It’s a last-minute Christmas post! As the regular holiday bartender (Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, etc), I have to come up with something new and exciting for everyone to drink. Well, I don’t have to. I want to. It’s fun. And it gives me something to do on holidays.
This year, I knew I wanted to use cranberry (hello, it’s Christmas), but what else…? What about ginger? What about infusing vodka with ginger? Genius, if I do say so myself. I infused the vodka with ginger, in my fridge, for a week. Mmmm, it was so spicy and warm, with the perfect tang of cranberry from some cranberry juice. But, it was missing something. An extra bite. I looked in the fridge and found ginger beer, leftover from trying to make my own Moscow Mules (I did not succeed at that). It was perfect. A little fizz, an extra gingery punch, and it was de-lish. All I needed was a squeeze of lime. I tested out the drink on some friends, and it was a hit.
Today, I recreated the drink (as best I could) so I could post it before Christmas with enough time for you to go to the store and buy stuff. Now, I get to have a little afternoon treat! I didn’t infuse the vodka because I found that it’s not really necessary. But, you could probably infuse it just overnight if you wanted and get a little extra kick. You can make a whole pitcher ahead of time, like I did, to save the time of mixing everything on the spot. Or, you can just make a drink for yourself to celebrate the best day of the year.
Merry Christmas!
Cranberry Ginger Sparkler
Serves 1 (multiply to make the recipe serve however many you want!)
Ingredients
1 ounce vodka (ginger infused, preferably)
1 ounce ginger beer
2 ounces cranberry juice
(to make for a crowd larger than 1, use 1 part vodka, 1 part ginger beer, 2 parts cranberry juice)
For one:
Fill a glass with ice. Add all ingredients. Stir, and garnish with a wedge of lime.
For a party:
Add all ingredients in a pitcher, and fill with ice. Garnish each glass with a wedge of lime. Serve immediately.
Ideas to change it up: change the proportions to your taste. I think that this combo worked best for me, but depending on what kind of juice/ginger beer you use, you can change it around a bit.
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