Elevate Your Snack Plate Meal With These Easy Mixed Drinks

Putting together a snack plate can be a lot of fun — you can use up specialty ingredients and get creative with delicious pairings. But you may end up putting so much focus into the snack plate that you forget about one key element of the experience: The fancy drink that you should enjoy with it. To find out everything we need to know about the best drinks to pair with snack plates, Daily Meal spoke to an expert: Jessie-Sierra Ross, a cooking and home entertaining author, TV food segment creator, and food and lifestyle blogger with the website, Straight to the Hips, Baby.

When it comes to whipping up a quick drink to enjoy, Jessie-Sierra is a big fan of a spritz. She says, "Spritzes are refreshing and really open up your tastebuds!" She names the Aperol Spritz as a go-to, pointing out that it doesn't even require a cocktail shaker. Jessie-Sierra continues, "You can kick it up a notch by adding a splash of fresh pink grapefruit juice for a lovely twist. "

Her next recommendation? The Hugo Spritz. This light and bubbly cocktail has a floral taste, consisting mostly of prosecco with a splash of elderflower liqueur and soda water. Jessie-Sierra says, "Gently bruise a few fresh mint leaves and stir into the cocktail with ice. The herbaceous mint and sweet elderflower liqueur create such a nice counterbalance to your snack plate ingredients." The spritz options are basically endless. After you've tried Jessie-Sierra's spritzes and want more ideas, you can try a zesty Limoncello Spritz.

If you don't drink alcohol — or you're hosting someone who sticks to non-alcoholic drinks — Jessie-Sierra Ross got you covered for that too. Her favorite alcohol-free choice to pair with a snack plate is fresh blueberry lemonade. She says, "The trick is in making a homemade blueberry syrup and adding to a pitcher of freshly squeezed lemon juice, water, and ice. Sweet and refreshing, this makes the perfect sipper for both children and adults alike!"

There are a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks to make, beyond the blueberry lemonade. For example, you can make the mocktail version of classic cocktails — there's the cos-mock, which is the virgin version of the cosmopolitan, or the fauxjito to replace the mojito.

There are also fun and refreshing options, such as the sparkling sangria mocktail, which has all of the delicious flavors that you love in a regular batch of sangria, minus the wine. Then, there's the watermelon basil kiss, which combines fresh watermelon with lime and lemon juice, sugar, and fresh basil. No matter what flavors are featured on your snack plate, there's a non-alcoholic option out there.