Day Drinking

By Kat Odell

When the occasion calls for a drink, but not for getting drunk, mix up a batch of day drinks—low-alcohol cocktails that are festive, mouthwateringly delicious, and light on the booze.

From brunch with friends to bridal showers and barbecues, from tailgates to snow days to afternoons hanging out on the beach, just about any daytime social occasion is greatly improved by a drink. And these 50 creative cocktails are just the thing.

Using beer, wine, sake, sherry, and vermouth, plus a variety of amari and other flavorful liqueurs like St-Germain, Campari, and Aperol, the cocktails (and mocktails!) of Day Drinking are easy to make and easy on the alcohol content. Here are light drinks for hot days, warm drinks for cool days, and an abundance of classic—and reimagined—low-proof spritzers, sangrias, micheladas, and so much more.