Non-alcoholic cocktail or Mocktail?

Back in 1906, a "cocktail" was defined as comprising "stimulating liquour", while the Oxford English Dictionary defines a cocktail as "an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or spirits mixed with other ingredients". However, it's now generally accepted that a "cocktail" doesn't have to have alcohol.

Another consideration as to what constitutes a cocktail is that the drink should have three or more ingredients. Hence, the great British cup of tea is a cocktail due to its composition: water, tea, milk, and perhaps sugar.

Now we've established what a non-alcoholic cocktail is and what defines it, what should it be called? "Non-alcoholic cocktail" sits like a sentence rather than a name among the families of cocktail names, such as the likes of Martini, Sling or Daisy. Hence, booze-free cocktails have become known as "mocktails". One concise word that says what it is.

However, while consumers understand and have embraced the word "mocktail", many among the bartending cognoscenti argue that this is a pejorative term that literally mocks such cocktails. To quote my friend Danny Shell, an alcohol-free evangelist who works for Lyres, "I know lots of folk refer to our serves as Mocktails, but all of us in this space are trying to explain to the consumer the difference between a zero-proof cocktail and a Mocktail. In my eyes , the definition is simple, if there is a non-alcoholic spirit base, it's a non-alc cocktail, a zero cocktail ,etc, if not, i.e. juice mixes- it's a Mocktail."

While considering this, why Espresso Martini, Porn Star Martini and French Martini, when none of these are actually Martinis? And why are non-alcoholic spirits called "spirits" when the definition of spirit is a volatile liquid? i.e. alcoholic. And why non-alcoholic rather than alcohol free?

The answer to the above, and so much more in life, is consumer-driven. Give the people what they want. They want mocktails! Well, at least some people, some of the time. Others want a non-alcoholic beer or wine, or even a cup of tea. I want a single-word name for this category, and until someone comes up with something better that's universally understood, that's a mocktail.