A perfect balance of sweet and tart, the cranberry martini is a cocktail that can be served year round. A blend of vodka, orange liqueur and cranberry juice, this drink is smooth and refreshing. Garnish with some sugared cranberries and an orange slice to make it extra special.
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What is a cranberry martini?
A cranberry martini, or crantini, is a beautiful and refreshing cocktail. It is made with a neutral grain alcohol, in this case vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry juice and simple syrup.
It is shaken with ice and strained into martini glasses.
It is easy, and is perfect anytime of the year, but makes an especially nice cocktail around the holidays such as Christmas and New Year’s.
Why this recipe works
This cocktail is made with just a few simple ingredients.
The neutral flavour of the vodka, paired with the tart cranberry juice and hint of orange from the triple sec is a perfect combination of flavours
This martini is quick and easy to make and can be made into a larger pitcher if you want to serve a crowd. You can mix all of the ingredients ahead of time and simply shake it with some ice when ready to serve.
Ingredients
You will need:
- Vodka – choose your favourite brand. The better the quality the smoother your drink will be.
- Orange liqueur – Triple sec or Cointreau.
- Cranberry juice – Choose real cranberry juice for this recipe rather than cranberry cocktail for best flavour.
- Simple syrup – This is easy to make yourself with just sugar and water. You can use the leftover syrup after making sugared cranberries.
- Ice
- Garnish – sugar, sugared cranberries, or orange slices
Expert Tip – Try to use real cranberry juice for this recipe as opposed to cranberry cocktail as it will give it a better flavour and brighter colour. If you need to substitute cranberry cocktail you will want to omit the simple sugar and add an additional 1.5 ounces of juice.
Step by Step Instructions
All you need to do to make this delicious cranberry martini is measure the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add some ice, shake for about 20 seconds and then pour into martini glasses.
Garnish as desired with a sugar rim, sugared cranberries or orange slices.
You can rim your glasses with sugar before you pour your martini. Cut a wedge from and orange or lemon, run it along the rim of the glass then dip the glass in a shallow bowl of sugar.
How do you make simple syrup
Simple syrup is made with sugar and water. It uses a 1 to 1 ratio and can be made in as small or large batch as you need.
Just add the sugar and water to a pot, bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Then remove from the heat, allow to cool, then move to a container to store in the refrigerator. Mason jars work well for this.
I will usually use 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar which will yield a large enough batch for several cocktails.
Top Tips & FAQS
Yes you can. Mix all of the ingredients, except the ice. When it comes time to serve just add some ice to a cocktail shaker, add some of your premixed cocktail, shake and serve.
For sure. Gin goes very well with this cocktail and is a nice way to change it up.
More Cranberry Recipes
More Holiday Drinks
Pomegranate Martini
Hot Chocolate Bombs
Peppermint White Hot Chocolate Bombs
Hot Buttered Rum
Pomegranate Margarita
Recipe
Cranberry Martini
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 oz Vodka
- 1 oz Orange liqueur Triple sec or contreau
- 1.5 oz Simple syrup
- 3 oz Cranberry juice
- 6-7 Ice cubes
- Sugared Cranberries optional garnish
Instructions
- Fill the martini shaker with 6-7 ice cubes.
- Pour the vodka, orange liqueur, simply syrup and cranberry juice over the ice.
- Place the lid on the shaker and shake for 20-30 seconds until outside of the shaker is frosty and cold.
- Pour into martini glasses rimmed with sugar. Garnish with sugared cranberries or orange slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
CMW515
Thursday 22nd of December 2022
Excellent tasting!! Perfect amount of sweet and bitter
Jamie
Thursday 25th of November 2021
I made this yesterday and it was fantastic! The sugared cranberries made it look so festive! I’ll be making this again for Christmas.