Contribution from Recipe & photos from the Wander Lust Kitchen
If you’ve never tried a fresh cranberry vodka cocktail, here’s your chance! All you need is a bag of cranberries, a bottle of vodka, and a blender. For this recipe I’ve added homemade rosemary simple syrup to create a festive holiday cocktail!
Don’t hate me, but I wasn’t even going to share this vodka cranberry recipe with you. But here’s what’s in the cranberry drink: fresh (homemade!) cranberry juice, freshly infused cranberry vodka, rosemary simple syrup, and a touch of sparkling water.
I just love this combination of tart cranberries and fragrant rosemary. It’s absolutely perfect for the holidays! This works best if you plan ahead by starting this cranberry vodka recipe the night before. You begin by tossing some fresh cranberries and water in a blender and pulverizing them. I left this mixture in the fridge overnight for maximum infusion, but I bet you could get away with less time than that if you’re in an incredible rush.
Pour this mixture through a fine mesh strainer and collect the juice — you should have two cups. Return all that pulpy goodness to the blender and pour in a cup of vodka. Blend it again, then strain the vodka from the pulp (no need to wait this time – alcohol is an excellent flavor extractor!).
To make the rosemary simple syrup, just combine some sugar, water, and rosemary sprigs in a little pot and boil a minute or two until the sugar is dissolved.
Mix the juice, infused vodka, and rosemary syrup together, then divide it into ice-filled rocks glasses and top with sparkling water, keep the elements separate and if you’d rather prepare drinks one at a time. This cranberry rosemary cocktail recipe fills three 8.5-ounce hermetic flasks, which are incidentally super gorgeous and fun to bring to a party. This vodka cranberry cocktail would also make a lovely gift — just look how pretty the bottles are with some simple twine and a sprig of rosemary!
Ingredients
4 cups fresh cranberries, plus more for garnish
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup white sugar
6 sprigs rosemary, plus more for garnish
8 ounce sparkling water
4 cups ice
Instructions
Place the cranberries in the pitcher of a blender along with two cups of water. Blend on high until completely pureed with no large chunks remaining. Refrigerate overnight to infuse.
Strain the liquid from the cranberry mixture; you should collect two cups of juice.
Meanwhile, place 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil; boil until sugar has dissolved. Turn off heat and allow to cool. Remove rosemary sprigs and discard.
Return the pulp to the blender pitcher along with the cup of vodka. Blend well, strain, and mix the vodka with the collected juice to make three cups of liquid. Stir in the cooled rosemary syrup.
Divide the ice into eight 8-ounce rocks glasses (1/2 cup each). Top each glass with just shy of a 1/4 cup of the cranberry mix (3 and 3/4 ounces).
Top each glass with two ounces of sparkling water. Stir gently, garnish with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs.
