Mocktails are both tasty and good for you, writes S.M. King.

Most good doctors, from time to time, will ask you about diet and exercise. Most good patients, from time to time, will tell the truth.

I’m not always a good and truthful patient in the face of such blatant interrogation.

When it comes to nutrition, I’m able to refrain from porkies. My diet is good. I avoid processed foods, eat the good kinds of fat and start my day with fruit. As long as there is a plant-matter rainbow on my plate, then I’m confident of nutritional balance.

My exercise regimen, however, consists of walking to and from the car. Occasionally, I swim. Usually when there is a hotel room with Frette linens and turndown service adjacent to the pool.

So I fib a bit. I know I should move more.

It’s when we move on to alcohol that I start telling whoppers. Why is it that doctors always pose the question “… and how many drinks would you have in a week?” like we all have a degree in advanced calculus?

So my nose grows a little longer. I know I should drink less.

I recently visited my doctor thanks to a bung hand. He recommended no computer use and a week in bed drinking little more than hot water.

What he said was: “No alcohol, no tea…just hot water”.

What I heard was: “One or two beers a day Thai style diluted with ice, and weak green tea.”

Moderating alcohol use can be a challenge for anyone. Drink-driving laws help, but taxis are just too plentiful. Cutting down at home is much easier than watching your friends merrily enjoy a glass or two of sublime 1996 Pol Roger while you dejectedly stab the lemon slice in your Diet Coke with a straw.

Some restaurants are only as good as their wine list, and some bars are worth repeat visits for the beers they have on tap, or the way a particular bartender jiggles about whilst making a cocktail. Or, indeed, mocktail.

Bars across town are offering mocktails tantalising enough to make your grog-addled drinking buddies reconsider their next order. Some places have dedicated mocktail lists, whilst others are happy to tweak a cocktail on the list by inventively replacing the alcohol content. At a really good cocktail bar, like The Supper Club and Polo Lounge, bartenders will consult with you when you order and create a drink based on your flavour preferences.

A Virgin Mary is a reliable choice at any bar; just ask for an extra dash of Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce. The cocktails at Slide, for example, are already bursting with spice and flavour, so much so that asking for them sans alcohol takes almost nothing away from their punch.

Whilst I have always regarded mocktails with a healthy dose of disdain and suspicion, it turns out that some of them are actually pretty good. And the bartender still needs to jiggle in that supple way to make one.