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overhead shot of spiced cranberry negroni cocktail with holiday baubles
A Well Crafted Pantry

Spiced Cranberry Negroni Holiday Cocktail

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Sometimes that eggnog and hot buttered rum just doesn’t hit the spot. When you want to serve a cocktail that feels like the holidays, but isn’t one of the classics you always see, try this spiced cranberry negroni for Holiday a twist on an Italian classic… and something your guests probably haven’t tried recently. The flavors of a classic cranberry sauce spiced with orange zest and cinnamon is paired with the bitter notes of clove, cinnamon, and citrus of campari, the freshness of gin, and depth of sweet vermouth to create a truly interesting holiday sipper.

Holiday cocktail in christmas bauble with pink and red decor

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I know that the bitter notes of campari can be difficult for some, but hear me out on this drink. While a traditional negroni has either devoted followers or haters, this twist on the original offers a more balanced approach to appeal to the holiday guest. It may even be a way to convert some people over to join you for some amazing aperol spritz and negronis next summer when you host your next cocktail party.

Spiced Cranberry Syrup

Before you can make this cocktail you have to first make the spiced cranberry syrup. The best part of this recipe, is you have some tasty spiced cranberry sauce in the end as well!

Makes approximately 1 cup of syrup

  • 1 Bag of Fresh Cranberries rinsed and de-stemmed (16 oz) – you can substitute frozen, just decrease the water by 1/4 cup
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 zest of orange

Directions: Put all ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring so that sugar does not burn, until sugar is fully dissolved and berries have cooked and are bursting. Smash the berries with a spoon and continue to cook until liquid has reduced some and will coat the spoon slightly. This takes around 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool. Separate the liquid from the berries. Keep the cranberry sauce to use for a holiday appetizer. Reserve the liquid to use in the Negroni cocktail or other holiday drinks!

Cocktail in glass with holiday baubles

A Holiday Twist on the Negroni: Spiced Cranberry Negroni Cocktail

Makes 1 cocktail (scroll below for a batch recipe)

  • 1 oz gin
  • 1 oz campari
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth
  • 1 oz cranberry juice
  • 1 oz spiced cranberry syrup

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker* over ice and shake. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass or over a large cube of ice* in a rocks glass—your choice!

Batch Holiday Cocktail Recipe: Spiced Cranberry Negroni Cocktail

Makes 6 cocktails

  • 6 oz gin
  • 6 oz campari
  • 6 oz sweet vermouth
  • 6 oz cranberry juice
  • 6 oz spiced cranberry syrup
  • 3 oz water

Mix all ingredients together in a pitcher and chill in fridge. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass or over a large cube of ice in a rocks glass—your choice!

TIP: I’ll be pouring these into ornaments and chilling in fridge. Guests can then pour the chilled drink directly from their ornament and into their glass! I use the clear ornaments* that can be cleaned out with soap and water. I remove the metal insert and use plastic wrap to seal the bauble and cover with the metal cap. However, I’m sure that some companies are making these baubles with caps on them just for this use now-a-days, I just haven’t used them before!

Holiday cocktail overhead shot with pink and red decor

This year, instead of having the boring old-standbys for your holiday party, spice things up with this Spiced Cranberry Negroni Cocktail. Suddenly your party will be more interesting and intellectual. Your guests will agree that you are the absolute best and no one else will have a holiday party like yours. I am sure of it. 😉

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Spicy Cranberry Cocktail | A Well Crafted Party
A Well Crafted Pantry

The Spicy Christmas a Chipotle and Cranberry Cocktail

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Spice up the holidays with this simple cocktail recipe that features sweet, sour, and spicy notes of cranberry, lime, and smoked jalapenos! One of my favorite restaurant cocktails of all time features a pepper vodka mixed with citrus, so when I received a bottle of the recently released Chipotle Vodka by Cascade Street Distillery I knew I wanted to create a sweet and spicy holiday cocktail recipe.

Spicy Cranberry Cocktail | A Well Crafted Party

This is the first in my 2018 series of 12 Days of Christmas DIY. You know with today being Saturday Spirits I had to share a DIY holiday cocktail to kick off my 12 Days of Christmas DIYs. And, yes, recipes count as DIY because you are completely doing it yourself rather than picking it up off a shelf. This post is in partnership with Cascade Street Distillery. I received complimentary product. Recipe and opinions are my own. 

Spicy Cranberry Cocktail | A Well Crafted Party

The Spicy Christmas Cocktail featuring Chipotle Vodka

This recipe creates 1 cocktail. Serve in a sugared rimmed martini glass with sugared cranberries.

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz Cranberry Syrup (see recipe below)
  • 1 oz Cranberry Juice
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • 1.5 oz chipotle vodka

Directions:

  1. Pour the cranberry syrup, lime juice, cranberry juice, and chipotle vodka over ice into a shaker.
  2. Shake well! Shake until the shaker gets frosty. This will chill the drink effectively as well as impart some water into the mix.
  3. Strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass and garnish with sugared cranberries.

Cranberry Syrup

Cranberries tend to be quite tart. So, when creating a drink with the tart flavors of cranberry and lime we really need to impart some good sweetness to the mix. Creating a cranberry syrup will add the right amount of sweetness to the cocktail to help balance the more tart and spicy notes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cranberry juice

Directions:

  1. Bring ingredients to a boil over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir frequently so that the sugar doesn’t burn.
  2. Turn down the temp and let simmer until cranberries soften and burst.
  3. Strain the mixture using a fine mesh sieve reserving the liquid and discarding the cranberries.
  4. Chill – Can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Your spice-loving friends will love this holiday cocktail.

 

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