Cranberry Mint Cocktail
Happy Tuesday everyone! In my never ending quest to find the best tasting cranberry cocktail and in order to fulfill my promise to share with you a rockin cocktail for Thanksgiving, I'm bringing you this little beauty.
A riff on my Pumpkin Champagne Cocktail, this drink uses cranberry relish, (instead of pumpkin butter) fresh mint, lemon juice, champagne and gin. You can also make this non-alcoholic by substituting the champagne for sparkling mineral water and omitting the gin.
The use of jams in cocktails is my favorite and one of the most easy ways to make a really great drink without the fuss of a making a special flavored simple syrup. If you happen to have some homemade jams or jellies around even better.
I feel I must warn you that this particular drink is a potent one. The gin and champagne combination, while delicious is fairly strong, so you'll want to pace yourself or at the very least add more sparkling water to your drink. My girlfriends and I usually enjoy these on a smaller scale, but in the interest of gilding the lily a bit for the holidays I'm serving them in larger glasses.
These cocktails are easily made in a batch so when your guests arrive you won't have to slave away in the kitchen prepping fancy cocktails when you'd rather be relaxing before all the kitchen craziness resumes. Perfection.
Here's how you do it:
Cranberry Mint Cocktail Makes 4
5 T. cranberry sauce or relish* 1 medium size lemon, juiced 4 oz. gin 2 1/2 oz. simple syrup **see recipe below leaves from 1 large sprig of mint, bruised 1 bottle champagne or sparkling wine extra lemon, cranberries and mint for garnish
Combine the cranberry relish, lemon juice, gin and simple syrup in a lidded container or shaker and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, fill the shaker or lidded container half way with ice, add the mint leaves and shake. Pour over ice into sugar rimmed glasses, filling 1/3 of the way full. In order to get all the berry bits and pieces I did not strain this mixture. You can strain it if you'd like. Top with champagne or sparkling water, garnish with lemons, cranberries and mint.
***Pour the champagne slowly over the back of the spoon to minimize bubbles.
*I used Trader Joes jarred cranberry sauce
**Simple Syrup Recipe
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. water
Combine in an empty jam jar and microwave for 1 minute until the water is hot and the sugar begins to melt. Stir and allow to cool at room temp. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
