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Home » Recipes » Cocktails

The Grinch Cocktail

Published: Dec 17, 2022 by Lexi

102 shares
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“Cheer up, dude. It’s Christmas", and there's no better way to celebrate than with this Grinch Cocktail! Packed with blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and vodka, this cocktail is sure to get you in the holiday spirit and evoke those Dr. Seuss childhood memories.

Finished grinch cocktails with cherry garnish and red rim.
This fun and festive cocktail is perfect for a Christmas movie marathon!
Jump to:
  • Why We Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Instructions
  • Tips and FAQs
  • More Holiday 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 winter event or holiday party.
  • Fun and festive: The bright green color is always a hit, and an optional sprinkle rim adds extra flair. This Grinch cocktail is the perfect option for your (adult) holiday party.
  • Light and refreshing: With pineapple and lemon juice, this grinch cocktail is a little sweet, a little sour, and perfectly balanced. We used vodka, but you can switch it up with your preferred liquor of choice!

Ingredients

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

Grinch cocktail ingredients including vodka and lemon juice.
Blue curaçao + pineapple juice = a green cocktail.

Ingredient Notes

  • Food coloring: This gives the cocktail its signature grinch green color. We used Watkins brand food coloring which uses natural dyes from vegetables and spices. You can of course use regular food coloring as well. You can also leave it out, but the color may be a bit more teal than true green.
  • Pineapple juice: We use 100% pineapple juice (not from concentrate) in this recipe. You should be able to find it at most grocery stores, often in the juice/soda aisle. In a pinch, you can also use pineapple juice from concentrate. If you want to use homemade pineapple juice, check out this tutorial.
  • Blue Curaçao: If you've never worked with it before, blue curaçao is a bright blue liqueur flavored with Laraha, or Curaçao orange. If you don't have any, you can sub with another orange liqueur like Cointreau.
  • Simple syrup: You can make your own with equal parts sugar and water, or simply use store bought. You can also sub with agave syrup if preferred.

Instructions

(1) Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice. Shake well.

Cocktail ingredients in a glass shaker before and after shaking.
A drop or two of food coloring makes all the difference!

(2) Fill a glass with ice. Pour the drink over and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Left: pouring the cocktail over glass. Right: finished cocktails.
A red sprinkle rim + maraschino cherry makes for a perfect garnish!

Tips and FAQs

  • Change it up: Although we did not test this grinch cocktail with other alcohols, we think this cocktail would be delicious with gin, tequila, or rum as well.
  • Extra juice?: If you have leftover pineapple juice, it's super easy to freeze it into ice cubes in silicone trays to use in smoothies or to make another batch of the cocktails.  The lemon juice will also freeze well to use at another time. We love Souper Cubes for freezing leftover liquids.
  • Garnish: We love to garnish this grinch cocktail with a red sprinkle rim and a maraschino cherry. We'd like to think Dr. Seuss would approve!
  • How to make a sprinkle rim for your cocktail: Fine sprinkles are best here and they're super easy to find at any grocery store. Dip the rim in simple syrup or run a lime wedge around the rim to moisten it. Then, dip the rim in sprinkles to coat.
Close view of the finished grinch cocktails in front of tree.
4:00, wallow in self pity. 5:00, grinch cocktail time!

More Holiday Cocktails to Enjoy

  • Front view of a christmas old fashioned garnished with cranberry and rosemary.
    Christmas Old Fashioned
  • Close up of finished cranberry gin cocktails with garnish.
    Cranberry Gin Cocktail
  • Finished cranberry mimosas in champagne glasses.
    Cranberry Mimosa
  • close up side view of shimmery raspberry rosé cocktail with sprinkle rim in antique cocktail glass.
    Santa Baby Cocktail

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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Finished grinch cocktail in glasses with red sprinkle rim.

The Grinch Cocktail


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

“Cheer up, dude. It’s Christmas", and there's no better way to celebrate than with this Grinch Cocktail! Packed with blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and vodka, this cocktail is sure to get you in the holiday spirit and evoke those Dr. Seuss childhood memories.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 ½ ounces vodka
  • ½ ounce blue curaçao
  • 4 ounces pineapple juice (no sugar added)
  • ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ ounce simple syrup
  • 3-5 drops of natural or regular green food coloring

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice. Shake well for about 10 seconds.
  2. Fill a cocktail glass with ice. Strain the drink into the glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Notes

How to make a sprinkle rim for your cocktail: Fine sprinkles are best here and they're super easy to find at any grocery store. Dip the rim in simple syrup or run a lime wedge around the rim to moisten it. Then, dip the rim in sprinkles to coat. 

Food coloring: This gives the cocktail its signature grinch green color. We used Watkins brand food coloring which uses natural dyes from vegetables and spices. You can of course use regular food coloring as well. You can also leave it out, but the color may be a bit more teal than true green.

Blue Curaçao: If you've never worked with it before, blue curaçao is a bright blue liqueur flavored with Laraha, or Curaçao orange. If you don't have any, you can sub with another orange liqueur like Cointreau.

Simple syrup: You can make your own by adding equal parts sugar and water to a saucepan and heating until the sugar is dissolved, or simply use store bought. You can also sub with agave syrup if preferred.

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

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 412
  • Sugar: 69.5 g
  • Sodium: 5 mg
  • Fat: 0.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 71.2 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 1.9 g

Keywords: grinch cocktail

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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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