Thanksgiving Cocktails with cranberries and more

Thanksgiving Day, to me, is the best holiday of the year. It’s low-key. No pressure to buy presents or decorate. Just family, friends, and good food. My sister and I both love to cook and hang out in the kitchen while the turkey is roasting. We divide up the cooking chores, put on some tunes and open up a bottle of wine, and start chopping the onions and sage for the dressing and snapping the green beans. My sister especially loves champagne or sparkling wine, so we’ll often open up a bottle of something sparkly right away. And we might just add a little something to make it more festive. If friends are around, I’ll pour a fun cocktail or two. With a well-stocked liquor cabinet and some cranberry juice, you can make quite a few great Thanksgiving cocktails with cranberries and more.

Thanksgiving cocktails HAVE to include cranberries in some shape or form. And if you’re going to use cranberry juice, I would recommend bypassing the sweet Cranberry Cocktail juice and just using the unsweetened 100% cranberry juice. Straight, unsweetened cranberry juice is VERY tart, but it gives you more flexibility when you’re making cocktails because it gives you control over how much sweetness to add with the sweet liqueurs or simple syrups. Of course, you can certainly use Cranberry Cocktail juice, but just adjust your sweet additions to taste.

Cranberry is tart and needs sweetness to counterbalance the flavor. It pairs well with most white liquors – gin, vodka, rum, tequila. If you think of the formula as white liquor + cranberry juice + a little citrus juice + something sweet (like Chambord, Cointreau, or simple syrup), you can pretty much mix and match your own cranberry-flavored cocktail drink. Here are three that I like.

1. Chambord  Champagne Cocktail

This cocktail is a favorite. The champagne is light and festive and the Chambord & cranberry give it a nice sweet & tart mixture.

Chambord Champagne Cocktail

This cocktail is a favorite. The champagne is light and festive and the Chambord & cranberry give it a nice sweet & tart mixture.

Check out this recipe

2. The Cosmopolitan Cocktail, or Cranberry Cosmo

Thanksgiving Cocktail – Cranberry Cosmo

The Cosmo is a classic cranberry & vodka cocktail. An older version from the 1930s actually uses gin instead of vodka, so that is definitely an option. Using a citrus-flavored vodka is a very popular version.

The Cosmopolitan Cocktail, or Cranberry Cosmo

The Cosmo is a classic cranberry & vodka cocktail. An older version from the 1930s actually uses gin instead of vodka, so that is definitely an option. Using a citrus-flavored vodka is a very popular version.

Check out this recipe

3. Cranberry Margarita

Thanksgiving Cocktail – Cranberry Margarita

Cranberry Margarita

The perfect balance of flavors in a Cranberry Margarita. This delightful cocktail combines tequila, unsweetened cranberry juice, and Cointreau. Each sip promises a harmonious blend of zest, tartness, and subtle sweetness. Cheers to the vibrant and refreshing Cranberry Margarita experience!

Check out this recipe

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