Ready within two minutes, this fizzy cranberry mocktail makes the perfect non-alcoholic drink to enjoy during the festive season. It's a refreshing, sparkling drink that combines some tart cranberry juice with slightly sweet flavors. This fancy drink will certainly satisfy both kids and adults at your next winter celebrations.
With its refreshing taste, this cranberry mocktail recipe could be enjoyed during summer but tastes especially good during the holiday season as a nonalcoholic winter mocktail. Just like our Non-Alcoholic Holiday Punch it's a great, fancy-looking drink to serve at Christmas or Thanksgiving and can also easily be turned into a cranberry cocktail.
For more non-alcoholic drinks and festive mocktails check out Almond Milk Eggnog, Piña Colada Mocktail or Watermelon Mojito Mocktail.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- This sparkling cranberry mocktail makes a delicious festive drink- perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Eve.
- It's alcohol-free- suitable for the whole family including kids.
- It's super simple to make and there's no cocktail shaker needed!
- It could also be enjoyed as a cocktail- simply add a shot of liquor.
What is a mocktail?
A mocktail is a cocktail without the liquor usually made from a couple of different non-alcoholic ingredients. Mocktails are perfect for everyone who doesn't want to consume alcohol but still wants to enjoy a fun beverage.
Ingredients & substitution notes
- Cranberry Juice: gives this cranberry mocktail its distinct cranberry flavor. I used store-bought pure cranberry juice without any additives (such as the Knudsen Just Cranberry Juice). If you can't find any regular juice, you could try replacing it with cranberry syrup instead but the amount needed will change of course.
- Blood Orange: We use freshly squeezed blood orange juice- it's much more flavourful than store-bought. Could be prepared in bigger batches to save even more time. If you can't find any blood oranges, you could swap them for regular oranges, but the taste might change slightly.
- Maple Syrup: used as a liquid sweetener and to balance out the tartness of the cranberry. It also adds some additional sweetness as well as a delicious maple taste. You could use any sweetener of choice such as agave syrup, honey or regular granulated sugar. If you prefer a drink with no added sugar, feel free to omit it altogether.
- Bitter Lemon: blends perfectly well with the cranberry and orange juices and turns this winter mocktail into a refreshing, fizzy drink.
How to make a cranberry mocktail
This mocktail comes together in less than 5 minutes. There's no special cocktail equipment needed whatsoever.
STEP 1: Blood Orange Juice. Slice a blood orange and squeeze it to get the juice. Keep an additional wedge on the side for garnish.
STEP 2: Assemble. To a medium sized glass add cranberry juice,
followed by the maple syrup and the freshly squeezed blood orange juice. Gently stir so that the maple syrup is fully dissolved.
Pour in bitter lemon
and top off with some ice cubes. Garnish with an orange slice, fresh (or frozen) cranberries or some fresh rosemary.
Top tips
- Chill: For this mocktail to be refreshing and cold, work with chilled juices! Put them in the fridge for a couple of hours before preparing the mocktail. That way they stay cold for longer!
- Freshly Squeezed: For some extra flavor, we highly recommend using freshly squeezed (blood) orange juice over store-bought one.
- Use a measuring cup to ensure the correct ratios.
Serving suggestions
- Glass size: Choose a glass that's neither too big nor too small (one in the photo was a 9oz/ 260ml cocktail glass).
- Garnish: To serve a pretty mocktail make sure to add some garnish such as a slice of orange (see photo), some fresh mint leaves, a sprig of fresh rosemary, fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries.
- Sugar-Rim: Pour some brown sugar onto a flat plate. Then dip the glass into some lemon juice and then into the sugar to create a fancy-looking non-alcoholic beverage.
- Side Dish: We love having this delicious mocktail alongside our Vegetarian Charcuterie Board as an appetizer.
Variations
- Ginger: If you're not a fan of bitter lemon, you could try ginger ale or ginger beer. Note that the taste will be different then though.
- Tonic Water: For a little less bitter flavors, try tonic water instead of bitter lemon.
- Club Soda: If you want to avoid the bitter flavors altogether you could use club soda instead of ginger ale or tonic water.
- Cocktail: This holiday drink can easily be turned into a cranberry cocktail by adding a shot of vodka or rum (or whichever booze you prefer).
- Sweeter: For a sweeter mocktail simply add more maple syrup or sweetener of choice to taste.
Prep ahead options
If you want to serve this mocktail to a larger group of people, you could make the freshly squeezed orange juice in advance.
Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. All of the other ingredients should be mixed together shortly before serving to ensure that you end up with a fizzy, sparkling beverage!
Storage
The blood orange juice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. I wouldn't advise making anything else in advance as the bitter lemon will go flat.
FAQs
Yes, this cranberry mocktail could be turned into a festive cocktail. Simply add a shot of vodka or rum (or whichever booze you prefer).
Since this mocktail doesn't contain any alcohol, it could also be served to kids.
You could prepare the freshly squeezed orange juice in advance but everything else I would recommend preparing shortly before serving.
It's a typical holiday flavor combination that's usually enjoyed during the festive season. In this recipe it's used to create a delicious holiday mocktail.
This very much depends on the individual recipe, most mocktail recipes are quite high in sugar though. On a positive note, blood oranges are also high in antioxidants and flavonoids.
More festive drinks
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📖 Recipe
Sparkling Cranberry Mocktail
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) cranberry juice
- 3 tablespoon freshly squeezed blood orange juice (juice from ~½ a blood orange)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup *or sweetener of choice
- ½ cup (115 ml) bitter lemon
- ½ cup (120 g) ice cubes
Instructions
- Add cranberry juice, maple syrup, blood orange juice and bitter lemon to a cocktail glass.
- Stir well with a small spoon or straw so that the maple syrup is dissolved and everything is fully combined.
- Add ice cubes/ crushed ice and garnish with some orange wedges, cranberries or fresh rosemary.
Video
Notes
- Glass size: Choose a glass that's neither too big nor too small (one in the photo was a 9oz/ 260ml cocktail glass).
- Chilled juices: For this mocktail to be refreshing and cold, use cold juices! Put them in the fridge for a couple of hours before preparing the mocktail (for more tips and serving suggestions check out our top tips)
- Make it in advance: To save even more time, you could prepare the squeezed blood orange juice in advance. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. All of the other ingredients should be mixed together shortly before serving to ensure that you end up with a fizzy, sparkling beverage!
- Alcoholic drink: Could easily be turned into an alcoholic drink- simply add a shot of vodka, rum or your liquor or choice.
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