In over a decade of creating cocktails, I’ve come across certain flavor combinations that just work. One of those flavor combinations is cranberry and rosemary. The mix of tart berry and herbaceous, slightly woody rosemary works so well together and evokes feelings of crisp holiday nights. This Cranberry Gin Smash cocktail recipe takes the seasonal flavors of cranberry and rosemary and mixes them with the botanical flavors of gin, to create a truly special cranberry infused cocktail!
This cranberry gin smash is an updated take on a classic bar staple: the smash cocktail. It uses this recipe for rosemary simple syrup and this recipe for cranberry infused gin to create a fun and festive cocktail that is perfect for celebrating with during the holiday season. Whether you are having a cozy night in, or gathering around the table with family and friends, this cocktail is sure to make every hour a little happier.
Jump to:
💕 why you'll love this cranberry gin smash recipe
🎊 festive & fun. Cranberries are most famous for their role on the Thanksgiving table, but this cocktail is perfect throughout your fall and winter holidays! The flavors of cranberry, lime, and rosemary mingle together to make a super festive drink.
💥 flavor-packed. Muddled cocktails are flavor powerhouses for a reason! Smashing the ingredients together in a process called maceration is a bold and powerful way to impart lots of flavor, fast! Plus, it’s fun to smash things around the holidays when nerves can ride a little higher. 😜
⚖️ well-balanced. While some holiday cocktails can be heavy on the sweet side, this Christmas gin cocktail is well-balanced in flavor thanks to the rosemary simple syrup and gin.
🛒 ingredients
- rosemary simple syrup - rosemary simple syrup adds sweetness and an herbaceous blast of flavor to this festive cocktail. If you don’t have time to make this simple syrup, check the area of this post for substitutions for recommended alternatives.
- fresh rosemary - this drink is garnished with fresh sprigs of rosemary, and if you want an extra boost of rosemary, you can add some to the cocktail shaker while muddling the ingredients together!
- fresh cranberries - you’ll need some fresh, whole cranberries for the garnish of this cocktail, and some for muddling the drink together, too. After all, this is a SMASH! 💥
- lime - you’ll need at least ½ of a lime per cocktail, so if you’re making more than one drink, make sure to grab a few limes. We’ll be using whole lime wedges, so make sure they’re fresh!
- cranberry infused gin - this recipe uses my cranberry-infused gin, which I believe is totally worth taking the time to make! Buuuut….if you are in a hurry, you can use regular gin as well. Using cranberry infused gin helps to deepen the berry flavor of this cocktail, making it extra fruity!
- cranberry ice cubes - this cocktail really capitalizes on the cranberry, and these cranberry ice cubes put the presentation over the top!
See the recipe card for quantities.
👊 what is a smash cocktail?
A smash cocktail is one that has ingredients muddled together. Smash cocktails have been documented for decades, probably most famously in one of the first cocktail books ever, Jerry Thomas’s 1880’s book “The Bar-Tenders Guide” (also called “How to Mix Drinks”). Traditionally, smash cocktails are made by combining liquor, sugar, and other ingredients like herbs or fruits.
- type of liquor - Historically, you may have seen a whiskey smash or a bourbon smash on cocktail menus, but you can make a smash using any kind of liquor. A mojito is a version of a smash using rum. A mint julep is a version using whiskey.
- muddle - you’ll need a muddler for making smashes, or at least something you can use to smoosh the ingredients together to blend their flavors. You can use the end of a kitchen tool, like a large spoon or spatula, but using a muddler is the best way to macerate the flavors together. A muddler provides an even, flat surface for smashing ingredients together.
- strain - smash cocktails are often strained, because the ingredients can clog straws, and it can be unappealing to get a chunk of something in your cocktail if you aren’t expecting it. However, you can leave the ingredients in for a show-stopping presentation.
🍳 instructions
Make your garnishes first, so they’re ready to go when your drink is mixed. To do this, take a fresh sprig of rosemary that is about 3 inches long, and remove the leaves from the bottom ¾ of the rosemary by pulling them down the stem of the sprig.
Step 1: Remove the leaves of rosemary from a sprig, and cut the bottom of the sprig of rosemary at an angle with a sharp pairing knife to make a pointed end, like a toothpick.
Step 2: Spear 3 cranberries onto the rosemary, and set it off to the side to make the rest of the drink.
Step 3: In a cocktail shaker or mixing glass, add the rosemary simple syrup.
Step 4: Add in fresh cranberries that have been rinsed clean.
Step 5: Slice a lime into four wedges, and add in two of the wedges per cocktail.
Step 6: Add the cranberry gin to the mixing glass, then top with ice cubes.
Step 7: Shake or stir the mixture to chill your cocktail.
Step 8: Strain your cocktail through a cocktail strainer. Garnish with your rosemary sprig and cranberries, then serve it immediately.
Hint: It is easier to muddle a lime wedge than a half of a whole lime. Cut your lime into four wedges to make it easier to smash your ingredients together. 👊
💡tips and tricks for getting it right
🍽️ serving tips
Choose your glass
- Smashes are traditionally served in a rocks glass with a single large ice cube, or with crushed ice. I also love serving this cocktail over cranberry ice cubes for even more wow-factor!
- You can also choose a small glass like a martini glass or coupe glass with shaved ice, or no ice, for a more elevated presentation.
How and When to Serve Your Cranberry Smash Cocktails
- Serve these festive cranberry cocktails at any fall or winter holiday gathering. They make the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas cranberry cocktail.
- You can even make a large batch of these drinks by muddling a few at a time in advance, then straining and storing them in a pitcher until you are ready to serve them.
Garnish
- A garnish is a great way to give flavor clues to your guests. The rosemary and cranberry garnish is a wonderful hint for your guests at the flavor of this cocktail.
- Use a sharp pairing knife to cut a sprig of fresh rosemary at an angle to create a pointed end. This will help you to skewer cranberries onto the rosemary sprig.
- For an even fancier twist, you can roll your cranberry garnishes in sugar to make them sparkle!
ℹ️ troubleshooting tips
If your drinks don’t taste quite right, try one of these troubleshooting tips.
- not enough cranberry flavor - if you are not using cranberry infused gin, you may want to use more fresh cranberries to muddle into your cocktails to maximize the cranberry flavor.
- too tart - cranberries and cranberry juice is very tart. Additionally, limes can vary greatly in flavor, so it’s possible that your limes can bring a lot of acidity to the mix. If your cocktail is too tart, you can add in more rosemary simple syrup to balance things out.
- not enough rosemary flavor - you can add in more sprigs of rosemary to amp up the rosemary flavor if you don’t have a strong enough flavor of the herb.
⚖️ scaling tips
This cocktail can be scaled up for a crowd. If you are making a large batch, I recommend using a cocktail mixing glass instead of a shaker to muddle your cocktails. You can fit 3-4 servings in a cocktail mixing glass to muddle at once.
Then, you can strain the mix into a pitcher.
Store the pitcher in the fridge to chill it, then serve as your guests arrive in your preferred glass.
🔆 top tip
Make sure to really squish the ingredients together with the muddler— that’s where the smash comes from in this recipe!
♻️ substitutions & variations
♻️ substitutions
Missing an ingredient? No problem. Check out these tried-and-true substitutions, or comment below with your question. I’m here to help you troubleshoot!
- vodka - you can use vodka in place of gin in this cocktail, but you may want to add more berries and rosemary to amp up the flavor. You can also use rum or tequila if you like.
- swap your citrus - if you can’t find fresh limes near you (it happens, ask my mom about her lime story from my wedding 🤣) you can substitute lemons and things will be just fine. Additionally, you can use orange in place of lemons or limes. Cranberry and orange go together very well, and you can even add in a little bit of orange juice!
- use another simple syrup - you can use plain simple syrup or even cranberry simple syrup for an extra boost of berry flavor. If you use regular simple syrup, you may want to add in a few sprigs of fresh rosemary to add more rosemary flavor.
🎛️ variations
Feeling like a rebel?! 😈 Feel free to stray from the recipe card using these variations, or leave me a comment with your own!
- use a different liquor - this cranberry cocktail can be made using vodka, tequila, or even rum! You can also try it with dark liquors like brandy, whiskey, or cognac.
- make it a mocktail - omit the gin and use an alcohol-free spirit like Seedlip or Ritual Zero Proof for a non-alcoholic cranberry smash. You can also just use water in place of gin if you don’t have any alcohol-free spirits on hand.
- use a different herb or fruit- make a drink that’s similar to a yule mule by adding in some rosemary before you muddle the mixture. You can also channel tropical mojito vibes by adding in some fresh mint instead and muddling that up! Additionally, you can make this cocktail using any seasonal fruit you like. That means you can enjoy a smash cocktail any time of year!
- sparkling - you can add sparkling wine, champagne, or even sparkling water to this cocktail to give it some bubbly fizz!
🧰 equipment needed & storage tips
🧰 tools needed
- cocktail shaker or cocktail mixing glass - you can use either a cocktail shaker or a cocktail mixing glass for this drink recipe. If yiou are using a shaker, you may not need to use a cocktail strainer. The tops of cocktail shakers do a pretty good job of straining ingredients out of the finished drink. However, you may want to double strain if you want to make drinks that have no chunks of ingredients in them.
- cocktail strainer - a small cocktail strainer is the perfect tool to use in the kitchen. It efficiently strains any small bits and pieces out of your mixed drinks with ease. I love this cocktail strainer from OXO because it is stainless steel. This is important when using acidic ingredients like lime juice and cranberries!
- cocktail muddler - it’s no secret that I love my OXO tools, and my favorite muddler also comes from OXO. It is nice and light, but it also has a nice surface area to the muddling end. It’s made of stainless steel, so it’s dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. As a bonus, it is ergonomic and is super easy to hold, which is a big plus when you are muddling drinks together.
- cocktail glass - I love presenting this cocktail in a nice coupe glass or rocks glass filled with cranberry ice cubes. You can use whatever glasses you have on hand, but keep in mind that this is a drink that is on the smaller side at only 3-4 ounces. You will either want to use a smaller glass or fill the glasses with ice.
- cocktail spoon - Of course, you can use a regular spoon if you don’t have a cocktail mixing spoon. But, a cocktail mixing spoon is an easy way to look like a pro for less than 10 bucks! 😉 Plus, cocktail stirring spoons help you to mix ingredients without agitating the drink too much and over diluting the ice. The longer handle is also great for added control in deeper glasses.
🫙 how to store your cranberry gin smash
It is best to serve this drink immediately after making it since it contains so many fresh ingredients. If you are making them in advance, you can prepare this cocktail a few hours before your event and store it in the fridge.
💬 q+a
Gin has a prominent flavor of botanicals, similar to how a Christmas tree smells. It is pine line, woodsy, and can sometimes be almost floral in flavor. The taste of gin varies from brand to brand, because each distiller has a different recipe. The similarity among gin brands is that they contain juniper, which is a member of the cypress family of trees.
You can use frozen cranberries! Be sure to allow them to thaw first before trying to muddle them or skewer them onto a rosemary sprig.
Use a sharp pairing knife to cut a sprig of rosemary at an angle. This creates a pointed end, like a toothpick. You can also pierce cranberries with a toothpick or cocktail pick, then thread them onto the sprig of rosemary. Be sure to remove the bottom leaves of rosemary and only leave a little tuft at the top.
📌 pin this recipe for later!
If you make this recipe, please leave a review in the comments and a star rating!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read every single comment! I also love connecting on social media, so snap a pic and hashtag it #myrecipeforfun and tag me on Instagram, TikTok, or pin this recipe on Pinterest!
🥣 recipe
Cranberry Gin Smash (Cranberry Gin Cocktail)
Equipment
- 1 cocktail shaker or cocktail mixing glass
- 1 cocktail muddler
- 1 cocktail strainer
- 1 cocktail glass of choice such as a rocks glass or coupe glass
Ingredients
- 2 ounces cranberry infused gin see substitutions & variations section for alternatives
- ½ whole lime fresh
- .5 ounce rosemary simple syrup see substitutions & variations section for alternatives
- 6 whole cranberries
Instructions
To make the garnish
- Take a fresh sprig of rosemary that is about 3 inches long, and remove the leaves from the bottom ¾ of the rosemary by pulling them down the stem of the sprig.
- Cut the bottom of the sprig of rosemary at an angle with a sharp pairing knife to make a pointed end, like a toothpick.
- Spear 3 cranberries onto the rosemary, and set it off to the side to make the rest of the drink.
To make the cocktail
- Combine the lime wedges, cranberry simple syrup, and whole cranberries in a cocktail shaker.
- Muddle with a cocktail muddler, making sure to really squish things down and combine them.
- Add the gin into the shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds.
- Strain through a cocktail strainer into a glass of your choice. You can either use a large ice cube, crushed ice, or no ice.
- Garnish with a sprig of rosemary that has been skewered with three cranberries.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Substitutions & Variations:
No rosemary simple syrup: If you do not have time to make the rosemary simple syrup, you can use regular simple syrup or ½ teaspoon of granulated sugar dissolved into 2 ounces of gin. No cranberry-infused gin: If you do not have time to make your own cranberry-infused gin, you can increase the number of cranberries you muddle from 6 to 12. Alternatively, you can add in .5 ounces of unsweetened cranberry juice. To use cranberry juice cocktail: If you only have cranberry juice cocktail, do not add in simple syrup.Nutrition Information
The information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition facts calculator and actual nutrition facts may vary.
🧯food safety & other information
Food safety is an important ingredient in any recipe for success! Here are some tips to keep you safe in the kitchen!
- Always enjoy alcohol responsibly, and never give alcohol to anyone under 21 years of age. For more information about responsible alcohol consumption, click here.
Leave a Reply