Cranberry Gin Cocktail

Why We Love This Recipe

• Quick and easy cocktail: With a few easy-to-find ingredients, this cocktail is super easy to whip up for any fall event or Thanksgiving function.
• Well balanced flavors: This cranberry gin cocktail combines the tartness of cranberry with a hint of sweetness from the maple syrup. Lime juice adds the perfect amount of acidity, and gin adds a lovely herbal flavor.
• Perfect for entertaining: You can measure and mix all of the ingredients except the club soda and store in the fridge until the day of your event, making your holiday occasional super easy to pull off! Plus, this stunning cocktail will impress all of your guests!
• Festive: This cocktail is perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other holiday occasion! Garnish with lime and thyme to create a colorful red and green Christmas-themed cocktail.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this cranberry gin cocktail:

Ingredient Notes

• Maple syrup: We love the warm fall flavor that maple syrup adds to this cocktail. If you don't have maple syrup on hand, feel free to sub 1:1 with simple syrup or agave syrup.
• Lime juice: If you can, opt for freshly squeezed lime juice for the best possible flavor.
• Cranberry juice: We typically opt for unsweetened cranberry juice in our cocktails. This also allows us to control the sweetness of the cocktail and embrace the natural tartness of the cranberries. If you're using sweetened cranberry juice, you can omit the simple syrup or add just enough to sweeten the cocktail to your tastes.
• Gin: For this cocktail, we highly recommend using a good quality gin, like Bombay Sapphire or Beefeater. Don't like gin? You can sub it out 1-for-1 with vodka instead.
• Club soda: You can use club soda, sparkling water, or tonic water. To make your cocktail taste like a classic gin and tonic, opt for tonic water, which is carbonated water/sugar combination with a bit of quinine dissolved in it for that signature bitter flavor.

Instructions

(1) Add gin, cranberry juice, maple syrup, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker half filled with ice and shake well.

(2) Add ice to a cocktail glass. Pour cocktail over the ice and top with club soda or sparkling water.

Tips and FAQs

• Garnish: We love to garnish these beautiful cocktails with a sprig or two of thyme, cranberries, and some fresh lime slices. This creates a really festive red and green appearance. If you have the time, you can garnish with sugared cranberries. If not, we think that floating some cranberries in the top of the cocktail also looks great.
• Make ahead for a crowd: You can multiply and make the base cocktail mixture (except for the club soda) ahead of time and store in a pitcher. When ready to serve, pour into each glass and top off with club soda. It's easiest to top off each glass individually with club soda vs. just adding it to the pitcher.
• Freshly squeezed lime juice: Since this is one of 5 ingredients in the cocktail, make sure you squeeze them fresh for the best flavor.
• Don't like gin? Use vodka instead.
• If you use tonic water instead of club soda or sparkling water, cut back a bit on the simple syrup, since tonic water contains sugar.
• Make it with pomegranate: For another fun seasonal variation on this cocktail, try using pomegranate juice.

More Fall Cocktails to Enjoy

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