Botanical

The default answer behind most bars' mocktail menus — better used to slow down a low-ABV cocktail than as a true zero-alcohol substitute.

Sweet and muddled, with nothing to anchor it.

A little witchy to drink alone; might work as a mocktail ingredient, but the ideal recipe hasn't turned up yet, and it spoils fast.

A bit much to drink solo, but a genuinely good building block for mocktails.

Green tea, verjus, and botanicals — a nice sparkling white-wine replacement that isn't trying to taste like wine.

A really nice lower-sugar strawberry botanical soda.

Hard going on its own, and a genuinely hard pair even for mocktails — eventually gave up on it.

An overwhelming, unfocused flavor profile — expensive, too, despite the pretty bottle.