Shake up your holiday celebrations with a viral Snow Globe Cocktail, a festive twist on the classic gin and tonic or vodka soda! These snow globe-inspired drinks feature a sprig of rosemary suspended in ice to mimic a Christmas tree, while sugar chunks add a fizzy, bubbly touch to the tonic, making each sip feel like a winter wonderland in a glass.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and buy something, Feast + West receives a small commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are our own. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
About this Snow Globe Cocktail recipe
Snow globes are the ultimate nostalgic toy. Magical little worlds inside a snowy dome were fascinating and fun to play with. As a kid, I could spend hours shaking them, watching the snow swirl around and settle, lost in the tiny, sparkling scenes.
Now, as an adult, I’ve found a way to bring that same enchantment into my holiday cocktail menu. A few years back, I was so excited to make drinks in these snow globe glasses for my holiday party, but I ended up serving something else because I couldn’t quite figure out how to set the scene.
Then last year, I was mesmerized by the viral snow globe cocktails that overtook TikTok, so I had to try them. By adding a sprig of rosemary to mimic a Christmas tree on frosty, icy land, these drinks are like snow globes in liquid form, perfect for celebrating the season with a touch of whimsy and sparkle.
I added a few sugar chunks to create extra bubbles, which make the “snow” even more intense and beautiful to watch. Even better, you can customize them how you like: I made gin & tonics in mine, but you could easily serve another clear cocktail, flavored seltzer or lemon-lime soda.
More Christmas drink recipes: Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar • Christmas Mojito • Christmas Margarita • Yule Mule • Christmas Old-Fashioned
Why you’ll love this recipe
Almost frozen in time, these snow globe cocktails will take the cake at your holiday and wintertime parties this year. You’ll love hearing the “oohs” and “ahhs” of your holiday party guests when you serve these! Totally worth the hype.
- They are captivating, enchanting and full of holiday magic.
- Anyone can enjoy them! Make them with or without alcohol.
- They’re a feast for the senses! The fizzy bubbles, the aromatic rosemary and the shimmering sugar and ice create a visually stunning and refreshing drink.
Tools, equipment & glassware
Snow globe drinks will add a touch of elegance to any celebration, but you don’t need a lot of fancy gear to make them.
If you have round balloon-shaped glasses like mine, go for it! If not, you can make these in stemless wine glasses or rocks glasses. Regular wine glasses with stems would be fine too! Really, whatever you have will be oh-so-magical and it doesn’t matter. But whatever you do, make sure you use freezer-safe glass to prevent breakage.
Depending on your rosemary sprigs, you may need to configure a little apparatus to get them to stay upright. I could not get mine to stop flopping over without cutting them, and I hated how that looked! I tried suspending them in the water with fishing line with some success, but in the end, chip clips hung on a bamboo skewer worked really, really well. Clear out some space in your freezer for your glasses to hang out for a few hours.
Other than glasses, you really just need a jigger for measuring out alcohol if you’re using that. If you’re not, you’re all set!
Ingredients
The key components of this sippable snow globe are really in the icy garnish. You’ll need:
- Rosemary sprigs: When broken into smaller pieces, little pieces of rosemary turned upside down look like little trees! You could try adding little toys, other herbs or even flowers if you wanted to create a little scene.
- Water: You’ll want to use filtered, bottled or freshly-boiled water for the best-tasting ice.
- Coarse white sugar: Totally optional, but a little handful helps to add more bubbles! I used Indian mishri, a type of rock sugar or crystallized sugar commonly used in Indian cuisine and traditional medicine.. You could also use clear/white rock candy broken into larger pieces .
- Alcohol: If you’re making these alcoholic, you’ll want to use clear spirits like gin, light rum, blanco tequila, vodka or flavored vodka. You can also substitute a clear zero-proof spirit like Seedlip Garden 108 or Ritual gin alternative.
- Mixers: Tonic water, soda water or flavored seltzer will all be great paired with the spirits above, or you can sip them solo. You can also use lemon-lime soda, but I’d stay away from ginger ale as it’s more golden than clear.
I prefer the more minimal look, but if you want to, you can add cranberries or pomegranate seeds, which will float to the top of the drink.
Snow Globe drink variations
It’s important for your snow globe drinks to be clear in color, otherwise you won’t see the bubbly “snow” or the rosemary trees! You have a few options, both boozy and non-alcoholic:
Clear cocktails
Gin & tonic: For these photos, I used my classic gin & tonic recipe, which is made with gin, tonic water and a spritz of lime juice. Swap the gin for vodka to make a vodka tonic, which is also clear.
Vodka soda: Another great one is a vodka soda, which is made with club soda. It can have a spritz of lime or lemon juice too.
Ranch water: If you’re a tequila person, this summery cocktail with lime juice, tequila and Topo Chico is perfect for a snow globe cocktail.
Mojito: Use mint syrup with a spritz of lime, white rum and club soda. Don’t muddle the mint.
Clear non-alcoholic drinks
Mocktails: You can make any of the cocktails above by replacing the alcohol with a non-alcoholic spirit like Seedlip Garden 108 or Ritual gin alternative!
Soda water: There are so many kinds of soda water and most of them will work! Tonic water, club soda, mineral water… they’re all pretty similar with slight differences. You can add any of them to your rosemary ice glass, as long as it’s clear in color!
Flavored seltzer: I’d like to say you could use any flavored seltzer, but sometimes they have a slight color or aren’t completely clear. Even the lemon flavor of my favorite brand, Spindrift, has a cloudiness to it. In my tests, many store brands’ (like Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s and Wegmans) flavored seltzer is clear, and many flavors of LaCroix and Bubbly are clear too.
Lemon-lime soda: If you prefer something sweeter, then something like Sprite or Starry is perfect for these! Some sparkling lemonades may be clear enough. Stay away from ginger ale, which has a yellowish color.
Italian soda: Use a clear, flavored simple syrup like coconut syrup or rosemary syrup and soda water.
What to avoid
Anything with a color or tinge of color is going to be obvious in the snow globe. Some flavored sparkling waters can have a slight color or opaqueness. Other bubbly drinks like ginger ale and champagne will be more on the yellow-ish side. Test it out in another glass before you pour it into your special ice glasses!
You can absolutely use plain water (or even infused Christmas spa water). It is clear! But it lacks the effervescence of the bubbles you get from carbonation.
Instructions
Ready to make these fun Christmas cocktails?!
First, grab a rosemary sprig and peel apart the branches. Tear off little bunches that, when turned upside down, resemble an evergreen tree.
In a rocks glass, place one small rosemary sprig upside down in a glass for the tree base. (Add two or three if you want!) If it won’t stay up, trim the bottom with kitchen shears to balance it. You can also suspend it from the mouth of the glass with tape, twine or a clip from a skewer or pencil on top of the glass.
Add enough cold water to cover the bottom of the sprig. Freeze until solid.
When you’re ready to make drinks, remove a frozen glass from the freezer and discard any twine or clips used. Let the glasses rest for 2-3 minutes before adding liquid to avoid cracking the ice.
For a cocktail, add gin or vodka over the ice. Top with tonic water or soda water. (You can add a spritz of lime or lemon if you want!) For a non-alcoholic drink, add lemon-lime soda or sparkling water into the glass.
Optionally, add a spoonful of coarse white sugar to the glass to look like snow — it creates even more bubbles! Now they’re ready to serve.
Tips & tricks
Here are some tips and tricks for making this recipe:
- Make a test drink. Try the rosemary ice a day or two ahead of time to hone your technique and taste your drink to make sure you love it!
- Don’t use hot water in your glass, then stick it in your home freezer. The rapid temperature change can cause the glass to break.
- Store your cocktail ingredients in the refrigerator. The colder they are, the longer your little piece of rosemary will last in the ice on the base of the glass.
- When you’re ready to make the drink, remove the glasses and let them sit at room temperature for 2-3 minutes before adding liquid. Adding liquid too soon can shock the ice and make it crack too soon.
- If any of the rosemary leaves float upward with the bubbles once you add the drink, use herb scissors to snip the wayward fronds.
- Keep time! The ice will melt, separate from the glass and float to the top of the drink after about 15-20 minutes, so don’t prepare drinks until you’re almost ready to serve them.
Food pairings
Serve these snowy cocktails with you favorite snow-themed treats! My pretty snowflake cookies are always a showstopper, as are these adorable snowman snowball cookies.
Powdered sugar always offers its signature snowy look: Serve these drinks with powdered sugar donuts, powdered sugar-coated rum balls or classic pecan snowball cookies. A big slice of coconut cake would also be warranted!
You could also serve them with holiday favorites like sausage balls and brie bites for appetizers or Christmas cookies like chai molasses cookies or Earl Grey shortbread.
FAQ
Some rosemary sprigs can stay upright without falling over, but it really just depends! You can tie on some fishing line or twine and suspend it from a pencil or skewer. You can also use a small clip or clamp. Just be sure the bottom of the sprig is submerged about ¼-inch into the water.
You can use any clear, carbonated beverage, as the bubbles are what gives it the appearance of snowfall. A cocktail like a gin and tonic or vodka soda will work just as well as a sparkling water or clear soda drink.
Make sure your glasses are freezer-safe. Do not use hot liquid and then put the glasses in the freezer. If you want to boil water for clearer ice, make sure it has cooled first.
More holiday drink recipes
— Did you make this recipe? —
Please leave a ★★★★★ review or comment below.
Snow Globe Drinks
ingredients
- 1 sprig rosemary broken into small pieces
- ¼ cup water for ice, approximately
- 2 ounces gin or vodka
- 4-6 ounces tonic water or other clear mixer such as soda water, lemon-lime soda or flavored seltzer
- 1 teaspoon sugar crystals such as Indian mishri, optional
instructions
- In a rocks glass, place a small rosemary sprig upside down in a glass, or suspend it with twine or a clip from a skewer on top of the glass. Add water to cover the bottom of the sprig. Freeze until solid.
- Remove from the freezer and discard any twine or clips used. Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before adding liquid.
- For a cocktail, add gin or vodka over the ice. Top with tonic water or soda water. For a non-alcoholic drink, add lemon-lime soda or sparkling water into the glass.
- Optionally, add a spoonful of coarse white sugar for bubbles.
notes
video
recommended products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Leave a Reply