This Gin Cranberry is a great Thanksgiving or Christmas cocktail, but delicious any time of year! Made with cranberry sauce, fresh lime, gin, and sparkling lime water it’s a refreshing and festive drink.

Sparkling Gin Cranberry, a perfect Thanksgiving cocktail

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating- I love anything and everything cranberry this time of year! From pies to crumble to stuffing, I’ll find a way to incorporate these tart little berries everywhere.

Today, we’re repurposing a classic Thanksgiving table treat into a fizzy cocktail everyone will love.

Ingredients in a Sparkling Gin Cranberry

Cranberry sauce, for flavor and color
Lime juice, for brightness
Maple syrup, for a touch of sweetness
Gin
Grated ginger, for a festive bite
Sparkling water, to fizz

What kind of gin is best in this cranberry gin cocktail?

A lot of people tell me they do not care for gin (and that it tastes “piney”), but I disagree. My favorite type of gin is Hendricks. This can get expensive but if you’re looking for an extra special holiday buy, this is it!

If you’re looking to save money, I am happy to report that gin quality will not greatly affect the taste of this drink. Cranberries and lime both tend to dominate the palette, so a lower-shelf alcohol will also be delicious.

How to Make a Gin and Cranberry Cocktail

This recipe really could not be simpler! To prepare, you’ll simply combine some cranberry sauce, lime juice, maple syrup, gin, and optional grated ginger in a cocktail shaker with some ice. After shaking to combine, you’ll strain over an ice-filled rocks glass and top with more cranberry sauce, a lime round, or pomegranate arils! It’s a perfect holiday cocktail ready in under 5 minutes.

I like floating some additional cranberries on top of the cocktail, for an even more celebratory flair. To do this, I recommend rolling some frozen cranberries in sugar right before serving. Though this recipe only makes one cocktail, it is easily multiplied and could even be made ahead (with the sparkling water added just before serving).

For more Thanksgiving drink ideas, try one of these next:

Dark Red Sangria
Apple Cider Sangria

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Cranberry Gin Cocktail

Author: Emily
Total Time: 3 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

This Cranberry Gin Fizz is a great Thanksgiving or Christmas cocktail, but delicious any time of year! Made with cranberry sauce, fresh lime, gin, and sparkling lime water it’s a refreshing and festive drink.

Ingredients

Scale

3 TBS cranberry sauce, divided
Juice of one half of a lime plus one lime round, reserved for garnish
One half TBS maple syrup
1 shot gin
1 TBS of freshly grated ginger, optional
1 can of lime sparkling water, divided
1 TBS pomegranate arils, optional

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Instructions

Add 2 TBS cranberry sauce, lime juice, maple syrup, gin, and grated ginger to a shaker with 1 cup ice. Shake vigorously to combine.
Pour and strain over an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with an additional TBS cranberry sauce (stirring in) and lime round. Top with sparkling water and optional pomegranate and serve immediately.

Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Category: Drink
Method: Shake
Cuisine: American