Christmas Old Fashioned

🍻 Why We Love This Recipe

• Festive twist on a classic: a spiced cranberry syrup and cranberry juice add a festive color (and flavor!) to this Christmas Old Fashioned cocktail. They also have the added bonus of toning down the strong flavor of bourbon/whiskey, which is great for those that prefer a less strong cocktail.
• Simple: this Christmas Old Fashioned is made with just three components: whiskey or bourbon, cranberry juice and spiced cranberry simple syrup. The simple syrup does require a little extra prep time, but it's incredibly easy to make, and so worth it!
• Perfect for Christmas: you can make a big batch of the cranberry simple syrup up to a few weeks before the holiday. When it's time to serve, you just have to pour out the cranberry juice and bourbon. Easy and incredibly festive!

🥃 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this Christmas old fashioned:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Cranberry juice: Since we add sugar to our cranberry simple syrup, we'd recommend using a no sugar added cranberry juice. If you prefer a sweeter cocktail, feel free to use sweetened cranberry juice.
• Bourbon / whiskey: Bourbon is typically the preferred spirit for an old fashioned, but regular whiskey will do just fine. Since you're mixing it with cranberry juice and simple syrup, you don't have to break the bank with super expensive bourbon – something less expensive will do.
• Cranberry simple syrup: to make this, you'll need more cranberry juice, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods and whole cloves, all of which can be found in the spice section at most grocery stores. The syrup is very simple to make (no pun intended), with only about 5 minutes of hands on work. You can also make extra and store in the refrigerator for use in other cocktails or other cold drinks. (It's also delicious on top of vanilla ice cream!)
• Garnishes: we love making a small batch of sugared cranberries to garnish this Christmas old fashioned cocktail. You thread them onto a small sprig of rosemary for a festive, fun garnish that you can prep ahead of time.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

Cranberry Simple Syrup:

(1) Add cranberry juice and brown sugar to a small saucepan over high heat, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add in cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cardamom pods. Once mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

(2) Remove from heat and let the syrup sit for 40-45 minutes to absorb flavor from the spices and to cool. Strain/remove spices and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Cocktail:

Fill a small pitcher or mixing glass ⅔ of the way with ice. Add bourbon, cranberry juice and simple syrup and stir well.

Add a large block of ice to 4 cocktail glasses and strain the cocktail mixture into each glass.

Garnish with orange peel, sugared cranberries (optional) and rosemary.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• Use a no sugar added cranberry juice or cut the sugar content in the simple syrup down from ⅓ a of cup to ¼ of a cup to prevent the finished cocktail from being too sweet.
• Bourbon or whiskey? Bourbon is more traditional for an old fashioned, as the drink allegedly originated in Kentucky, a state famous for its bourbon. We suggest using bourbon in this Christmas Old Fashioned, but it will still be great with any whiskey variety.
• Bitters: Traditionally, an old fashioned contains angostura bitters. Add in a few drops to this Christmas Old Fashioned if you like the flavor.
• Make ahead: you can make the spiced cranberry simple syrup up to a few weeks before serving this Christmas Old Fashioned. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Storage: you can make a batch of these Christmas Old Fashioneds and store in a pitcher in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Just make sure to stir well again before pouring to make sure the syrup is evenly incorporated.
• Rosemary garnish: for an extra festive garnish, string a few cranberries (or sugared cranberries) on a sprig of rosemary. Pro tip: poke a hole in each cranberry with a toothpick to make it easier to thread onto the rosemary.
• Ice cubes: we suggest using a large square or circular ice cube for this cocktail instead of crushed or regular ice. The larger the ice cube, the slower it will melt, which will prevent this drink from getting watered down.

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