This easy Christmas Cosmo recipe is perfectly fun and festive! With tart cranberry juice and a cinnamon-rosemary simple syrup, it's a holiday twist on a classic cocktail. Mix one up for your next holiday party.
Cocktails are a fun way to celebrate any occasion or holiday. Adding seasonal flavors to this simple vodka cocktail recipe makes it perfect for Christmas!
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Why This Recipe Works
A lot of holiday cocktails require specialty ingredients that you may only use once a year. This Christmas Cosmo recipe uses basic cocktail ingredients but still feels worthy of a place at your holiday table.
A traditional cosmopolitan recipe is quick and easy. With one additional step (of the flavored simple syrup) you can mix up this holiday drink in just a few minutes.
The red color of the cranberry juice makes it a gorgeous cocktail to sip and gives it a tangy, tart flavor. Rosemary is reminiscent of pine and adds a nice herbal note.
Related post: Cranberry Vodka Slush
Many of the holiday cosmos you see online are just a regular cosmopolitan recipe. But I wanted to add in some of my favorite flavors for this time of year to make it extra special.
A Christmas Cosmopolitan is easy to make and the perfect recipe to serve for holiday happy hours. Carrie Bradshaw would totally approve. And so would Santa.
Ingredients
- vodka
- Cointreau
- cranberry juice
- lime juice
- water
- sugar
- rosemary
- cinnamon sticks
- fresh cranberries for garnish
See the recipe card for quantities.
If you aren't sure what type of vodka to use, Tito's is a great place to start. It's reasonably priced and is popular with an easy-to-drink flavor.
Instructions
1. Make the Rosemary Cinnamon Simple Syrup
Simple Syrup is an easy thing to make and is a great way to add extra flavor to cocktails. Because this will need to cool before using, you can easily make it ahead of time (even a few days before).
Add the water and sugar to a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves completely, mixing often. But make sure it doesn't boil.
Once the sugar is dissolved, add the rosemary sprig and cinnamon sticks. Remove from the heat and let steep for 15 minutes to half an hour.
The longer you leave the rosemary and cinnamon to steep the more intense the flavor will be.
Let it cool completely before using it in the cocktail.
2. Add ice, vodka, cranberry juice, and Cointreau to a cocktail shaker
3. Add fresh lime juice and cinnamon rosemary simple syrup
4. Shake it up
5. Strain into a martini glass
You can drink this Christmas Cosmopolitan plain but part of the festiveness is the garnish.
Add fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary to make it ready to serve to holiday guests.
Variations
If you don't want to make flavored simple syrup you can just use plain simple syrup or leave it out. Or you can make Cinnamon Vanilla Simple Syrup.
If you can find white cranberry juice the cocktail will be a winter white color.
You can also use flavored vodka in this recipe to add more flavors. An orange vodka would be delicious! And vanilla vodka would also make this extra tasty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Cointreau is an orange liqueur and you can absolutely use a different type. Triple Sec (less expensive) will work as will Grand Marnier (more expensive) or any other brand you can find at your local cocktail store.
A Cosmopolitan is a quick and easy drink with a truly sippable flavor. It has a nice flavor and is a great drink for all kinds of cocktail drinkers. It's also fairly inexpensive to make.
This Christmas Cosmo recipe is a great holiday drink idea and can be enjoyed all winter long. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
More cranberry recipes
- Spiced Cranberry Juice
- Mulled Cranberry Apple Cider
- Vodka Cranberry
- Spiced Cranberry Moscow Mule
- Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail
- Cranberry Christmas Cake
More Christmas cocktails
- Baileys Christmas Cocktails
- Bourbon Christmas Cocktails
- Alcoholic Punch Recipes
- Fireball Eggnog
- Holiday Mule
Christmas Cosmopolitan Recipe
Ingredients
- .5 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs plus more for garnish
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1.5 oz vodka
- 1 oz cranberry juice
- 1 oz Cointreau
- .5 oz lime juice
- .5 cup cranberries, for garnish
Instructions
Make the Rosemary Cinnamon Simple Syrup
- Add the water and sugar to a saucepan on the stove. Heat through until the sugar is dissolved. Stir often. Do not boil.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, add the rosemary and cinnamon sticks to the sugar water. Remove from heat and let steep for 15 - 30 minutes.
- Let cool completely.
To Make a Christmas Cosmo
- To a cocktail shaker, add ice, vodka, Cointreau and cranberry juice.
- Add lime juice and simple syrup.
- Shake well and strain into a martini glass.
- Add fresh cranberries and rosemary to garnish.
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