cloves - Girl & Tonic

Cranberry Red Wine Reduction for Cocktails | The Best Use for Leftover Cranberry Sauce

by corrie.pennington / November 23, 2020

If you have leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving, this cranberry red wine reduction for cocktails is the perfect use for it. It’s an easy syrup recipe made with red wine, cranberry sauce, turbinado sugar, cloves, and cinnamon.

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One of the best parts about Thanksgiving are the leftovers. But all the other leftovers run out long before the cranberry sauce does. Instead of tossing out that tart and sweet goodness, try using it in your cocktails.

You can definitely use it as is in a drink. Just sub it in for jam in a Jam Cocktail. Or take it up a notch and make this decadent cranberry red wine reduction. It’s sweet– very sweet– with amazing complexity and warmth to it. It tastes phenomenal with whiskey cocktails and also with gin. You could even use it in place of red wine in a New York Sour for added sweetness.

A cranberry red wine reduction for cocktails is the perfect use for leftover cranberry sauce. It's an easy syrup recipe made with red wine, cranberry sauce, turbinado sugar, cloves, and cinnamon.

Ingredients for a Cranberry Red Wine Reduction for Cocktails

1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup cranberry sauce (whole or jellied)
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1-2 cardamom pods

How to Make a Cranberry Red Wine Reduction for Cocktails

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until the syrup has reduced. Pour into a small lidded container, using a strainer to strain out the spices and any cranberry pieces. You’ll need to press on the cranberries with the back of a spoon to really squeeze every drop of the reduction out. Let the syrup cool before storing in the fridge. The syrup should keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Cranberry Red Wine Reduction for Cocktails

This cranberry red wine reduction syrup is perfect for using up that leftover cranberry sauce. It's delicious in whiskey cocktails, gin cocktails, and anything else you want to add depth and complexity to.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 15 mins

Course Drinks

Servings 3 ounces

Equipment

small saucepan

Ingredients

½ cup red wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
¼ cup cranberry sauce, whole or jellied
¼ cup turbinado sugar
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1-2 cardamom pods

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until the syrup has reduced.
Pour into a small lidded container, using a strainer to strain out the spices and any cranberry pieces. You'll need to press on the cranberries with the back of a spoon to really squeeze every drop of the reduction out.
Let the syrup cool before storing in the fridge. The syrup should keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Keyword cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cranberry, cranberry red wine reduction for cocktails, cranberry sauce, red wine, red wine reduction, turbinado

what to do with leftover cranberry sauce - use leftover cranberry sauce in a cocktail by making this cranberry red wine reduction for cocktails.

Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider | The Perfect Drink for Fall and Winter

by corrie.pennington / October 16, 2020

This mulled white wine is made with apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange, and vanilla bean-infused vodka. The spices bring delicious warmth to the drink while the apple cider and brown sugar sweeten it the perfect amount. This mulled white wine recipe will be your new go-to for hosting fall and winter get-togethers. It's light enough to please your friends who don't like red wine, but it's also got enough spice to satisfy those who typically pass on white wine.

This mulled white wine with apple cider is made with brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange, and vanilla bean-infused vodka. The spices bring delicious warmth to the drink while the apple cider and brown sugar sweeten it the perfect amount.

This mulled white wine recipe will be your new go-to for hosting fall and winter get-togethers. It’s light enough to please your friends who don’t like red wine, but it’s also got enough spice to satisfy those who typically pass on white wine.

I’m one of those people. I usually don’t like white wine. It’s often too sweet and too… juice-like for my liking. Give me alllll the dry red wine any day. But I have a few friends who wouldn’t drink red if their life depended on it. Okay, I’m sure they would if their life depended on it. They’d just really prefer not to. So what’s a fun cool-weather cocktail that would please people on both sides of the spectrum? Mulled white wine with apple cider.

My friend came over the other day and we made this together. It’s still pretty warm outside these days but since this is made with white wine, it feels a lot lighter than traditional mulled wine so were able to enjoy a mug-full while watching our kiddos play outside.

Before I jump to the recipe, there are few things to note. When making mulled wine, whether red or white mulled wine, it’s best to pick a wine that is on the dry side and isn’t too sweet. However, I had a bottle of sweet white Bordeaux and it actually turned out great. My friend and I chose to embrace the fruity notes and added some fresh apple cider in.

We also played-up the sweetness of the wine by adding vanilla bean-infused vodka and vanilla extract. Many traditional mulled wines are fortified with brandy. However brandy could overwhelm the delicate notes in white wine so vodka seemed like a better choice. You do you though.

One of the great things about mulled wine is that it’s extremely customizable. You can change up the number of spices you put in according to your personal preference. You can also taste as you go to see if you need to pull any spices out or add more in. Many white mulled wine recipes also call for a couple whole pods of star anise. Star anise is not my favorite flavor (it tastes like licorice), so I used it to garnish only.

Another thing to note: mulled white wine can be made ahead of time. It will typically keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator and can be reheated on the stovetop before you’re ready to drink it. However, strain out all of the aromatics before storing it. Otherwise, you run the risk of the spices overpowering the whole deal.

Have you ever made mulled white wine with apple cider before? How do you like it compared to traditional mulled red wine? Let me know in a comment below!

A mulled white wine with apple cider and brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange, and vanilla bean-infused vodka. The spices bring delicious warmth to the drink while the apple cider and brown sugar sweeten it the perfect amount. This mulled white wine recipe will be your new go-to for hosting fall and winter get-togethers. It's light enough to please your friends who don't like red wine, but it's also got enough spice to satisfy those who typically pass on white wine.

Ingredients for Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider

1 bottle of white wine (dry or semi-sweet works well)
1 cup apple cider
zest* and juice from 1 orange
2-3 cinnamon sticks
3-4 whole cloves
3 cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 oz vanilla bean-infused vodka (caramel vodka could be good, too!)
1-2 Tablespoons of brown sugar

*be careful not to remove any of the pith (white part) as it will make the drink bitter

How to Make Mulled White Wine with Apple Cider

Add all of the ingredients except for the sugar into a medium-sized saucepan. Heat on low, allowing the wine to slowly heat up. Be careful not to boil it. When it starts to steam, remove from heat or put it on your stove’s “warm” setting. Add in the brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go to make sure you don’t oversweeten it. Allow the wine to mull for 20-30 minutes. Serve in a mug. You can strain the spices out or ladle them into the mug along with the wine.

Remove any spices before storing leftover mulled wine in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should keep for 1-2 days.