Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail

This cranberry bourbon cocktail is tangy and complex, rounded off with orange and sweet vermouth. It’s a signature drink that everyone loves!

Looking for a signature cranberry and orange drink? try that Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail! It is balanced, sparkling and complex, fruity with intriguing notes of sweet vermouth. Because it contains cranberry and bourbon, it’s ideal for fall or winter entertaining, like Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas. But it works any time of the year and any occasion! Add it to your list as a must-have winter or fall bourbon cocktail.

What’s in this Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail?

This cranberry bourbon cocktail is beautifully balanced with just the right amount of sweet vermouth undertones. When we first started developing this cocktail, we tried it as Cranberry Manhattan. It was a little too watery so we kept the vermouth and added orange juice. He pulls out a sweet tart with just the right amount of bourbon finish. Here’s what you need:

• Bourbon whiskey
• sweet vermouth
• orange juice
• 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
• simple syrup

Use 100% unsweetened cranberry juice

When preparing cranberry cocktails, we prefer to use unsweetened cranberry juice. Try to find a bottle that says 100% juice instead of the cranberry juice cocktail, which is sweet. Why?

• With unsweetened juice, you can adjust the sweetness to your liking. The cocktail flavor tastes much more real if you use 100% juice and add some simple syrup. The taste is much more tart than the cranberry juice cocktail which is sweet.
• Unsweetened juice is lighter in color. This gives the drink a bright, bright red appearance.

If you can only find sweetened cranberry juice, a cranberry juice blend, or a cranberry juice cocktail, omit the plain syrup or add it to taste.

How to make a cranberry bourbon cocktail

This cranberry bourbon cocktail is an easy shake and strain cocktail: just add the ingredients to a shaker, shake and strain into a glass! Here’s what to do:

• Put the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. In a shaker, combine cranberry, orange juice, bourbon, vermouth, simple syrup, add 1 handful of ice and shake until cool.
• Strain into a glass. Any type of lowball glass will work!
• Garnish and serve. It’s nice to garnish with fresh or frozen cranberries. For better presentation, use clear ice: It’s crystal clear ice that you can cut into large organic shapes. Go to How to make transparent ice.

Prepare it in a jug for 8 servings

Serving a crowd? You can make a pitcher out of this cranberry bourbon cocktail! Simply add the following ingredients to a pitcher:

• 1 1/2 cups of bourbon
• 1 cup sweet vermouth
• 2 cups of orange juice
• 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
• ½ cup simple syrup
• 2 handfuls of ice cream

Stir until cold! Then pour into lowball glasses. It would be a great presentation for a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas party.

More bourbon cocktails

This cranberry bourbon cocktail is perfect for cooler weather! Here are some other fall bourbon cocktails and winter bourbon drinks: