Cranberry Ginger Mocktail
Festive and perfect for the holidays this Cranberry Ginger Mocktail is sweet, tart and delicious! Made with 2 ingredients – unsweetened cranberry juice and ginger ale. This sparkling cranberry juice mocktail is a family favorite non-alcoholic drink. It’s not too sweet, perfectly tart, and simple to make for the holidays!
Love mocktails? Check out this Lavender Bee’s Knees Mocktail next!
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Why This Recipe is So Good
Ultimate holiday mocktail. It’s sweet and tart, full of cranberry and ginger flavor. Garnished with sugar cranberries and rosemary it looks super festive, perfect for the holidays or the winter time. Because it’s a mocktail and doesn’t contain any alcohol this ginger ale cranberry mocktail recipe is perfect for everyone to enjoy.
Ginger ale or ginger beer? Ginger ale is a sweet, carbonated soda with a light ginger flavor. Ginger beer, on the other hand, has a stronger, fresher ginger flavor. Despite the name, ginger beer doesn’t contain any alcohol. Either one will work for this sparkling cranberry mocktail; it just depends on whether you like a “spicy” ginger flavor or not!
Recipe Ingredients
Cranberry juice – Use 100% cranberry juice. The sugar from the ginger ale will make sure your mocktail has a nice balance of sweet and tart.
Ginger ale – I used an Ollipop ginger ale, it contains less sugar than a name brand ginger ale but it still has that classic ginger ale flavor. It adds the bubbly fizz to this festive mocktail.
Optional – Sugared cranberries for garnish. This is made by dipping fresh cranberries in a simple syrup then rolling it in sugar.
How to Make Cranberry Ginger Mocktail
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Make cranberry ginger ale mocktails
Fill a glass with ice, then pour over cranberry juice and ginger ale. Serve with garnishes if you like, and enjoy!
For a sweeter drink: use 6 ounces of ginger ale or add 2 ounces of orange juice.
How to make sugared cranberries
Make a simple syrup by heating equal parts sugar and water over medium heat until it comes to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat then pour over a bowl of cranberries. Make sure to rinse and discard and bad bad-looking ones first. Allow the cranberries to soak in the syrup for 15 minutes. Strain then line on a parchment paper-lined plate for 1 hour to dry. The cranberries will still be sticky; then, toss them in sugar to coat.
Turn this sparking cranberry mocktail into a pitcher drink for parties
24 ounces of ginger ale or ginger beer
12 ounces of unsweetened cranberry juice
This would be enough for 6 drinks.
Looking For More Recipes?
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Cranberry Ginger Mocktail
Equipment
- Short glasses
- Cocktail jigger for measuring out drinks
- Kitchen scale for measuring drinks
- Small saucepot for the candied cranberries
Ingredients
Cranberry ginger ale mocktail
- 2 ounces 100% cranberry juice unsweetened, ¼ cup
- 4 ounces ginger ale or ginger beer I used Ollipop’s ginger ale, ½ cup
- Ice for serving
- Garnishes sugared cranberries
Sugared cranberries
- ½ cup sugar divided
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup fresh cranberries don’t use frozen
Instructions
Make cranberry ginger ale mocktails
- Fill a glass with ice, then pour over cranberry juice and ginger ale. Serve with garnishes, if desired, and enjoy!
- For a sweeter drink: use 6 ounces of ginger ale or add 2 ounces of orange juice.
Make candied cranberries:
- Line a plate with a small piece of parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water over medium heat until it comes to a gentle simmer, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, then allow the syrup to cool for 5 minutes.
- Discard any bad-looking cranberries, then rinse and add to a small mixing bowl. Pour over warm simple syrup to soak for 15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to strain cranberries and transfer to the prepared plate. Allow the cranberries to dry for 1 hour uncovered.
- The cranberries will still be very sticky. Roll cranberries in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar to coat.
Notes
- Make-ahead drinks: This fizzy cranberry ginger mocktail is best enjoyed immediately, because as it sits, it will lose its fizziness. If serving for a crowd or during the holidays, add the ginger ale or ginger beer right before serving.
- Sugared cranberries storage and serving: Store sugared cranberries in the fridge for up to 3 days. If they start to look wet, re-roll in more sugar. Can be kept at room temperature for several hours before serving if needed.
- Leftover simple syrup: Store in the fridge for up to 1 week in an airtight container. It can be used to sweeten lemonade or tea.
Tips and Tricks
- Sweetness: If you want a sweeter drink, add 6 ounces of ginger ale. Or you can add 2 ounces of orange juice.
- Ginger ale: I use 1 can of Ollipop ginger ale soda. It comes in a 12-ounce can, so this recipe can make 2 – 3 drinks, depending on how sweet you want your mocktails.
- Ginger beer: You can swap out the ginger ale for ginger beer if you want a stronger “spicier” ginger flavor. You can add 2 ounces of orange juice per drink to make it sweeter if you like.
- Turn this sparking cranberry mocktail into a pitcher drink for parties: by using 24 ounces of ginger ale or ginger beer and 12 ounces of unsweetened cranberry juice. This would be enough for 6 drinks. If you want it sweeter, add 12 ounces of orange juice to yield 8 drinks.
