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Home » Recipes » Cocktails

Cranberry Gin Cocktail

Published: Nov 3, 2022 by Lexi

45 shares
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Tart cranberry juice and floral gin come together perfectly in this seasonal Cranberry Gin Cocktail. With a slightly sweet and slightly tangy flavor profile, it's a balanced and easy cocktail that's great for any fall or winter occasion.

Finished cranberry gin cocktails with garnish and pink backdrop.
Slightly tart and slightly sweet, this cranberry gin cocktail is perfectly balanced.

We love serving this cranberry gin cocktail around the holidays! They contain just 5 ingredients, are super easy to make, and are full of festive flavor.

This cocktail is basically a cranberry gin and tonic, and it's a real crowd pleaser and family favorite around the holidays.

Jump to:
  • Why We Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Instructions
  • Tips and FAQs
  • More Fall Cocktails to Enjoy
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Reviews

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:

Cocktail ingredients including gin and cranberry juice.
This cocktail comes together with just 5 easy-to-find ingredients.

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.

Left: cocktail ingredients in a shaker. Right: finished cocktails in glasses.
Just 2 quick steps, this cranberry gin cocktail is ready in 5 minutes!

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.
Front view of finished cranberry gin cocktails.
Garnish with cranberries, lime, fresh thyme or rosemary.

More Fall Cocktails to Enjoy

  • Hot Apple Cider Cocktail
  • Pear Vodka Cocktail
  • Cranberry Orange Whiskey Cocktail
  • Close up of finished pumpkin spice margarita in glass.
    Pumpkin Spice Margarita

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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📖 Recipe

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Close up of finished cranberry gin cocktails with garnish.

Cranberry Gin Cocktail


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Tart cranberry juice and floral gin come together perfectly in this seasonal Cranberry Gin Cocktail. With a slightly sweet and slightly tangy flavor profile, it's a balanced and easy cocktail that's great for any fall occasion. 


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 ounces gin
  • 2 ounces unsweetened cranberry juice
  • 1 ounce maple syrup or simple syrup
  • ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1-2 ounces club soda, sparkling water or tonic

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. Optional: garnish with a sprig of thyme or rosemary, a lime wheel and/or fresh cranberries. 

Notes

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.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Category: Cocktails
  • Method: Shaker
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cocktail
  • Calories: 115
  • Sugar: 11 g
  • Sodium: 3.3 mg
  • Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 11.5 g
  • Fiber: 0.1 g
  • Protein: 0.2 g

Keywords: cranberry gin cocktail

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Bryce

    December 05, 2022 at 9:26 am

    Loved this recipe. Perfectly balance!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Lexi and Beth toasting with wine.

Hi, we're Lexi and Beth, a mother-daughter team from Michigan. The recipes you'll find here are a reflection of how we bring our family together around the dinner table despite various dietary differences.

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