Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail

This cranberry bourbon cocktail is sweet tart and complex, offset by orange and sweet vermouth. It’s a signature drink that everyone loves!

Looking for a signature drink featuring cranberry and orange? Try this Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail! It’s balanced, sweet tart, and complex, fruity with intriguing notes from sweet vermouth. Because it stars cranberry and bourbon it’s ideal for fall or winter entertaining, like Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas. But it works for any season and occasion! Add it to your list as a must-try winter or fall bourbon cocktail.

What’s in this cranberry bourbon cocktail?

This Cranberry Bourbon cocktail is beautifully balanced, with just the right amount of nuance from sweet vermouth. When we started developing this cocktail, we tried it as a cranberry Manhattan. It was slightly too boozy, so we kept the vermouth and added orange juice. It comes out sweet tart, with just the right amount of bourbon finish. Here’s what you’ll need:

Bourbon whiskey
Sweet vermouth
Orange juice
100% unsweetened cranberry juice
Simple syrup

Use 100% unsweetened cranberry juice

When making cranberry cocktails, we prefer using unsweetened cranberry juice. Try to find a bottle marked 100% juice, instead of cranberry juice cocktail, which is sweetened. Why?

Unsweetened juice lets you customize the sweetness to taste. The flavor of the cocktail tastes much more real when you use 100% juice and add back a bit of simple syrup. The flavor is much more tart than cranberry juice cocktail, which is sweetened.
Unsweetened juice has a brighter color. It makes the drink look vibrant and bright red.

If all you can find is sweetened cranberry juice, cranberry juice blend, or cranberry juice cocktail, omit the simple syrup or add it to taste.

How to make a cranberry bourbon cocktail

This cranberry bourbon cocktail is a simple shake and strain cocktail: simply place the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake, and strain into a glass! Here’s what to do:

Place the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add the cranberry, orange juice, bourbon, vermouth, simple syrup to a cocktail shaker, add 1 handful ice, and shake until cold.
Strain into a glass. Any type of lowball glass works!
Garnish and serve. It’s nice to garnish with fresh or frozen cranberries. For the best presentation, use clear ice: it’s crystal clear ice that you can cut into large, organic shapes. Go to How to Make Clear Ice.

Make it pitcher style for 8 servings

Serving a crowd? You can make a pitcher of this cranberry bourbon cocktail! Simply add the following ingredients to a pitcher:

1 ½ cups bourbon
1 cup sweet vermouth
2 cups orange juice
1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
½ cup simple syrup
2 handfuls ice

Stir until cold! Then pour into lowball glasses. This would be a great presentation for Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas party.

More bourbon cocktails

This cranberry bourbon cocktail is an ideal for cooler weather! Here are a few more fall bourbon cocktails and winter bourbon drinks:

Try a Maple Old Fashioned
Grab a John Collins, a Tom Collins with whiskey
Opt for a Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail or Spiked Apple Cider
Grab a Bourbon Manhattan
Make a Bourbon Hot Toddy, Apple Cider Hot Toddy or Bourbon Sazerac

Maple Old Fashioned

Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail

Bourbon Manhattan

Bourbon Hot Toddy