Flavours

Pickled Fruit Brine Drinks: 8 Easy Mocktails, Spritzers & Pickleback Shots

November 3, 2026 2 min readBy Atlanta Pickles Team

Jar of The Pickled Lemon by [PICKLES] with fresh lemons, dill and a spoonful of pickled lemon slices

If you have a jar of our Pickled Lemon or Grape Cocktail open, you are holding a drinks cabinet. The fruit gives its juice to the brine as it sits, so by the time you open the jar that brine is bright, sweet-tart and full of fruit flavour. (Wondering why the fruit sits lower in the jar? Here’s why that’s the point.)

Here are eight easy ways we drink it, most of them alcohol-free.

Jar of The Pickled Lemon by [PICKLES] with fresh lemons and lemon slices — The Pickled Lemon, 17 oz

The rule of thumb: start with about one part brine to four parts sparkling water, tea or lemonade, taste, then add more. The fruit goes on top as the garnish.

Alcohol-free

1. Pickled lemon spritzer

Fill a glass with ice, add a good splash of Pickled Lemon brine and top with sparkling water. Finish with a lemon slice from the jar. Tart, bright and very refreshing.

2. Grape fizz

The Grape Cocktail brine is sweet with a cherry-like note. Splash it over ice with sparkling water or ginger ale and drop in a few grapes from the jar.

3. Better iced tea

Stir a spoonful of either brine into unsweetened iced tea. Lemon gives you a sharp Arnold Palmer feel; grape gives you a sweet tea with a twist.

4. Mint and lemon cooler

Muddle a few mint leaves, add Pickled Lemon brine and ice, and top with sparkling water. Pretty enough for a brunch table.

5. Upgrade your lemonade

A splash of Pickled Lemon brine in store-bought lemonade adds depth and a grown-up tang. Kids’ lemonade stand, meet the parents’ version.

Jar of The Grape Cocktail by [PICKLES]: pickled grapes in a deep red brine — The Grape Cocktail, 17 oz

For the grown-ups

6. The fruity pickleback

Our fruit jars were first made with the pickleback crowd in mind. Pour a shot of whiskey and chase it with a shot of Grape Cocktail or Pickled Lemon brine.

7. Gin, vodka or tequila and soda

Add a splash of brine and a piece of fruit from the jar to a spirit and soda. It does the work of syrup and citrus in one pour.

For a crowd

8. Party punch

In a big pitcher, combine one part fruit brine, three parts sparkling water and one part lemonade or white grape juice. Add plenty of ice and float fruit from the jars on top. Add a bottle of prosecco if the party calls for it.

Save the fruit: once the brine is in your glass, the fruit is the garnish. Spear it on a pick, perch it on the rim or spoon it over ice cream or yogurt.