mary without the alcohol. The quality of the tomato juice is crucial and I favour that from thetomatostall.co.uk.

80ml tomato juice

15ml fresh lemon juice

10ml fresh orange juice Worcester sauce to taste Tabasco sauce to taste

Celery salt

Celery stick

Shake all the ingredients together over ice and strain into a tall glass; decorate with a stick of celery.