Kanna and Kava Mocktails: 5 Easy Recipes That Start With One Can


Pink Blood Orange Sunset mocktail in a cut-glass coupe with a blood orange wedge, beside a hand holding a can of Upstate Elevator Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz on a sunny kitchen counter

Table of Contents

Every mocktail on this list starts with a single can of Uplift Spritz or Unwind Soda, adds a few things from the fridge, and ends up in a glass you'd be happy to be seen holding.

None of them needs a shaker or a trip to a specialty store, and most take a few minutes once any syrup or base is made. And because the can is doing the heavy lifting on flavor, you're not stuck drinking juice with ice in it and calling it a mocktail.

How These Mocktails Work

Each recipe starts with one can as the base, and everything else is seasoning.

Our kanna and kava drinks are alcohol-free and THC-free. The two Uplift Spritzes lead with kanna, a South African succulent. Unwind Soda leads with kava, a root from the South Pacific. If you want the backstory on both plants, our kanna and kava explainer covers it.

1. Blood Orange Sunset

Made with Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz

The easiest drink here. Two ingredients, and it looks like you tried much harder than you did.

Pink Blood Orange Sunset mocktail in a cut-glass coupe with a blood orange wedge, beside a hand holding a can of Upstate Elevator Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz on a sunny kitchen counter

Ingredients

  • Ice
  • 2 oz fresh orange juice (blood orange if your store has it)
  • 1 can Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz (50mg Zembrin® kanna, 20mg kavalactones, 90mg L-theanine)
  • Garnish: a blood orange wedge

Instructions

  1. Fill the glass. A coupe or a rocks glass, filled with ice.
  2. Add the juice. Pour in the orange juice.
  3. Top with the spritz. Pour it in slowly and stir once.
  4. Garnish. Hook the wedge on the rim.

The juice sinks and the spritz sits on top, so the sunset happens on its own. Make it on a Friday when you're skipping the booze.

2. Grapefruit Rosemary Fizz

Made with Pink Grapefruit Uplift Spritz

Grapefruit and rosemary are an old pairing, and a pinch of salt makes the grapefruit taste more like itself.

Woman in a cream shirt holding a can of Upstate Elevator Pink Grapefruit Uplift Spritz between her hands

Ingredients

  • Ice
  • 1 oz fresh pink grapefruit juice
  • 1/2 oz rosemary simple syrup (below)
  • A small pinch of flaky salt
  • 1 can Pink Grapefruit Uplift Spritz (50mg Zembrin® kanna, 20mg kavalactones, 90mg L-theanine)
  • Garnish: a rosemary sprig and a thin grapefruit slice

Rosemary simple syrup: Warm 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and two rosemary sprigs in a small pot until the sugar dissolves. Let it steep for 20 minutes, then strain. It keeps in the fridge for about a week.

Instructions

  1. Build the base. Add the grapefruit juice, rosemary syrup and salt to a tall glass and stir.
  2. Add ice. Fill the glass.
  3. Top with the spritz. Pour, then stir gently from the bottom.
  4. Garnish. Rosemary sprig and grapefruit slice.

Good for: brunch and backyard afternoons. It looks as good in the glass as anything else on the table.

3. Blackberry Ginger Smash

Made with Blackberry Zinger Unwind Soda

Make this one when you want something that looks like a real cocktail. It's muddled blackberries and fresh ginger under a kava-forward soda.

Hand lifting a can of Upstate Elevator Blackberry Zinger Unwind Soda from a tray with a glass of ice, blackberries and an orange slice

Ingredients

  • 5 or 6 fresh blackberries
  • 3 thin slices of fresh ginger (or 1/2 oz ginger syrup)
  • 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
  • Ice
  • 1 can Blackberry Zinger Unwind Soda (100mg kavalactones, 15mg Zembrin® kanna, 90mg L-theanine)
  • Garnish: a mint sprig and a blackberry

Instructions

  1. Muddle. In a sturdy rocks glass, press the blackberries, ginger and lime juice until the berries break down.
  2. Add ice. Fill the glass to the top.
  3. Top with the soda. Pour and stir from the bottom to pull the berries up.
  4. Garnish. Clap the mint between your hands once to wake it up, then tuck it in with the berry.

The muddled fruit gives it enough texture to sip slowly. Make it while you start dinner.

4. Lychee Lime Cooler

Made with Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz

Canned lychees are the secret here, and most grocery stores keep them in the Asian foods aisle.

Hand holding up a can of Upstate Elevator Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz against red and orange autumn leaves

Ingredients

  • 3 canned lychees, plus 1 tablespoon of their syrup
  • 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
  • 4 or 5 mint leaves
  • Crushed ice
  • 1 can Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz (50mg Zembrin® kanna, 20mg kavalactones, 90mg L-theanine)
  • Garnish: a lychee and a lime wheel on a pick

Instructions

  1. Press the lychees, syrup, lime and mint gently in the bottom of a tall glass. Bruise the mint; don't shred it.
  2. Pack the glass with crushed ice.
  3. Top with the spritz, give it a quick stir, and add the lychee and lime wheel on a pick.

The lime keeps the lychee from going too sweet, and the crushed ice keeps it very cold. Hand it to someone the minute they walk in.

5. Cranberry Orchard Punch (For a Crowd)

Made with Blackberry Zinger Unwind Soda

A batch drink for Friendsgiving, a holiday party, or any night when you'd rather host than bartend. You make the base ahead, and every guest tops their own glass with a can.

Ingredients (base for about 12 glasses)

  • 2 cups cranberry juice
  • 1 cup apple cider (non-alcoholic)
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • Ice
  • 1 can Blackberry Zinger Unwind Soda per glass (100mg kavalactones, 15mg Zembrin® kanna, 90mg L-theanine per can)
  • Garnish: orange slices and a few fresh cranberries

Make the base at least an hour ahead: stir the cranberry juice, cider and orange juice together in a pitcher, drop in the cinnamon sticks, and chill.

To serve

  1. Set out the pitcher, a bucket of ice, cold cans and glasses in one spot.
  2. Each glass gets ice, 2 oz of the base, and one can on top.
  3. Finish with an orange slice and a couple of cranberries.

Cranberry and cinnamon taste like the season, and the blackberry in the soda keeps it from tasting like plain juice. With the cans out on the table, guests top their own glasses and every drink stays fizzy.

Make Your Own Kanna or Kava Mocktail

All five recipes use the same ratio, so once you've made a couple, you won't need a recipe: 1 can, 1 to 2 oz of juice, something fresh, and a garnish.

Pink Grapefruit Uplift Spritz, Blackberry Zinger Unwind Soda and Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz cans on a pink backdrop with grapefruit, blackberries, lemon peel, lychee and blood orange

Can Juices that work Fresh add-ins Garnish
Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz Orange, blood orange, pineapple Mint, lime, cucumber Orange wedge, lime wheel
Pink Grapefruit Uplift Spritz Grapefruit, lemon, watermelon Rosemary, basil, a pinch of salt Grapefruit slice, herb sprig
Blackberry Zinger Unwind Soda Cranberry, apple cider, lime Ginger, blackberries, cinnamon Mint, fresh berries

Keep the juice to two ounces or less. More than that and you lose the can's flavor, which is the whole point.

More Ways to Drink Them

Our kanna and kava guide to the whole day has more serving ideas for each can and gummy. Made one of these? Show us on Instagram @upstate_elevator.

Shop the kanna and kava collection.

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For adults 18 and over.

FAQs

What's the easiest mocktail to make at home?
The Blood Orange Sunset. Pour two ounces of orange juice over ice, top with a can of Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz, and stir once. It takes about 30 seconds and looks like a lot more work than it is.
What do kanna and kava mocktails taste like?
Like the can you start with. Lychee Blood Orange is juicy and floral, Pink Grapefruit is bright and tart, and Blackberry Zinger is bold blackberry with citrus. The juice and garnish just push each one a little further in its own direction.
Are these mocktails low in calories?
The cans are a light start: Lychee Blood Orange Uplift Spritz has 20 calories and Pink Grapefruit has 40. Juice and syrup add a bit more, so the two-ingredient Blood Orange Sunset is the lightest drink on the list.
Do these mocktails have any alcohol or THC?
No. Uplift Spritz and Unwind Soda are 0% ABV and THC-free, so every drink here works for Sober October, Dry January, or any night you'd rather skip the booze.
Can I make kanna and kava mocktails for a party?
Yes. The Cranberry Orchard Punch is built for it: make the base ahead, set out ice and cold cans, and let guests top their own glasses so every drink stays fizzy.
Where can I buy Uplift Spritz and Unwind Soda?
Online in our kanna and kava collection, in 8-packs and 24-packs. Not sure which flavor to start with? The Kanna and Kava Sample Pack comes with a Pink Grapefruit and a Blackberry Zinger.

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