Be the hostess with the mostest when you serve this sparkling cranberry Holiday Mocktail at your holiday parties! This non-alcoholic beverage is a tasty way to make the season bright, from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s Eve. Grab those bright red berries and make a cheerful drink to toast the holidays!
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About this Holiday Mocktail Recipe
When it comes to the holidays, baked goods and cocktails are one of my favorite parts about planning a menu. Christmas mimosas and red Christmas sangria are both go-to cocktails. But sometimes a tasty mocktail is needed for parties too!
Whether you need to serve guests who prefer not to drink alcohol, or simply want a beverage that is non-alcoholic, this cranberry mocktail is just perfect. You can serve it at Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas get-together, a New Year’s Eve party and everything in between!
This cranberry mocktail embraces all the flavors of the season. The tartness of the cranberries combines with the sweetness and spiced warmth of apple cider to make the coziest and most flavorful cocktail that everyone can enjoy.
Cocktail hour can be fun for all with this tasty mocktail! Pair it with these delicious cranberry brie bites for the best holiday combo. You’re going to to love this easy recipe!
More mocktail recipes: Apple Cider Mocktail • Sparkling Balsamic Mocktails • Virgin Mimosas • Virgin Mary
Why you’ll love this recipe
This sweet-tart Holiday Mocktail comes together so easily and always turns out tasty:
- I love that this drink comes together in just 5 minutes. It’s easy to throw together during parties so that everyone can have a crispy, bubbly beverage!
- This is the perfect way to serve your designated drivers, friends who prefer not to drink alcohol — and even kiddos! Everyone can have this yummy, non-alcoholic beverage.
- This non-alcoholic cranberry cocktail is not only tasty, but it’s visually appealing too. It will go perfectly with the red and green aesthetic around Christmastime.
- Beyond Christmas, its cranberry flavor works for Thanksgiving and its bubbly texture is great for New Year’s Eve!
Tools & glassware
To make this Holiday Mocktail, you’ll need some basic bar tools. Make sure you’ve got a jigger to measure all of the ingredients and a cocktail shaker as well.
If you want to make fresh lemon juice, you’ll also need a citrus juicer too. You will also need a few highball glasses to serve the drink!
favorite highball glasses
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Ingredients
Make this festive non-alcoholic drink with just a few simple ingredients. Here’s a list of everything you need:
- cranberry juice
- apple cider
- lemon juice
- maple syrup
- ginger beer
- non-alcoholic orange bitters
- fresh cranberries, for garnish
- rosemary sprig, for garnish
try non-alcoholic bitters
We love adding bitters to drinks to add a little extra depth and flavor complexity. I’ve teamed up with my friends at All the Bitter — who make fantastic non-alcoholic bitters — to bring you an exclusive discount on your purchase. Use code fwbitters for 10% off!
Garnishes
You can have a lot of fun with garnishes during the holiday season to really make your drinks sparkle. Here are a few ideas for this Christmas mocktail:
- Instead of fresh cranberries, use these fun sugared cranberries as another delicious garnish that also adds a pretty, snowy look to your Christmas mocktail.
- Pomegranate seeds would be another festive touch!
- Use some dehydrated citrus slices as a pretty garnish on each glass of this holiday mocktail.
- Freeze some rosemary into herb ice cubes or cranberries into berry ice cubes. It’s an extra fun way to ice this drink!
- Add some edible drink glitter to take the sparkle up a notch.
Substitutions & variations
Mix things up on this Thanksgiving mocktail with one of these swaps:
Ginger beer swaps: Ginger ale is a great swap for ginger beer. My homemade ginger ale would be delicious in this recipe. Feel free to use club soda for a lighter option.
Best apple cider? Both store-bought and homemade apple cider will work in this recipe!
Cranberry substitute: I used cranberry juice cocktail for this recipe, as it’s a bit sweeter and more colorful than 100% cranberry juice. You’re welcome to use that (and adjust the sweetness as needed) or swap it for pomegranate juice or another festive juice blend.
Sweetener substitutes: Feel free to use something other than maple syrup to sweeten this mocktail. Honey works great, or you can use plain simple syrup or a flavored one. If you need a no-sugar option, try my sugar-free simple syrup.
Don’t have lemons on hand? Fresh squeezed lime juice or orange juice will work in its place.
essential bar tools
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Buy Now → Instructions
Follow these few super simple steps to make one serving of this Holiday Mocktail in just minutes:
In a cocktail shaker, add cranberry juice, apple cider, lemon juice and maple syrup.
Add ice and shake well, until the shaker is frosty from condensation.
Strain the mixture into a highball glass with ice and then top with ginger beer. Garnish with cranberries and a rosemary sprig. Serve immediately!
Make a big batch
This drink is a great one to serve a crowd for a party. Make the base ahead of time in a pitcher and stash it in the fridge. Add the bubbly ingredient just before serving. Use the +/- buttons in the recipe below to multiply the ingredient amounts.
Tips & tricks
This lovely little mocktail will turn out extra tasty with these simple tips:
- You can use regular orange bitters instead of non-alcoholic. Just know that regular bitters contain trace amounts of alcohol, which may matter to some non-drinkers. Check out my cocktail bitters 101 post for all the tips you’ll need to know!
- Fresh lime juice will give the best flavor to this mocktail. The bottled stuff just isn’t as tasty, trust me!
- Don’t add the ginger ale until just before serving. This will ensure all the bubbles are perfectly crispy and refreshing! I recommend using chilled ginger ale as well.
Food pairings
This holiday mocktail would be the perfect drink to serve at a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner! It can go with appetizers or during the meal. It also pairs well with fruity pies for dessert!
This is absolutely the most perfect pairing for a Christmas charcuterie board! It’s also tasty served with things like baked brie and bacon fig, and goat cheese crostini.
It really goes well with anything creamy, like whipped feta dip. But I also love serving it with cozy appetizers like stuffed mushrooms.
FAQ
You can prep part of this drink ahead of time! Mix the cranberry juice, apple cider, lemon juice and maple syrup in pitcher and then store in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, just pour it part-way into a highball glass with ice and top with chilled ginger ale/beer. A great way to prep a big batch for a party!
Of course, but then it would actually be a cocktail. However, mocktails like this one are a great base to use for a fun cocktail recipe. Vodka would be good with cranberry, as well as gin, bourbon or spiced rum!
More holiday drink recipes
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Sparkling Holiday Mocktail
ingredients
- 1½ ounce cranberry juice cocktail or 100% cranberry juice
- 1½ ounce apple cider
- 1 ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce maple syrup
- 3-4 ounces ginger beer
- 2-3 dashes non-alcoholic orange bitters
- 3 fresh cranberries for garnish
- 1 rosemary sprig for garnish
instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add cranberry juice, apple cider, lemon juice and maple syrup. Shake well.
- Strain into a highball glass with ice. Top with ginger beer.
- Garnish with cranberries and a rosemary sprig.
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