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Get into the spirit of the season with this Thanksgiving Cider Punch. Warming apple cider, vodka, apple butter, and bitters, mixed with whole cinnamon sticks, ginger beer, and bubbly champagne. Mix everything together to create the perfect holiday punch that’s both festive and delicious. Rim your glasses in sweet cinnamon sugar to create a magical fall cocktail that everyone will love this Thanksgiving!
Well, it’s about time I shared a punch recipe, right? The overall goal for this year’s holiday recipes is simplicity and ease. You probably got that idea yesterday when viewing my 2022 Thanksgiving dinner menu. Everything on our menu this year is easy to throw together and can easily be made ahead of time too!
I know all too well that when you’re entertaining a large crowd you need to take the work out of serving up your yummy cocktails. Meaning, cocktails that serve everyone!
Enter holiday punches!
For some reason, I haven’t shared many punch recipes. I’m not sure why, they’re great! I love making them for the added bonus that while they chill in the fridge, they’ll develop an even more intense and delicious flavor.
We can all love that!
Here are the details
You’ll need apple cider. I like to use spiced apple cider with no sugar added. Then vodka, apple butter, bitters, and cinnamon sticks.
Mix this all together in a large punch bowl, then chill the mix until you plan to serve. This can be made 3 to 4 days ahead.
Just before serving, pour over a bottle of champagne and a couple of bottles of ginger beer, then serve!
A fancier approach
To go the extra mile, make a cinnamon sugar rim! Just coarse sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
For photos, I left the ginger beer out of my punch bowl. I then poured the champagne punch mix over ice and topped each pretty-rimmed glass off with ginger beer. Last but not least, I added a fresh apple slice and cinnamon stick too!
So easy, festive, and very pretty!
This cocktail is perfect for any and all of your upcoming parties. But it’s also great to enjoy with a small group of family or friends. I love that it’s not loaded with added sugars like most punch recipes. Plus, it is SO EASY to make.
For friends who don’t drink, you’ve still got them covered, simply make the mocktail variation!
I hope you all enjoy this very fun drink and that it brings plenty of cheer 🥂🍾 to your holiday season!
Looking for other easy punch recipes?? Here are my favorites:
Sparkling Christmas Party Punch
Holiday Cheermeister Bourbon Punch
Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned Pitcher
Lastly, if you make this Thanksgiving Cider Punch, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Thanksgiving Cider Punch
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 268 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 8 cups apple cider
- 1 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 4 dashes orange bitters
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bottle (750 ml) champagne
- 2 bottles ginger beer
- 2 apples, sliced
Cinnamon sugar Rim
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pomegranate or orange juice, for the rim
- star anise, for garnish
Instructions
- 1. In a large pitcher, combine the cider, vodka, apple butter, and bitters. Stir until combined. Add the cinnamon sticks and 1-2 star anise (if you like). Chill until ready to serve. 2. Just before serving, add ice to your punch bowl. Pour over the champagne and ginger beer. Add ice to cocktail glasses and pour over the punch. Serve with apple slices. 3. To make the cinnamon rim, on a small plate, mix the coarse sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Dip the rim of the glass into a thin layer of juice. Then dip the glass into the sugar mix.
Thanksgiving Cider Mocktail Punch
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 232 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 8 cups apple cider
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 4 dashes orange bitters
- 2 cups sparkling white grape juice
- 4-5 bottles ginger beer
- 2 apples, sliced
Cinnamon Rim
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pomegranate or orange juice, for the rim
Instructions
- 1. In a large pitcher, combine the cider, vinegar, apple butter, and bitters. Stir until combined. Add the cinnamon sticks and 1-2 star anise (if you like). Chill until ready to serve. 2. Just before serving, Add ice to your punch bowl. Pour over the grape juice and ginger beer. Stir in the apples. Add ice to cocktail glasses and pour over the punch. Serve with apple slices. 3. To make the cinnamon rim, on a small plate, mix the coarse sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Dip the rim of the glass into a thin layer of juice. Then dip the glass into the sugar mix.
We made this for our Halloween gathering. We substituted rum for vodka and it was a delicious drink! Our group loved it!
Hi Lucy,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this punch was a winner, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! xx
This looks delicious! I’m planning on making it for Thanksgiving. Going to make the mocktail version so my whole family can drink it, but thought about bringing some liquor so people can add if they want. Do you think vodka or bourbon or rum would pair best with the mocktail version?
Hi there! You can use whichever is your favorite, I think bourbon or rum would be yummy! xT
This sounds delicious, but I can’t make heads or tails of these instructions. Add ice to the punch bowl, then pour over the champagne and ginger beer. Pour what over? Pour the champagne and ginger beer over the ice in the punch bowl? Then add ice to the glasses and pour over the punch. So now there’s ice in the punch bowl with the champagne and ginger beer, ice in the glasses with the punch. How do they all go together, and in what proportions?
Hi Andrew,
So sorry, I am not sure why this is so confusing…step 1 has all of the ingredients in the punch bowl, then when you are ready to serve you are adding ice to the punch bowl along with the ginger beer and champagne. You also want to have ice in each glass. Please let me know if I can help in any other way. xx
The reason it is confusing is because in your post it says mix in punch bowl and in the recipe, it says to mix in a pitcher so it’s confusing to never address how the mix got from the pitcher to the punch bowl
This holiday cocktail is a treat! My daughter made it for our family’s Thanksgiving dinner and everyone loved it! Yum!
Hey Susan,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
We made this for our Thanksgiving dinner with our friends. Everyone loved it! It’s so good and the sugar rim makes it even better. My husband and I were happy to finish the leftovers after bedtime.
Hey Skye,
Happy Monday!❄️🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
I’m excited to make this!
Where did you purchase the gold-rimmed glasses?
Thanks so much Luanne! Here is the link for the glasses:
https://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?id=945192044&pid=uid3696-43323264-41&aid=43342403&utm_content=productwidget%3A63614affa665607528eb1197&utm_medium=referral
Please let me know if you have any other questions! Cheers! xx
Big hit with my Thanksgiving guests!
BUT even with bumping up the vodka, we all agreed it needed even more!
Since I doubled the recipe for the crowd, I still have some leftover. How long will it keep? ♥️
Hey Leslie,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! I would say about 1 week:) xT
This was a hit with our family! Not too sweet with a little zing. Yum!
Hey Jill,
Happy Sunday!!⛄️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xxT
So delicious!! It was a hit with my family – it wasn’t too sweet and it tasted like apple pie! I bumped it to two cups of vodka and couldn’t taste a thing
Hey Em,
Happy Sunday!!⛄️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xxT
I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was delicious! We needed to at least double the amount of bourbon though 😉
Hey Brianna,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
This was a perfect afternoon cocktail for thanksgiving day! Very light- didn’t knock us off our feet. Great flavors with the apple butter and ginger beer.
Hey Elisa,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
First time ever making a punch for the holidays…wasn’t sure how the family would like it but I had it all ready to go including the glasses w sugared rims. It was a big hit! May be a staple on thanksgiving moving forward.
Hey Jen,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!❄️
Hi! What if you don’t have access to apple butter or pumpkin butter, and also don’t have the time to make from scratch 😉
Hi Rebecca,
Sorry, I’m not sure what to suggested, you’ll want to use one of those for the recipe:) xx
This was a BIG hit on Thanksgiving with everyone! We didn’t add the vodka as we thought that was a bit over the top but it still turned out wonderfully. Even for a guest who didn’t like anything with ginger beer and was skeptical: “Oh this is good! You have to send me the recipe for this”
This was soooo good! Not too sweet and tastes like cinnamon apple fall in a glass. Absolutely delicious.
Hi Justin,
Awesome!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xx
This was our cocktail tonight for Thanksgiving Dinner. Everyone loved it. I followed the recipe, didn’t make any additions. Although, I used Korbel sparkling wine, because I refuse to spend $80+ on a bottle of champagne that will be mixed with other ingredients. It will delicious and festive. Thanks for sharing such a great drink.
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
Made this for Thanksgiving. This recipe is perfection!! So so good!
Hi Lauren,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it:) Cheers! xx
Made this for Thanksgiving this year! Used prosecco instead of champagne and it still turned out LOVELY. Was such a huge hit with the family and is very pretty to look at in the bowl!
Hi Alex,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx