5 Better-For-You Mixers That Taste As Good As The Ones Loaded With Sugar

With Summer comes rooftop events, picnics, and sweetly refreshing drinks to enjoy in the warmth of the sun. That said, take a look at these great cocktail mixers (or stand alone beverages if you choose) that won't put you in a sugar coma for the rest of the day!

Crafted Cocktails Shrubs
You might not know about shrubs, but trust me, these vinegar-based flavor-enhancers have been around for centuries and it's probably because they are surprisingly good! Though being vinegar-based may sound intimidating, shrubs are made from fermented fruit, and were previously used as a method for preserving fruit before refrigerators were a thing.

Crafted Cocktails has recently launched a line of cocktail-enhancing shrubs with flavors that include blackberry, ginger, pineapple, and my personal favorite, Asian pear. These liquids are complex in flavor, sweet, yet sour, and basically make cocktails taste like the beverage equivalent of Starburst candy. They are low in calories, all-natural, gluten-free, and sweetened with only agave. After trying each flavor at Crafted Cocktails' launch party, I can confidently say it makes any cocktail taste far better. Plus, the shrubs go well with all spirits: vodka, rum, tequila, gin, and even whiskey.

Check out these sizzling cocktails

Crafted Cocktails Mixers
Crafted Cocktails also has a line of mixers that only need the addition of liquor to start the party in your cup. Flavors such as jalapeño pineapple, spicy watermelon, and gimlet make it effortless to create impressive, seemingly hard-to-make cocktails. You simply add liquor. Become the mixologist you always wanted to be!

Bare Organic Mixers
As the name suggests, these mixers are organic, gluten-free, naturally low-calorie, light, and refreshing. Only sweetened with agave, these mixers don't use any chemical substitutes for flavor. These drinks can also be consumed on their own.

RIPE Bar Juice
This mixer concept is unique in that it's 100 percent natural, cold-pressed, never frozen, and preservative-free. These "bar juices" are made completely of fresh fruit and vegetables. With juices that include classic cocktail flavors like Bloody Mary, lemon sour, mojito, cosmopolitan, tiki sour punch, and margarita, these beverages make any cocktail healthier (just don't forget to add liquor)! For example, the RIPE Agave Punch is a non-alcoholic version of a classic Caribbean-style rum punch using fresh-squeezed Valencia and Hamlin orange juice and Costa Rican pineapple juice, add rum and you're ready to go.

Cascade Ice
Not into caffeine and sugar highs? Then this line of caffeine and sugar free sparkling beverages is for you. This zero-calorie flavored drink has 22 flavors to choose from and are tasty on their own. From blueberry-watermelon to strawberry-guava, Cascade Ice is the no-carb drink that pairs well with rum or vodka, and most flavored liquors.

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