The Best Juice For Mimosas – How To Make A Mimosa Bar

Mimosa is the ultimate summer cocktail. It’s refreshing, fizzy, fruity, and easy to make. While the traditional mimosa will never go out of fashion, it is always nice to experiment with new flavors. 

What is the best juice for mimosas? You can use all kinds of fruit juices to make mimosa but citrus juices are always the best option. Orange, grapefruit, and lemon juices are the best juices for making mimosas. They are the best at balancing out either the sweetness or the acidity of the wine. The key is using them in the right proportions. 

Read this article to learn why these juices are the best for mimosas and how you should use them. 

Mimosa Ingredients

Named after a flower, mimosa is an easy-to-make cocktail to cheer your guests up if you are having a fun gathering. 

Mimosa traditionally contains only 2 ingredients:

• Champagne, Prosecco, or Sparkling Wine
• Fresh (Citrus) Juice

Made with sparkling wine and fresh juice and served cold, this refreshing drink is especially enjoyable in the summer. 

Compared to many other fancy cocktails, making mimosa doesn’t require too many skills. 

Mix champagne, prosecco, or other sparkling wine of your choice with some fresh juice, and the fizzy drink is ready. 

Mimosa is served in tall champagne glasses. The glasses are often decorated with fruit slices. 

The Best Juice For Mimosas

While there are many juice options to choose from when you are making a mimosa, it is traditionally made with orange juice. 

However, aside from taking the classic route, you can make mimosa with other citrus juices. 

While you will come across numerous mimosa recipes using such juices as pomegranate or mango juice, there is something special about citrus mimosa. The refreshing quality of citrus juices paired with the coldness of the drink is unbeatable. 

Here are the top 3 juices you should try making mimosa with. 

	Type of Juice	Recommended Sweetener
1.	Orange juice	None, or a splash of honey simple syrup
2.	Grapefruit juice	Agave syrup or rosemary syrup
3.	Lemon or lime juice	Grenadine syrup or lavender syrup

Keep reading for more information about making the most of these juices!

1. Orange Juice 

Mimosa made with orange juice is the classic mimosa. It is a simple combination of sparkling wine and orange juice. 

You can put traditional mimosa together in two minutes and it will taste amazing. Orange juice is one of the juices that pairs exceptionally well with wine. 

Use your favorite sparkling wine and add a splash of liqueur to spice it up. You can use Cointreau or Grand Marnier in your blend. Pomegranate liqueur will also go well with orange juice. 

Orange juice is also great for making non-alcoholic mimosa. Mix some fresh juice with sparkling apple cider. This is a healthy alternative if you don’t want to indulge in alcoholic mimosa too often. 

Some people enjoy throwing fruit chunks into their mimosa glasses. Not only do fruits give additional notes of flavor to the drink but they also make the drink look amazing. 

You can add strawberries, blueberries, or pineapple chunks into your orange mimosa. 

You can also add fruit purees into your drink. Mango and strawberry purees pair well with orange juice. 

Best Orange Juice for Mimosa

The best orange juice for mimosa is the freshly squeezed one.

However, if you plan to squeeze orange juice yourself, make sure you do it in advance. You need to let it chill and even be borderline frozen before you make the fizzy cocktail. 

If you chose to use store-bought orange juice, don’t buy the ones with an excessive amount of sugar and don’t save money on the quality. 

It is recommended to use pulp-free orange juice as the pulp floats to the surface of the drink. Your cocktail won’t benefit from it. 

Use a fine-mesh strainer like this one to get rid of the pulp in orange juice. 

2. Grapefruit Juice 

Not everyone likes grapefruit juice as it is quite bitter. But grapefruit mimosa is something extraordinary and you should certainly give it a try if you are looking into unique variations of this classic drink. 

If you decide to use grapefruit juice to make a mimosa, keep in mind that it is extremely important what you pair it with. 

As the bitterness of grapefruit is rather pronounced, you need something sweet to offset it. Thus, the sparkling wine you choose should be on the sweeter side. 

Champagne is perfect for grapefruit mimosa. You can also use prosecco if you balance out its taste with additional ingredients. 

If wine is not enough, you can add triple sec liqueur, grapefruit vodka, or brandy in your summer cocktail.

As grapefruit juice can be quite bitter, it is not uncommon to see various syrups incorporated into grapefruit mimosa recipes. Grenadine, lavender simple syrup and agave syrup are some of the popular choices to pair with grapefruit juice. 

Rosemary syrup, as well as fresh rosemary sprigs, are another popular ingredient in grapefruit mimosas. 

To add fruit to your grapefruit mimosa, choose from strawberries, orange, lime, or kumquat slices. 

Best Grapefruit Juice for Mimosa

If you have time and lots of grapefruit at hand, you can use freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for mimosas.

However, surprisingly enough, many people prefer to use store-bought juice when it comes to grapefruit juice. The reason is that those are sweeter and don’t have the excessive tartness of fresh grapefruit. 

When choosing grapefruit juice for mimosas, make sure it is not too sweet. You can try out different brands to see which one has the right amount of sweetness and bitterness. 

If you decide to use freshly pressed grapefruit juice, you can add a tablespoon of sugar for every cup of grapefruit juice to make it slightly sweeter. For those who prefer natural sweeteners, honey will work. 

As in the case of orange juice, grapefruit juice with no pulp is preferred. 

3. Lemon or Lime Juice

Traditionally, mimosa is a citrus cocktail. And lemons are one of the first things that come to our mind when we think of anything citrus. 

A small amount of lemon or lime juice may be the last detail to bring your mimosa to the perfect balance of flavors. 

How to Use Lemon or Lime Juice to Make Mimosa

Of course, you can’t use lemon or lime juice to make mimosa the same way you do orange or grapefruit juice as the acidity of lemons and limes will overpower. 

Lemon and lime juice in mimosa is used in very small amounts alongside other juices or purees. 

When you are using non-citrus juices to make a mimosa, such as a cranberry juice, a teaspoon of lemon juice may be required to create the right balance between the flavors. 

A small amount of lemon or lime juice may also be used in grapefruit and orange mimosas for when more acidity is needed. 

The best time to use lemon and lime juice to make a mimosa is when you are working with syrups. These highly acidic citrus juices are powerful enough to counterbalance the sweetness of syrups. 

They can be used with a variety of syrups, from simple syrup to rhubarb syrup. You can even make a non-traditional mimosa with just 3 ingredients – sparkling wine, grenadine syrup, and lemon juice. 

How to Choose the Best Citrus Juice for Mimosa

You can’t just mix any citrus juice with any kind of sparkling wine to make a delicious mimosa. While it will technically be a mimosa, the key to getting this refreshing cocktail right is the balance. 

There should be a balance between sweetness or bitterness of the wine and the juice you are mixing it with. 

When making a mimosa, ‘build’ it around your favorite sparkling wine or citrus juice. Depending on what wine you choose, you might need to make a different choice for the juice.

And vice versa, if you are a fan of mimosa made with a specific juice, you will need to pair it with the right wine. 

How does this work? 

For example, orange juice is sweeter than other citrus juices. Thus, it will pair well with dry wines.

And when making mimosa with grapefruit juice, a sweeter sparkling wine needs to be used. 

If you are going to add other ingredients too, such as fruit purees or syrups, consider the qualities of these ingredients too. 

Proportions also matter. While you are recommended to mix equal amounts of wine and juice, you might need to alter this ratio to reach the ideal balance between bitterness and sweetness. 

In the end, everything comes down to your personal preferences and the taste qualities of the ingredients you are using. 

The Best Juice for A DIY Mimosa Bar

Mimosa bars are so fun to set up. You simply need a couple of fruit juices, a few bottles of sparkling wine, and perhaps some fruit chunks for those who like their cocktail with fruits. 

The number one juice you should have at your mimosa bar is the traditional orange juice.

However, there are many other juices you can offer to your guests. Experiment with your mimosa bar and set up all kinds of juices, from citrus juices to tropical fruit ones. 

Here are a few juice combinations to help you decide what juices you can put on the table. 

• Grapefruit juice + orange juice
• Orange juice + pineapple juice
• Grapefruit juice + cranberry juice
• Pineapple juice + orange juice
• Pomegranate juice + orange juice 
• Watermelon juice + lime juice 
• Cranberry juice + lemon juice 
• Blood orange juice + lemon juice 

Up Next: Nectar vs Juice – What’s The Difference?