The perfect cocktail recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas, you name it! Complete with fresh made cranberry sauce.
Did anyone else see how early Thanksgiving is this year?? Instead of being at the end of a November it's smack in the middle! Time to get going on some of those autumn feast recipes. First off, let's start with cocktails. Introducing the cranberry mule holiday cocktail!
So traditionally, every Thanksgiving we whip up a bunch of cranberry daiquiris. This year, I thought I'd give something new a try!
First off, my go to spirit of choice is whiskey, specifically bourbon. Then I like to mix it with ginger beer (dark and stormy with whiskey anyone?). It turns out, that's basically a Kentucky mule. Aka a Moscow mule but instead of vodka you use your fave whiskey.
Two guesses where this is going...the cranberry mule! Unsurprisingly, I used bourbon in my batch. However, you can honestly use whatever mule base suits your fancy. They're also great with vodka or rum!
My favorite thing about this cranberry mule is the cranberry sauce. It's no secret that I absolutely looooove cranberry sauce. So it was a no-brainer that actual, fresh cranberry sauce would be a main ingredient in this refreshing autumn cocktail.
Another awesome thing? It's great for Christmas time too! The cranberry mule, my new holiday cocktail go to. Check out the recipe below and enjoy 🥂!
Cranberry Mule Holiday Cocktail
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 to 3 1x
Description
The perfect cocktail recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas, you name it! Complete with fresh made cranberry sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon (you can also use your favorite vodka or rum)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 ounce fresh orange juice
- 1 ounce 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
- ¼ cup homemade cranberry sauce, chilled
- Ginger beer (I used about 4 ounces but you can use as much as you want!)
- 6 sprigs fresh mint, plus extra for garnish
- Orange slices, lime slices, fresh cranberries, for garnish
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce, cranberry juice, mint leaves, orange juice, lime juice, and whiskey to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the mixture together before shaking (I smooshed mine up with a bar spoon).
- Shake mixture in the cocktail shaker and pour into 2-3 glasses over ice. Top with as much ginger beer as desired and remaining cranberry sauce. Garnish glasses with lime and orange slices, cranberries, and fresh mint. Serve chilled.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
Danielle says
Oooooh, this is just beautiful! I'm gonna keep this one on hand for Thanksgiving festivities. Thanks!
Aberdeen says
Thank you 😁!
Aunt Judy Lou says
Abby, Can this be turned into a punch? What would I have to do to serve 6
Aberdeen says
Sure! Multiply the ingredients by 3 and don't add the ginger beer until ready to serve. Personally I would add everything in the pitcher except for the ginger beer and let guests top off their glasses with it as desired.
Christina says
When you say cranberry juice do you mean cranberry cocktail or 100% cranberry juice?
Aberdeen says
100% unsweetened cranberry juice 👍.
Isaac says
Hey! I’m trying to use this recipe for my bar I work at. We have an event this weekend and would like to use this recipe. Expecting 100-150 people. What’s the easiest way to batch this for a huge event? Thanks in advance
Aberdeen says
Hello! Hmm, since this recipe serves between 1 and 3 people depending on the amount of ginger beer you use, I would do a X150 ratio and prep it through step 1 in a few gallon sized cambros and chill until ready to use. I'd also "muddle" using a potato masher in the actual cambros themselves. Then when it's time to serve I'd start step 2 where you could either pour ginger beer into the entire mix or add a splash to each individual glass with ice. Hope this helps!
Ashley says
This is beautiful, fun, and tastes fantastic.
I’m a newbie to cocktails at home & this was perfect.