Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: A poinsettia cocktail is bright red, refreshing, and brimming with holiday spirit! Your guests will love sipping this beautiful cranberry champagne cocktail with subtle hints of orange and a beautiful garnish.
How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: a pretty glass
Servings: 1 (or as many as you like!)
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
Poinsettias are beautiful plants that have bright red foliage as well as green leaves, which make it a fitting flower to represent the Christmas season. Around this time of year, you’d be hard pressed not to spot at least a few.
This cranberry juice cocktail pays tribute to the beauty that is the poinsettia flower while celebrating the spirit of the holidays!
What makes it special:
- Versatile pairing: It’s like a classic mimosa, but Christmasy, so we can all agree that this would be a lovely addition to your Christmas brunch menu. It goes well with charcuterie boards, too, offsetting the rich flavors of cheese, meat, and crackers.
- Festive and beautiful. Even ordinary occasions will feel special. Have a cocktail while sitting by the fire, wrapped in a cozy blanket and watching a cheesy heart-warming Hallmark movie, or when you’re wrapping presents.
- Just three ingredients: With just three ingredients (cranberry juice, Cointreau, and sparkling wine), it feels fancy but couldn’t be simpler.
Ingredient Notes
- 100% Juice Blend Cranberry juice: You want 100% cranberry juice blend which is a blend of cranberry, apple, grape, and pear juice with no added sugar for this recipe. I usually choose Ocean Spray (as pictured).
- Cointreau: This is a type of triple sec (French for “triple dry”) orange liqueur that is infused with orange zest as well as other spices, giving it both sweet and bitter notes. Grand Marnier, which has a brandy base, is a great substitute if preferred, as are other brands of orange liqueur.
- Prosecco or Champagne: Both are sparkling wines and either choice will add that refreshing fizz we love in our cocktails.
- Garnishes: Cranberries and sprigs of rosemary are a beautiful way to garnish a glass, whether in a champagne flute or mason jar!
Buying Cranberry Juice
Check your labels! Many commercial cranberry juices will say 100% juice. That doesn’t mean they’re made with 100% cranberries. They use other sweeter fruit to balance the tart cranberries, without added sugar. Cranberry cocktail, on the other hand, is typically all cranberry juice but with lots of added sugar (and possibly high fructose corn syrup). In addition, you can also buy unsweetened pure cranberry juice; however, it’s incredibly tart. For this cocktail, we recommend 100% Juice Blend Cranberry juice.
How to Make a Poinsettia Cocktail
There are three easy steps.
- Add cranberry juice and Cointreau to a fluted glass.
- Top off with prosecco or champagne.
- Garnish with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.
Easy Recipe Variations
- Make a larger batch. Increase the amounts listed in the ingredients to make as much as you need to serve a party crowd. Mix the juice and Cointreau ahead of time, and add the sparkling wine to each serving at party time.
- Make it a mocktail. Make a nonalcoholic version by replacing the prosecco or champagne with sparkling grape juice and the Cointreau with orange juice. So yummy!
- Add more orange. Add a twist of orange peel or slice of orange along with cranberries to garnish.
The Perfect Flute
The photos show this cocktail served in a tall champagne flute, but it would look equally as stunning in a highball or a stemless wine glass. But I love the shape of these flutes!
Serving Suggestions
Brunch: Poinsettia cocktails are light and fruity, making them a good choice for special brunches. Serve them with overnight French toast, candied bacon, cranberry coffee cake, and colorful fruit salad. Be sure to have plenty of coffee on hand, too, or even better, cinnamon dolce lattes. Include a pretty dish of sugared cranberries, too!
Appetizers: As I mentioned above, cranberry champagne cocktails go well with charcuterie boards loaded with cheese, nuts, meat, and crackers. Add baked brie with cranberries and pecans, or my latest favorite, whipped feta. These sweet and spicy candied bourbon pecans are always a huge hit!
More Cocktail Recipes
Poinsettia Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces 100% cranberry juice, chilled (see note)
- ½ ounce Cointreau (or other orange liqueur – triple sec or Grand Marnier)
- 3½ ounces prosecco or champagne, chilled
- cranberries for garnish
- rosemary sprig for garnish
Instructions
- Add cranberry juice and Cointreau to a fluted glass.2 ounces 100% cranberry juice, chilled, ½ ounce Cointreau
- Top off with prosecco or champagne.3½ ounces prosecco or champagne, chilled
- Garnish with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary; serve immediately.
Notes
- Cranberry juice: For best results, use 100% cranberry juice blend which is a blend of cranberry, apple, grape, and pear juice with no added sugar. I usually choose Ocean Spray.
- Big batch/Make ahead: If you’d like to serve poinsettia cocktails to a group, you can combine the cranberry juice and Cointreau ahead of time in a pitcher, multiplying the amounts for the number of cocktails. For 8 cocktails, you would need 16 ounces (2 cups) cranberry juice and 4 ounces (½ cup) Cointreau. To serve, pour 2 ½ ounces of the mixture into each glass and top with sparkling wine. Note: Don’t stir in the sparkling wine ahead of time; it will go flat.
- Mocktail: Make a nonalcoholic version by replacing the prosecco or champagne with sparkling grape juice and the Cointreau with orange juice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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