Sparkling Cranberry Cocktail
Cranberry cocktails made a name for themselves in the early 2000s, as the favorite drink of Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw. Carrie was stylish and sophisticated and, if she wasn’t teetering down a Manhattan sidewalk in 6-inch heels, she was enjoying a Cosmopolitan with her friends. For many, that bright-tart combination of cranberry juice and vodka became the drink of the decade.
Fast forward a few years and the Cosmo receded from the spotlight for the same reason it rose to prominence: It was the “it” drink of its time, and now that time was over. Cranberry cocktails were relics of the recent past. They were soooo 10 years ago.
Skip to today and cranberry-forward cocktails are regaining their foothold as savvy, sophisticated drinks — especially when they’re made with an unexpected twist. For our Sparkling Cranberry Cocktail, we added fresh rosemary and a cinnamon stick to the simple syrup to add depth and complexity. The rosemary gives the syrup an earthy undertone that balances the tart cranberry and sweet orange juice. The cinnamon stick makes the drink taste almost like it was mulled.
And this drink is as pretty to look at as it is to drink. It has a gorgeous orange-red ombré that’s decorated with fresh fruit and rosemary that make the colors pop. It looks and tastes like a sophisticated evening mimosa.
Sparkling Cranberry Cocktail
4 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the cranberry-rosemary syrup:
1 heaping cup fresh cranberries
Juice of ½ lemon
1 cinnamon stick
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary
For the cocktails:
4 ounces cranberry-rosemary syrup, divided
2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
1 750ml bottle Champagne, Prosecco or sparkling white wine
Quartered orange slices, cranberries and rosemary sprigs, for garnish
Directions
- To make the syrup, combine all 6 ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally until the cranberries burst and release their juices, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the syrup from the heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain into a glass jar, pressing gently on the cranberries to extract their juices. Transfer the syrup to the refrigerator to cool completely.
- To make one cocktail, fill a Champagne flute with 1 ounce cranberry-rosemary syrup. Layer with ½ ounce orange juice, and top with 6 ounces Champagne. Garnish with an orange slice, a few cranberries and a sprig of fresh rosemary.
- Repeat with the remaining cocktails and enjoy!
Adapted from Parsnips & Pastries