There is no time like the holidays to enjoy a delicious, hand-crafted cocktail. This Gin Fizz recipe is just that and more, crafted with Empress 1908 Gin and fresh cranberries.
Keith enjoys a good drink while he's cooking. He likes to pour a few cocktails for our guests (like our Sparkling Purple Gin Cocktail or Empress Frost Fizz), and keep one for himself to sip while putting the finishing touches on a meal. We created this Cranberry Gin Cocktail with that idea in mind. It’s a sweet, easy way to start a meal, and it tastes great with a good nibble: green beans, cranberries, cheeses, or anything you may be preparing. Unlike a Sloe Gin Fizz or a Tom Collins, this gin fizz recipe is sweetened with ginger beer and a sweet cranberry reduction.
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Ingredients
- FRESH CRANBERRIES: to use in cocktail mixture + as garnish
- SUGAR: use any granulated sugar
- EMPRESS 19O8 GIN: for color and taste
- GINGER BEER: we like Reed's Zero Sugar or Trader Joe's brand
- THYME: (6-8 fresh sprigs)
- ORANGE: (1 whole), for juice mixture and garnish
Directions
- Make the Cranberry Reduction: in a medium saucepan, add the cranberries and sugar and ¾ cup water. Cut the orange into ¼" slices and add 2 of them to the pan.
- Cook: cook over medium heat, stirring often until berries have broken down and mixture thickens to a syrup consistency (about 5-7 minutes).
- Refrigerate: remove orange slices and refrigerate until cool.
- Prepare the Drinks: Fill a 32 ounce pitcher with ice and add the Empress 1908 Gin, Ginger Beer and cranberry mixture.
- Serve: serve in glasses and garnish with thyme and fresh cranberries, and orange slices.
- To Make Orange Garnish: we sprinkled orange slices with sugar and caramelized them with a torch.
Top tip
Prepare the cranberry mixture at least an hour before making the drinks so it has time to cool.
Why Empress Gin?
Empress 1908 is the perfect spirit for this Festive Gin Fizz. Not only for its clean, crisp flavor (made with eight botanicals!), but because of its stunning all-natural indigo hue (from butterfly pea flowers!). We combined it with cranberry juice and ginger beer to create a stunningly sweet sip with a holiday feel.
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Substitutions and Variations
- MIXER: You can substitute ginger ale, lemon lime soda or tonic water for ginger beer, but we do prefer the "punch" that ginger beer gives this drink.
- MAKE AHEAD: save time by making the Cranberry Reduction ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Then you can quickly stir up one cocktail at a time if you want.
More Holiday Cocktail Recipes
- Spring Fling Gin Cocktail: a perfectly pretty holiday gin cocktail, this pretty drink relies on the indigo hue of Empress 1908 + Pomegranate juice.
- Sparkling Cranberry Cider Cocktail: nothing says "Christmas Cocktail" like this cranberry cider drink. Made with Absolute Apple Juice Vodka & Rosé Hard Cider, this drink will sparkle for the holidays.
- Caramel Eggnog Chata: Rum Chata, Eggnog, and a shot of cinnamon whiskey make this one cozy holiday drink recipe! A sugary cinnamon rim takes it over the top.
- Red Russian with Rosemary Syrup: this vodka cocktail is the perfect shade of holiday red. Garnish it with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
This post was sponsored by our friends at Empress 1908 Gin. All opinions are are own.
FAQ
We like rocks glasses or old fashioned glasses for this recipe. You can also use a coupe glass.
Yes! We recommend making the cranberry reduction mixture ahead of time. Then you can make each drink individually by scaling the recipe card below.
Yes! It will taste similarly, but your drink will be lighter in color. The Pea Flower Indigo gin combines with the cranberry to create a dark red hue.
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Empress Gin Fizz Cocktail recipe
Celebrate the holidays in style with a Empress Gin Fizz Cocktail! This festive drink features fresh cranberries and ginger beer.
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 drinks 1x
Ingredients
- 2 C fresh cranberries
- 1 C sugar
- 6 ounces Empress 1908 Gin
- 16 ounces Ginger Beer
- 6-8 fresh sprigs of thyme
- 1 orange
Instructions
Prepare the cranberry mixture at least an hour before making the drinks so it has time to cool:
- In a medium saucepan add the cranberries, sugar and ¾ c water.
- Cut the orange into ¼ in slices and add 2 of them to the pan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring often until berries have broken down and mixture thickens to a syrup consistency about 5-7 minutes
- Remove orange slices and refrigerate until cool.
To prepare drinks:
- Fill a 32 ounce pitcher with ice and add the Empress 1908 Gin, Ginger Beer and cranberry mixture.
- Serve in glasses and garnish with thyme and fresh cranberries.
- For a garnish, we sprinkled orange slices with sugar and carmelized with a torch.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: drinks & cocktails
- Cuisine: N/A
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 drink
- Calories: 98
- Sugar: 4.6 g
- Sodium: 1.3 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.6 g
- Protein: 0.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Anabelle says
Hello. Where are from your glasses? Thanks
Jackie says
Hi Anabelle,
thanks for stopping by!
The glasses in this photo are from Crate & Barrel: https://www.crateandbarrel.com/pryce-gold-rocks-glass/s312683
We hope you get to try this cocktail!
Amanda says
This looks awesome! What ginger beer do you recommend?
Jackie says
Hi Amanda!
Thanks so much for stopping by! We are currently OBSESSED with this cocktail, so we hope you give it a try!
I have been buying Reed's Zero Sugar Extra for that real ginger pop (without the calories). We also like the Trader Joe's Ginger Beer.
Please let us know how it turns out!!
Amanda says
I made it and really enjoyed it. We went with the FeverTree ginger beer since I live in Ontario Canada and would not be able to grab the ones you suggested easily. Thanks so much!
Emily says
A bit too sweet. Next time I’ll use tonic water or Perrier.
Jackie says
Thanks for the feedback Emily. We love the sweetness, but we understand that it's not for everyone. That's why we suggested using tonic water as an option in our recipe tips. Please let us know if you try that version and you like it better! Cheers!
Courtney Mabee says
For the cranberry mixture, is water needed to thin out the consistency? Looking forward to trying this cocktail!
Tanya says
I had to otherwise I had thick cranberry jelly. I also pureed it for a smooth texture.
Keith says
Thanks so much, you are correct, that was a miss on my part when I wrote the recipe. I have updated the recipe.
Keith says
Thanks so much and sorry for the delay, that was a miss on my part. I have since corrected the recipe.
Happy Holidays