This bright and festive Cranberry, Clementine + Rosemary cocktail is just what you need to make it through this holiday season.
Hey! Here we are. This is it. The very beginning of The Holidays.
After today, we are in it all the way until January first. Let’s buckle in, loosen our belts, and toast to the season. I have the perfect cocktail to get things started.
It’s bright and bubbly, seasonal and festive. Tangy cranberries and sweet clementines meld with aromatic rosemary, vodka, and a little bit of bubbly. Or seltzer. That all depends how boozy you want to make it. In fact, you can leave the booze out altogether and have yourself a fine little mocktail. But listen, it’s the holidays, and I’m not messing around.
The first step is making an infused simple syrup which is very simple indeed. Equal parts water and sugar get cooked down with a few sprigs of rosemary and some clementine peel. Don’t have clementines? Use tangerines, naval oranges, satsumas, or whatever citrus you have on hand. Don’t care much for rosemary? Well, for one, you’re crazy. But yes, you can absolutely skip it if you’d like.
This recipe makes a single cocktail, but you can easily scale it up for a crowd. Add more simple syrup for a sweeter version, or add less for a really vibrant, tangy drink. Adjust it to your liking – nothing here is set in stone. This recipe is meant to be malleable.
I have my work cut out for me today, and I’m sure you do too. Mix up a cocktail, tie your apron strings, and lets get cooking.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my peoples out there! You know I’m so very, very grateful for you, right? I’ll say it again just in case: I love you and I’m so glad we’re friends. Thank you for being you.
Enjoy this time on earth. It won’t last forever.
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- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large rosemary sprigs
- peel from 2 clementines
- 1 small clementine, quartered (use 1/2 if large)
- ice
- 2 parts vodka
- 1-2 parts simple syrup, to taste
- 3 parts 100% unsweetened cranberry juice (NOT cranberry cocktail)
- club soda or dry sparkling wine for topping
- fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs for garnish
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring up to a simmer (but do not boil). Once the sugar has completely dissolved, turn off the heat and let steep for at least one hour. Strain, then store in a jar or squeeze bottle and chill until needed.
- Muddle the clementine in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add ice, vodka, simple syrup, and cranberry juice, then give it a good shake. Strain into a glass filled with ice, then top with club soda or sparkling wine. Garnish with a rosemary sprig and a few fresh cranberries.
Nicole Gaffney, aka Coley, is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, tv host and food writer.
The wife and I are hosting a big Christmas party this year (last one had over 80 people attend!!) and this is going to be our signature cocktail for the night. Thank you so much! Going to make a literal 2 gallons of the infused simple syrup because I can already tell that I’ll be manning that cocktail shaker all night once someone sees the first one. Thank you for the inspiration! Can’t wait to give it a trial run this weekend, and then wow our friends and family! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks James! So glad you guys loved the cocktail. Happy New year!