Make this sparkling Cranberry Cocktail with fruit juices, vodka, and sparkling water in just 5 minutes, and have one of the most delicious and festive cocktails for your Holidays. It's gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and low-carb (not keto).
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
To make this cranberry cocktail recipe you'll need:
- 2 cups cranberry juice, unsweetened -- chilled (100% juice)
- 2 cups passion fruit, chilled (or orange juice). If the juice is from frozen pulp, make sure to thaw it before measuring. NOTE: Either type of fruit juice is usually quite sweet! But you can still add sugar, simple syrup, or the sweetener of your choice to adjust the sweetness of your cocktail.
- 1 cup vodka (or gin)
- 1 ½ cups lime sparkling water, chilled -- Other flavor options: Passion fruit, lemon, orange, or cranberry (or Ginger Ale or champagne -- If you prefer to use champagne instead of sparkling water, skip the vodka. However, it will be way less boozy).
- Ice cubes
- Garnish suggestions: Fresh cranberries, orange slices, mint leaves, rosemary sprigs, lime wedges or slices, or sugared cranberries.
How to Make Cranberry Cocktail
1. Combine the juices and vodka in a pitcher and refrigerate. Before serving, gently stir in sparkling water and add ice.
2. Serve it in glasses or in a punch bowl, garnished with any of our garnish suggestions. TIP: Taste and adjust the sweetness of your cocktail before serving! You’ll have a drink with tart and sweet flavors.
NOTE: If making individual servings, use can use a cocktail shaker.
Tips for Making Vodka Cranberry Cocktail
- If possible, use fresh cranberry juice and fresh orange juice (or passion fruit juice). They will make your cocktail drink taste better than if you use bottled juices. But in any case, make sure one is unsweetened and the other is sweetened (or both juices are unsweetened and you add just enough sugar to balance tartness), giving your drink the perfect balance between tart and sweet flavors.
- Use high-quality vodka, gin, or champagne for the holiday season!
- Only add sparkling water right before serving your cranberry vodka cocktail. Otherwise, those amazing crisp bubbles may become flat.
- To make it ahead for your holiday party, chill the mixture of juices and vodka in a pitcher in the fridge up to 1 day ahead. As for the glasses, chill them in the freezer for about half an hour before serving the drink. Your holiday cocktail will be extra refreshing!
- Make sure to taste it to adjust the sweetness of your cranberry cocktail drink. It should be both tart and sweet!
Variations
- Juice: Choose juices that can pair well together such as pomegranate and orange (or lemon juice). Another option would be cranberry and pineapple juice or apple juice.
- Sparkling drink: I used sparkling water but you can use Ginger Ale or even champagne. If using the last, omit the vodka!
- Spirit: Gin would be the best option as a replacement for vodka because it has a compatible amount of alcohol. However, you may use tequila or cachaça.
- The ratio of spirit to mixer: The rule of thumb may vary! some say it should be 1:3 of vodka to juice while others think must be 2:1:1 (2 parts spirit, 1 part sweet, and 1 part tart). However, for a more family-friendly cocktail, I use the 2:2:1 ratio (2 parts tart, 2 parts sweet, and 1 part spirit). It depends on how you will be serving and the occasion. Thanksgiving and Christmas are usually family-oriented holidays, requiring less boozy drinks. However, if you're making it for New Year's Eve, for example, you may alter the ratio.
FAQs
Cranberry juice is made of 100% cranberry juice or a mixture of 100% fruit juices (cranberry and other) with no added sugars. On the other hand, the cranberry juice cocktail comes sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup.
Some of the best pairing spirits for cranberry juice are vodka, cachaça, gin, rum, tequila, champagne, or wine. It depends on the type of cocktail you want to make!
The basic difference is cocktails contain a spirit while mocktails (or virgin cocktails) contain mixers without any alcohol.
A cocktail juice is made of a mixture of fruit juices and sugar while a fruit juice is made out of one single fruit juice and can be sweetened or unsweetened.
No, but you can easily adapt our recipe to make a keto cranberry cocktail. Use a mixture of 100% unsweetened cranberry juice and fresh lime juice, unsweetened flavored sparkling water, and sauvignon blanc.
How to Store
FRIDGE: You can mix the juices and vodka ahead and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Right before serving, stir in the sparkling water.
Other Cocktail Recipes to Enjoy
- Michelada
- Caipirinha
- Pineapple Margarita
- Pineapple coconut cocktail
- Cocktails for New Year's Eve
- Peppermint Cocktail
PIN AND ENJOY!
Best Sparkling Cranberry Cocktail
Equipment
- 1 pitcher
Ingredients
- 2 cups cranberry juice unsweetened -- chilled (100% juice)
- 2 cups passion fruit chilled (or orange juice). If the juice is from frozen pulp, make sure to thaw it before measuring. NOTE: Either type of fruit juice is usually quite sweet! But you can still add sugar, simple syrup, or the sweetener of your choice to adjust the sweetness of your cocktail.
- 1 cup vodka or gin
- 1 ½ cups lime sparkling water chilled -- Other flavor options: Passion fruit, lemon, orange, or cranberry (or Ginger Ale or champagne -- If you prefer to use champagne instead of sparkling water, skip the vodka. However, it will be way less boozy).
- Ice cubes
- Garnish suggestions: Fresh cranberries orange slices, mint leaves, rosemary sprigs, lime wedges or slices, or sugared cranberries.
Instructions
- Combine the juices and vodka in a pitcher and refrigerate. Before serving, gently stir in sparkling water and add ice.
- Serve it in glasses or in a punch bowl, garnished with any of our garnish suggestions. TIP: Taste and adjust the sweetness of your cocktail before serving! You’ll have a drink with tart and sweet flavors. NOTE: If making individual servings, use can use a cocktail shaker.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.
Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.
This post was first published on November 8th, 2012.
Isabel says
What alcohol would you recommend if I were to add some? Having a little party and would like to offer both?
Thanks
Denise Browning says
Hi Isabel! For this sparkling passion fruit cocktail champagne or a sparkling wine would go well as an alcoholic option. A fruity or sweet type one would be the ideal!
shirley mackey says
even though not tks /plan to try if can fig. out how to save to recipe zip bk./ new to comp. and old and sick but still trying to adjust to all change have to.
it's hot here in tx and need smthg cool.
xxxxxoootks from Henderson cty,tx
bye for now
Denise Browning says
Shirley:
Right on top of each post (and immediately under the title of each post), there is a blue bottom that says SAVE that you can click on to save the recipe in ziplist. You might need to perhaps open a free account there so you can save recipe from my blog and others as well. If you don't want to save recipes, you can print them. The print bottom is the the recipe box under the picture. I hope this help. Wishing you a great week!
Terry says
This sounds great, Denise!! I may just serve it for our Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you for the idea!
Denise Browning says
Thanks, Terry!
I found all the ingredients easily in a local supermarket. Plus, It is something that all the family can enjoy together because there is no alcohol in it at all.
Between Jared and I, ours is almost over. Happy Thanksgiving!!