Month: December 2020

rum

Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai | A Delicious Holiday Tiki Cocktail

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This Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai is a delightful combination of tiki flavors and holiday vibes. If you've been looking for the perfect holiday tiki cocktail to keep you feeling warm on the inside this season, look no further!

This Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai is a delightful combination of tiki flavors and holiday vibes. If you’ve been looking for the perfect holiday tiki cocktail to keep you feeling warm on the inside this season, look no further!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

Like many other cocktail bloggers, I’m constantly scrolling through my Instagram feed looking for inspiration from my #drinkstagram fam. Some of my favorites, like the Mezcal in Maui and the Summer Sipper, are recipes made by my friends that I’ve tweaked just a tad. I’ve got drink recipe after drink recipe saved on my IG but I don’t think I could ever get through all of them at this point!

Every now and then I see a drink recipe that not only stands out but that I also happen to have all the ingredients for. I didn’t waste much time before making this one. I hope you won’t either.

Sarah over at theboozyginger.com shared this Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai recipe on her Instagram a few days ago. I knew immediately that I had to recreate it. Tropical flavors with a hint of holiday flair? Sign. Me. Up. Sarah’s recipe originally called for dark rum but I used spiced rum to give it a little extra warmth.

I love the holiday and Christmas seasons. But I’m a warm-weather girl to the core. Don’t mishear me, though– I do want it to be cold on Christmas Day. And maybe New Years. But after that, I’m done with the cold. Bring back the sun. Blessedly, I live in Texas so I don’t have to put up with low temperatures for too long. But for those days when I wanna embrace the holiday season while dreaming of warmer weather, I’ll be drinking this holiday tiki cocktail.

If you’ve never had a traditional, classic Mai Tai, you should definitely make one. The original recipe is worlds different than most of the Mai Tais you’ll ever find at a restaurant. The only difference in ingredients between a classic Mai Tai and this Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai is the cranberry juice (go figure) and the cinnamon syrup. And pleeasse don’t be intimidated by the cinnamon syrup– you can make your own with just 3 ingredients: cinnamon sticks, sugar, and water. Yup. This post walks you through the easy steps.

This Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai is a delightful combination of tiki flavors and holiday vibes. If you've been looking for the perfect holiday tiki cocktail to keep you feeling warm on the inside this season, look no further!

If you make this Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai, be sure to comment below and tag me on Instagram. Seeing y’all reshake these recipes makes me so happy!

Ingredients for a Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai

  • 1 oz white rum
  • 1/2 oz dark rum (I used spiced rum for extra warmth)
  • 1/2 oz orange curaçao or orange liqueur
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1 oz cranberry juice
  • 1/2 oz orgeat (if you want to make your own, here’s a recipe)
  • 1/2 oz cinnamon syrup (find the easy recipe here)

How to Make a Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a glass* filled with ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and fresh cranberries if you have them.

*I used a lowball because I really wanted to show off my vintage Christmas glass but I had an ounce or so of the cocktail left in the shaker. You may want to use a highball or Collins glass instead.

Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai

This Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai is a delightful combination of tiki flavors and holiday vibes. If you've been looking for the perfect holiday tiki cocktail to keep you feeling warm on the inside this season, look no further!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1 oz white rum
  • ½ oz dark rum (I used spiced rum)
  • ½ oz orange curaçao or orange liqueur
  • 1 oz cranberry juice
  • ½ oz lime juice, fresh
  • ½ oz orgeat
  • ½ oz cinnamon simple syrup*

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well and strain into a glass** filled with ice.
  • Garnish with a lime wheel and fresh cranberries if you have them.

Notes

*Make your own cinnamon simple syrup with only water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks. Find the recipe here.
**Use a highball or Collins glass. If you use a lowball glass, you’ll have some cocktail left in your shaker.
Keyword cinnamon, cinnamon simple syrup, cranberry juice, dark rum, lime, lime juice, mai tai, orange liqueur, orgeat, rum, spiced cranberry mai tai, spiced rum, white rum

Looking for other tiki and tropical cocktail recipes? Check out the Jungle Bird, Mezcal in Maui, the Daiquiri, and my Easy Colada.

This Spiced Cranberry Mai Tai is a delightful combination of tiki flavors and holiday vibes. If you've been looking for the perfect holiday tiki cocktail to keep you feeling warm on the inside this season, look no further!
vodka

Christmas in Cape Cod – A Cape Codder Holiday Cocktail Recipe with Mocktail Option

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Christmas in Cape Cod is a holiday cocktail recipe that's a take on an old classic-- the Cape Codder. It's a delicious cocktail to make with vodka, cranberry juice, a cranberry red wine reduction syrup, and lime juice. See the mocktail version to learn how to make this recipe alcohol-free.

Christmas in Cape Cod is a holiday cocktail recipe that’s a take on an old classic– the Cape Codder. It’s a delicious cocktail to make with vodka, cranberry juice, a cranberry red wine reduction syrup, and lime juice. See the mocktail version to learn how to make this recipe alcohol-free.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

We’re well into the holiday season and I’ve yet to make a Christmas-y drink. I know. I’ve been wasting precious days. But I’m gonna try to make up for it. While a Cape Codder is not traditionally a holiday cocktail recipe, adding some cranberry red wine reduction syrup gives it that feel.

I’d been looking for ways to use up the last 1/2 oz of my cranberry red wine reduction syrup for several days before I thought of this Christmas in Cape Cod idea. The syrup is so good, y’all. So good. It was fantastic in The Bride Wore Red and in this mocktail recipe. But I wanted to really highlight the cranberry flavor in the syrup. There’s no more classic cranberry cocktail recipe than a Cape Codder.

The Cape Codder was also previously called the Red Devil. Apparently, the name change came about in the 60s because Cape Cod, Massachusetts is pretty well-known for its cranberries. My Instagram friend, @risajamesphotography, has a better theory. She said her guess is that’s because the drink was created during the Cold War, and Red Devil had too much of a Communist slant to it. I can’t help but think there could be some truth in that, too!

Risa is also the reason I served this cocktail in the glassware that I did. She told me that she loved my peacock glasses so much that she’d plan recipes around them. And then she proceeded to send me the link to a Cape Codder recipe saying “Make this drink in the peacock glass!” Well Risa, done & done. Thanks for the suggestion!

If you want to make a traditional Cape Codder, just leave out the lemon-lime soda and the cranberry red wine reduction syrup.

I also made a mocktail version of this. I’ve included both recipes below.

Ingredients for a Christmas in Cape Cod – Mocktail Version

  • 2 oz cranberry juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 2 heaping bar spoons of cranberry sauce
  • 2+ oz lime sparkling water

How to Make a Christmas in Cape Cod – Mocktail Version

Add the cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 20 seconds. Strain into a highball glass that’s filled with ice. Top off the glass with the lime sparkling water.

Ingredients for a Christmas in Cape Cod

  • 2 oz vodka
  • 3 oz cranberry juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1/4 oz cranberry red wine reduction syrup (or 2 heaping bar spoons of cranberry sauce)

How to Make a Christmas in Cape Cod

Add the vodka, cranberry juice, cranberry red wine reduction syrup, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 20 seconds. Strain into a highball glass that’s filled with ice.

Christmas in Cape Cod is a holiday cocktail recipe that's a take on an old classic-- the Cape Codder. It's a delicious cocktail to make with vodka, cranberry juice, a cranberry red wine reduction syrup, and lime juice. See the mocktail version to learn how to make this recipe alcohol-free.

Christmas in Cape Cod

A holiday twist on a classic Cape Codder recipe. See notes for a mocktail verison.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz vodka
  • 3 oz cranberry juice
  • ½ oz lime juice
  • ¼ oz cranberry red wine reduction syrup*

Instructions
 

  • Add the vodka, cranberry juice, cranberry red wine reduction syrup, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 20 seconds.
  • Strain into a highball glass that's filled with ice.

Notes

*For the cranberry red wine reduction syrup recipe, click here. 

For a mocktail version:

Ingredients
  • 2 oz cranberry juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 2 heaping bar spoons of cranberry sauce
  • 2+ oz lime sparkling water
Instructions 
Add the cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 20 seconds. Strain into a highball glass that’s filled with ice. Top off the glass with the lime sparkling water.
Keyword Cape Cod, Cape Codder, cranberry juice, cranberry red wine reduction syrup, cranberry sauce, lime, vodka
gin

The Green Bee | A Bee’s Knees Cocktail Made with Rosemary Honey Syrup

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The Green Bee is a variation of a Bee's Knees cocktail but with the extra addition of rosemary. If you love gin, honey, and herbal tones, you'll love this riff.

The Green Bee is a variation of a Bee’s Knees cocktail but with the extra addition of rosemary. If you love gin, honey, and herbal tones, you’ll love this riff.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

I love a classic Bee’s Knees. It’s so easy to make (just 3 ingredients!) and really gives the gin a chance to shine. This fall, I’ve been on a big herbal kick. I’ve made my rosemary sage simple syrup three times now and have been using it in just about every cocktail recipe I think it could work in. There’s something so warming about use rich savory herbs like rosemary and sage in cocktails.

I knew that honey and rosemary worked together, so I made a honey rosemary simple syrup. And what better way to use a honey syrup than in a Bee’s Knees?

The Green Bee is a variation of a Bee's Knees cocktail but with the extra addition of rosemary. If you love gin, honey, and herbal tones, you'll love this riff.

To make the honey rosemary syrup, add 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of water, and 2 sprigs of rosemary to a small saucepan. Heat until the honey is dissolved and turn off the heat. Allow the rosemary to steep in the syrup until it cools. Remove the rosemary and pour into a small lidded container. Store in the fridge.

As I mentioned earlier, simple classic cocktails like the Bee’s Knees give gins a real chance to shine. The limited ingredients won’t overshadow the unique taste of whatever gin you’re using. Choosing a more herbal gin in The Green Bee is a great call because of the addition of the rosemary. But pick what you like. I actually used a botanical rum in place of gin in the drink shown in these pictures.

If you’re a fan of simple, straightforward, and herbal cocktails, this Green Bee recipe is for you.

The Green Bee is a variation of a Bee's Knees cocktail but with the extra addition of rosemary. If you love gin, honey, and herbal tones, you'll love this riff.

Ingredients for a Green Bee

  • 2 oz gin
  • 3/4 oz rosemary honey syrup*
  • 3/4 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed

How to Make a Green Bee

Add gin, rosemary honey syrup*, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an additional rosemary sprig.

*To make the honey rosemary syrup, add 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of water, and 2 sprigs of rosemary to a small saucepan. Heat until the honey is dissolved and turn off the heat. Allow the rosemary to steep in the syrup until it cools. Remove the rosemary and pour into a small lidded container. Store in the fridge.

Green Bee

A Bee's Knees cocktail with rosemary honey syrup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz gin
  • ¾ oz rosemary honey syrup*
  • ¾ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Instructions
 

  • Add gin, rosemary honey syrup*, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 20 seconds.
  • Strain into a coupe glass.
  • Garnish with an additional rosemary sprig.

Notes

*To make the honey rosemary syrup, add 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of water, and 2 sprigs of rosemary to a small saucepan. Heat until the honey is dissolved and turn off the heat. Allow the rosemary to steep in the syrup until it cools. Remove the rosemary and pour into a small lidded container. Store in the fridge.
Keyword Bee’s Knees, black lemon, gin, honey, honey simple syrup, lemon juice, rosemary, rosemary honey syrup
The Green Bee is a variation of a Bee's Knees cocktail but with the extra addition of rosemary. If you love gin, honey, and herbal tones, you'll love this riff.