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So excited to be sharing this festive and fun Cranberry Thyme Spritz with you guys today.
Happiest Saturday everyone! I’m writing today’s post from my hotel room in NYC, and I must say, I’m sad to be getting ready to leave this incredible city. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would love the city as much as most, but I have had such a great time on this trip, and am already planning my next trip back (literally). Can’t wait to give you guys all the details in tomorrow’s Favorites post. So much to share!
For now, I am dying to share one of my favorite cocktails I’ve created to date…this one is just so good.
Plus, I absolutely love how festive it is. You guys all know I am a sucker for a festive cocktail, see here and here. I realize I might be jumping into the “holiday” recipes a bit too soon, but with Thanksgiving so early this year (we are less than two weeks away!) and after a week spent in very festive NYC (and they’re not even fully decorated for the holidays yet!), I just could not help it. Hoping you’re all on the same page as me!
With every Thanksgiving, I love creating a new punch style recipe that easily feeds a crowd and is simple to make. This cranberry thyme spritz is this year’s party punch. Not only is it extra festive and pretty, but it’s sweet, hinted lightly with flavors of thyme, spiked with a little vodka, and made with my very favorite, elderflower liquor. I used honey for sweetness, to balance out the tart in-season-cranberries, and both grapefruit and lime juice, for a nice hit of citrus. It’s basically the perfect sweet holiday drink.
I know that traditionally when most people think of cranberries they immediately think cranberry sauce, but I’m a huge believer that cranberries can be used in so many other delicious ways…like this spritz.
Trust me, once you try this drink you’ll be wanting to make up a big batch of these come Thanksgiving Day!
Cranberry Thyme Spritz
Servings: 8 servings
Calories Per Serving: 252 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
- 8 ounces vodka
- 4 ounces elderflower liquor
- 1/3 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, plus slices for serving
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 4-6 ginger beers
- star anise, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1. In a medium pot, bring 1/2 cup water, the honey, cranberries, thyme, and ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil 5 minutes or until the cranberries begin to burst, then remove from the heat. Let cool. Remove the thyme and ginger. If desired, strain out the cranberries. 2. In a large pitcher, combine the cranberry syrup mix, vodka, elderflower liquor, grapefruit juice, and lime juice. Chill until ready to serve. 3. Add the ginger beer just before serving. Garnish each drink with a grapefruit slice and star anise, if desired.
Hope you all have a great Saturday!
Hello,
Do you think lavendar liquor can be substituted for the elderflower liquor?
Thank you!
Shana
Hey Shana,
Sure, that should work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! Cheers! xx
How about Prosecco instead of vodka?
Hi Mare,
Sure, that will work! Cheers! xTieghan
I may have cooked the syrup too long! It’s more like cranberry relish now rather than a syrup that can be strained. Do you usually strain or leave in the cranberries? Should I add water to make it thinner? Thanks, can’t wait to try!
Hey Steph,
I would try adding some water the thin it out, yes you can strain out the cranberries. I hope this helps! xTieghan
This drink is just delicious! Just the right amount of sweet vs. sour. And very festive looking. Thanksgiving in a glass.
Hey there,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
Hi,
Going to try for Thanksgiving, and also going to make the cranberry brie
pull apart bread (I usually do a baked brie with cranberries, pecans and brown
sugar and serve with crackers).
Can I make the cranberry syrup 2 days in advance, and then mix in the vodka
and elderflower liquor, etc on Thanksgiving day?
Happy Thanksgiving
Hey there! Hope you love these recipes! Yes, that should work just fine 🙂 xTieghan
What would be a good substitute for the grapefruit juice?
Hi Leslie! Maybe some lemon juice! xTieghan
Hi! I was planning on making two batches – one with alcohol and the other without. Do you think this drink would still taste good without the vodka and elderflower liquor?
دانلود آهنگ
Hey there,
Yes, I think it will still be great! I hope you love the cocktails, cheers!! xTieghan
I thought this recipe was a little too tart for me, but the crowd loved it!
Hey Jessica,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Happy New Year! xTieghan
What elderflower liquor do you use?
Do you think this would work well with tequila or bourbon?
Hey there,
Yes, I think either of those would work well. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other question. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi! Do you think I could use gin instead of vodka? 🙂
Sure! 🙂 xTieghan
Made a variation of this: didn’t make the cranberry syrup, instead used about 2/3 cranberry juice to 1/3 pomegranate juice and then added a splash of pomegranate molasses for darker color. Used vodka, elderflower liqueur and triple sec. Added a splash of orange juice. It was delicious and not too sweet!! A day later I had some leftover and added a splash of soda but while it was good I preferred it without. So I made a kind of combination of your spritzer and the cranberry orange margarita except as a “-tini”. Loved it and will make again.
Thank you so much Deb! I am so happy this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I think this is a wonderful cocktail recipe. However a few of my guests cannot have grapefruit. They can have other citrus fruits however so I was thinking of a substitution and what would be a good replacement. Blood Orange perhaps. Your thoughts would be most appreciated.
Hey Doug,
I think blood orange would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Hi! I was planning on making two batches – one with alcohol and the other without. Do you think this drink would still taste good without the vodka and elderflower liquor?
Hey there,
Yes, I think that would be okay! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Made this for a Friendsgiving tonight and all of my friends loved it!! Will definitely be making another round during the holidays!!
Love that!! Thank you Hannah! xTieghan
tank you I will save your blog in future reference
Thank you so much Ali! xTieghan
I would love to read your blog posts. This is really what I was looking for and I am very happy to come here!
Thank you so much! xTieghan