Make mine a mocktail!

With temperatures beginning to soar, it’s not surprising that soft drinks are the new vodka this summer. But why opt for simple, mundane thirst-quenching beverages over ice when you can create a whole range of creative, interesting soft drink-based mocktails using fresh, flavourful and seasonal ingredients?
Jesdakorn Taratip, marketing director of Pepsi-Cola (Thai), who has come up with a fantastic array of mocktails, talks about the team’s inspiration.
“We have introduced drinks under the theme, ‘The Art of Mixology’, which combines soft drinks and mixology talent. Using beverages under PepsiCo Inc, namely Pepsi, Mirinda, 7Up and Lipton, the mocktails are created with the use of familiar local ingredients such as lime leaves, basil leaves and many others, to provide an authentic and special summer flair. Not only that, we also came up with recipes for Halloween and Christmas, which can be enjoyed later on in the year.
“And we invited Ben Ng, a creative mixologist who has been involved in many of PepsiCo’s projects in other countries, to join the bar. His creations will be available at Major Cineplex throughout the year.”
For a totally refreshing recipe, go for Asian Blossom, which is created with a variety of Thai herbs. Fizzy and herbal sweet 7Up is mixed together with mandarin syrup, poured over stack of ice cubes and garnished with a lime leaf. If you’d like something a bit more mysterious, Halloween Jack is probably the drink for you. Using Pepsi Cola and Miranda Orange, the drink also has fruity tropical syrup and passion fruit candy for a subtle vanilla aftertaste. Cola and orange-flavoured soda may seem like an odd pairing but the two go surprisingly well together. And it’s has the Halloween look too, with black and orange layers in a tall glass.
If cola is your favourite soft drink, Dark Cloud is definitely your choice of mocktail. This dark brown and slightly sweet and sour mocktail is a mixture of cola, cherry syrup, kalamansi lime and lots of ice. You’ll enjoy the rich, deep flavour of the cola as well as the savoury lime, along with a sweet berry aftertaste to round out the flavours.
Tea in a mocktail? Well, why not? There’s little more refreshing for a mid-afternoon break than Spiked Berry Tea mocktail made with Lipton Ice Lemon Tea, strawberry syrup and basil leaves.
The floral fragrance of the strawberry really helps enhance the lime tang in the tea. Sweet and a little bit sour, the herbal note from basil leaves makes it a more mature, serious drink with a touch of fun.
All 16 thirst-quenching cocktails and mocktails will be available at every branch of Major Cineplex and Major Bowl Hit from April onwards.