Why This Works
The Penicillin is a sour with a cold remedy hidden inside it: lemon for brightness, honey for body, and ginger for heat. That heat is the key move in an alcohol-free version, because ginger delivers the warming bite alcohol usually provides, so the drink still feels like it has a backbone.
Honey does more than sweeten. It is thicker than simple syrup and carries its own floral depth, giving the drink a rounder, coating texture that stands in for some of the weight lost with the alcohol. Warming it into a syrup with the ginger makes it easy to mix cold.
The smoky top note is what makes a Penicillin memorable. In the original it comes from a float of Islay scotch, and here a few drops of strong smoked tea deliver the same wisp of campfire on the nose before each sip. It is optional, but it is the difference between good and unforgettable.
The Alcohol-Free Swap
Alcohol-Free Whiskey gives the Penicillin its oaky backbone. A smoky style is ideal since smoke is central to the drink, but any warm AF whiskey works with the smoked-tea float doing the aromatic lifting.