Spiced Cranberry Punch

It’s beginning to look a lot like cocktails (I mean Christmas) over here! Entertaining during the holidays can sometimes be stressful and overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to have some large format drink recipes up your sleeve. Enter my Spiced Cranberry Punch. I love using fresh cranberries in baking, cooking, and cocktails during the holiday season. Cranberries are tart, tangy, and have lots of complex flavors which make them perfect for mixing in your holiday drinks. Cranberry juice is usually sweetened or blended with other fruit juices to reduce its natural tartness and has more sugar than most soda does. I’m going to show you how easy it is to make fresh cranberry juice (without all that added sugar) at home to use in my festive Spiced Cranberry Punch recipe.

Spiced Cranberry Juice

4 (12 oz.) bags frozen or fresh cranberries
8 cups of water
10 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 orange
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
1/2 tsp. whole cloves

To make the cranberry juice, combine the cranberries with 4 cups of water in a large pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently so you don’t burn the fruit. When the cranberries soften and become mushy, add the remaining 4 cups of water, fruit, herbs, and spices. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from heat and let completely cool. Strain the juice into a glass bottle, discarding the berries, herbs, and spices. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Spiced Cranberry Punch, serves 12

3 cups of gin or vodka
12 oz. spiced cranberry juice
8 oz. Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur
4 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 cups of soda water
cranberries, lemon wheels, and rosemary for garnish

Now we’re ready to make the punch which you can easily assemble right into your punch bowl or large pitcher. Combine the gin or vodka, cranberry juice, Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur, simple syrup and lemon juice into a punch bowl filled with ice.

I used a bundt pan to make a large infused cube with rosemary, orange, lemon, and cranberries. This is easy to make in advance and ensures that your punch stays colder longer. Finally, add your club soda. If you want to make this punch a tad bit boozier, you can replace the club soda with champagne or your favorite sparkling wine.

I’m so happy I decided to make fresh cranberry juice for this recipe. It was actually my first time doing it and I was surprised at how easy it was and how much better the flavor is compared to bottled options. I can’t believe I haven’t done it before! It is very tart so if you want to add some sugar to your leftover cranberry juice you can add some to taste. I didn’t add any sugar to mine and I’ve been diluting it with sparkling water. Having this on hand is a great mocktail option for the non-drinkers that may be attending your holiday festivities.

I made this punch with gin but it would also be great with vodka, whiskey or another spirit of yo

ur choice. The spice and slight sweetness the Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur adds to this recipe is delicious and I’m excited to play around with this spirit more. This Spiced Cranberry Punch is tart, rich and the perfect addition to your holiday traditions. Don’t forget to eat, drink, and be merry everyone! Happy holidays! xo Natalie

Credits // Author and Photography: Natalie Jacob. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

/>