This Spiced Cranberry Juice is the secret weapon for quickly creating delicious holiday drinks and cocktails!
It's super simple to make and has all the seasonal flavors that we love! This non-alcoholic mulled cranberry juice is great for kids but also makes a great base for seasonal cocktails.
Non-Alcoholic Spiced Mulled Cranberry Juice
This Spiced Cranberry Juice is everything! Cinnamon and spices are simmered with store-bought juice to add warm seasonal flavors. It's a tasty festive drink to serve kids or can be used as a base for flavorful holiday cocktails.
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Why this Recipe Works
I was inspired to come up with this easy recipe after I had a glorious Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail at a local restaurant. I wanted to recreate it at home and knew it would start with spice-infused cranberry juice.
It's a great thing to make ahead during the Christmas season and keep on hand for drop-in guests or any time you want a drink that feels festive.
I use it as a base in my Vodka Cranberry Slush cocktail and Cranberry Mule and it can be used pretty much anywhere you use regular cranberry juice.
Related: Simple Vodka and Cranberry
I let it cool to use in cocktails. But can you heat up cranberry juice? YES! You can sip it warm or hot and it becomes a virgin mulled wine dupe!
If you are looking for a warm cranberry drink recipe try my Crockpot Mulled Cranberry Cider Recipe.
Adding yummy holiday spices to pear juice made cocktail magic in this Pear Bellini so I knew it would work in this mulled cranberry juice idea too.
Ingredient Notes
You can choose your favorite Cranberry Juice to make this cocktail base. It's a delicious mix of sweet and tart.
Fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks, and freshly grated nutmeg add warm spice to the cranberry juice. Fresh spices are best because you'll get the most bang for your buck, but use whatever you have.
And there is nothing better than freshly grated nutmeg.
I used this zester (it also works really well for zesting lemons and grating hard cheeses and chocolate!) with the whole spice to get enough for this recipe.
I grate fresh nutmeg on top of everything this time of year!
You can find whole nutmeg on Amazon but it's really easy to find in most grocery stores.
Instructions
Earlier, I mentioned "cracked" cinnamon sticks. It's a great way to ensure that as much cinnamon flavor as possible can be infused in the juice.
And this is how you do it.
Prep the spices
Lay a cinnamon stick as flat as you can on a cutting board (one side typically has where the two sides roll into each other (more stable) and the back is the curved part (less stable).
Lay the side of a chef's knife flat on the cinnamon stick on the cutting board blade facing away from you (which I am doing the opposite of in this photo. Oops.
In my defense, I was really trying to figure out how to photograph this so that you understood what you're supposed to do.
With the heel of your hand, give the flat side of the knife a good whack.
It should easily break the cinnamon stick into pieces like pictured above.
Be careful! I take no responsibility for you cutting yourself. I have never cut myself and I always do it this way.
You could probably slam an empty pan down on tip of it too. Or a rolling pin. Or a hammer.
Infuse the Cranberry Juice with Spices
- Add cranberry juice, ginger, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg to a saucepan.
- Simmer, on low, for approximately 45 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely.
- Use cheesecloth in a funnel to strain into an air-tight container (I use a mason jar with a lid).
Store this mulled cranberry juice in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
The flavor is so vibrant! You get all that great cranberry goodness (perfectly sweet but not overly sweet) with the holiday spices.
Fresh ginger helps to cut through the sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg make everything feel like Christmas.
Tips and Tricks
- My favorite way to peel ginger is to use a spoon. It works so well! But you could use a vegetable peeler too.
- Be careful when cracking the cinnamon. If you're concerned about cutting your hand, use a rolling pin instead.
- If you had to, you could use ground cinnamon. Just note it won't mix in well but will separate and float on top.
What to use the cranberry juice in
You can drink this mulled cranberry juice warm in a mug like tea.
You can add it to club soda, ginger beer or other fruit juices to create simple mocktails.
Use a splash in a glass of champagne or, for the kids, some sparkling apple cider!
I use this Spice Infused Cranberry Juice for a Cranberry Bourbon cocktail, Cranberry Vodka Slush, and Cranberry Mule!
It would be delicious in a Vodka Cranberry, it would give it lots more flavor.
You can spike it with just about any liquor you want. Here are some cocktail ideas you could play around with: Cranberry Mojito, pair it with white wine for a Cranberry Sangria, Cranberry Margarita. The possibilities are endless!
Frequently Asked Questions
YES! And the way you cook it as noted above, will concentrate the flavors and remove a little bit of water.
The tartness of cranberry juice pairs well with sweeter fruit flavors like oranges, apples, and pineapple. It also pairs well with whisky, vodka and other liquor.
Yes, you can drink this as is! It will have a pretty concentrated flavor but it is delicious. You can also just add club soda, apple juice or ginger beer.
The difference is that cranberry juice is usually labeled as 100% juice. It doesn't necessarily mean it's all cranberry juice (they sometimes add another fruit but it's designed to cut the tartness). But it will be 100% fruit juice.
Cranberry juice cocktail has corn syrup and added sugars to make it sweeter instead of using other fruit. You can basically use either without much flavor difference.
This easy Cranberry Juice with Holiday Spices would be perfect for a holiday party bar cart! You could set it out, with several types of liquor and let everyone make their own drinks!
And this would be super easy to make several batches of should you need it for a large batch of punch or want to make it for multiple events!
Do you love cranberry during the holiday? I keep this Mulled Spice Cranberry Juice ready all holiday season long!
Related Holiday Drink Ideas
- Champagne Punch is a great festive recipe!
- This Cinnamon Whiskey Moscow Mule is perfect for this time of year.
- A Spiced Winter Daiquiri is unexpected and totally delicious.
- Sweet Apple Sangria with cinnamon and red apples.
- Spiced Clementine Margarita uses Izze soda to get a tasty orange flavor.
- Crockpot Christmas Punch is a similar idea but made in a slow cooker and served warm!
- Learn to make a perfect Classic Mojito recipe at home!
Spiced Cranberry Juice
Equipment
- cheesecloth
- Funnel
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1 64 oz. Cranberry Juice
- 2- inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and cut into chunks
- 3 cinnamon sticks cracked
- ¾ teaspoon fresh nutmeg
Instructions
- Add cranberry juice, ginger, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg to a saucepan.
- Simmer low, on the stove for approximately 45 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely.
- Use cheesecloth in a funnel to strain into an air-tight container.
- Store in the fridge.
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