I'm a huge fan of gin and tonic, and I love mixing up new variations. This cranberry gin and tonic cocktail was initially a test run for a party I am planning for friends and family, but it was love at first sip!
I love this variation on the classic gin and tonic – especially for the Holiday Season. It's perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas – but it's so delicious and refreshing that you'll want to enjoy it all year long.
You'll love the scrumptious cranberry flavor, and they're super quick and easy to whip together, allowing me to spend less time behind the bar and more time enjoying the company of my loved ones!
Jump to:
🎥 Video
🥘 Ingredients
- Ice Cubes – Filled to the brim of your glass
- Gin of Your Choice - Check out our complete guide to gin and tonic for inspiration.
- Cranberry Juice
- Tonic Water
- Orange Wedge, Rosemary Twig, and Drinking Straw for garnish if you are using a Highball Glass
See the recipe card for quantities.
👣 Step-by-Step
🔪 Instructions
As far as cocktails go, this one's pretty simple and easy to whip together!
Go ahead and start by filling your highball or balloon glass to the brim with ice.
Next, add in your gin of choice and cranberry juice to the glass. A typical highball glass holds 240 (1 cup) to 350 ml (1 ½ cups).
Last but not least, fill up your glass with tonic.
Since I am using Christmas ornament-shaped glasses, I have to use a stirring glass for mixing. So fill up your stirring glass with cubed ice, add the gin and the cranberry juice, and fill up the stirring glass with 2 - 3 cups of tonic.
Once everything's been mixed well, you can pour your cocktail into two glasses. If using a stirring glass, strain the mix through a Hawthorn or Julep strainer to hold back the cubed ice.
This cranberry gin and tonic is best garnished with an orange wedge, rosemary twig, and a (reusable) drinking straw.
🍸 Variations
The classic gin and tonic has an endless number of different varieties because of the number of different gin and of tonic varieties that are available. (Check out our Gin & Tonic Guide)
For this cranberry gin and tonic, you also have the option of garnishing with fresh cranberries.
🍸 More Cocktails for You to Try
-
Cranberry Aperol Spritz
-
Gin and Tonic with Lemon
-
Your Complete Guide to Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
-
Vanilla Vodka and Tonic
🍽 Equipment
- Cocktail stirring glass
- Bar spoon
- Funnel
- Jigger
- Hawthorn or Julep Strainer (If you are using a stirring glass).
- Highball Glasses or Christmas Ornament Glasses (Chilled)
🌡 Storage
For many reasons, this cocktail should be enjoyed right away. One of the biggest reasons, though, is because tonic water will eventually go flat – ruining the fresh, crisp taste that gin and tonics are so famously known for.
💭 Top tips
When preparing your gin and tonic cocktails at home, it's important that you hold your highball glasses from the bottom and avoid touching the rim. By doing this, you help keep your chilled glass nice and cool – which honestly makes the cocktail taste that much better!
Are you wondering, "How do I chill a cocktail glass properly?" The most efficient way to get a perfectly chilled glass is to put them in the freezer beforehand. I usually give it at least a half hour, but if you're like me and plan to have friends and family over for backyard grilling and dinner parties this summer, you could also throw your glasses in the night before.
If you don't have that kind of freezer space or that kind of time between refills for your guests, another method you could adopt is filling each cocktail glass with ice cubes while you prepare the cucumber slices and fresh lime wedges. Once it comes time to start lining your glasses with cucumber slices again, you can dump out the ice and start pouring the cocktail.
Normally, I mix the gin and tonic directly in the serving glass. In today's special case, where I want to use these cute Christmas ornament glasses, I used a stirring glass for mixing the cocktail. Once the cocktail was ready, I used a funnel to divide the cranberry gin and tonic.
Since I didn't have ice cubes this time inside the glass, it is really important to use ice-cold serving glasses. This drink won’t keep super cold for a long time, but it's still the perfect drink if you're hosting a party outdoors.
If you don’t wanna serve your cranberry gin and tonic in such glasses, serve the cocktail like a regular gin and tonic in a highball glass.
One final tip, in an attempt to protect our environment, is that I highly encourage you to avoid using disposable straws whenever possible, opt to use either metal or paper straws or simply forgo them altogether.
🙋🏻 FAQ
When it comes to adding a little bit of flavor to your gin and tonics, what juice goes best is all a matter of personal preference. Personally, I think cranberry juice is delicious, but I also really enjoy adding splashes of orange juice, mango juice, and pineapple juice. There are so many variations on the classic gin and tonic, and it's absolutely worth experimenting to see what you like best!
In a typical cranberry gin and tonic, there's about 100 calories – give or take!
There's lots of great benefits from cranberries – so why not mix it with your gin and tonic?! Cranberries have been shown to lower your risk of urinary tract infection, decrease blood pressure, and boost your immune system.
There's lot of things that pair well with gin and tonic! Cranberry juice is great, but feel free to try other juices. Personally, I like tropical picks like oranges, mangos, and pineapple.
OTHER RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY
- The Complete Guide to Gin & Tonic
- How to Make a Refreshing Strawberry Spritz Cocktail
- Refreshing Lavender Daiquiri
- How to Make a Snowball Cocktail
- Homemade Vodka Sidecar
- Lovely Lavender Spritz Cocktail
If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.
📖 Recipe
Cranberry Gin Cocktail
Equipment
- Cocktail stirring glass
- Bar spoon
- Funnel
- Hawthorn or Julep Strainer
- 2 Highball Glasses or Christmas ornament glasses - chilled
Ingredients
- Cubed Ice
- 3 oz Gin of your liking
- 1 ½ oz Cranberry juice
- Tonic To fill up the glass
Garnish
- Orange wedge
- Rosemary twig
- Drinking straw
Instructions
- Fill a well-chilled stirring glass to the brim with Cubed Ice.Cubed Ice
- Add 3 oz Gin, 1 ½ oz Cranberry juiceill up with Tonic (one high ball glass holds 240 (1 cup) to 350 ml (1 ½ cups)) - so I recommend adding 2 - 3 cups tonic to the stirring glass.3 oz Gin, 1 ½ oz Cranberry juice, Tonic
- Garnish with an Orange wedge, Rosemary twig, and a Drinking straw if using a highball glass.Orange wedge, Rosemary twig, Drinking straw
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Marina Shalneva
Wow what a classic cocktail with a twist! Very inspiring, cannot wait to try it!
Nora
Awesome, Marina! Let me know how you liked it!
Gloria
A great drink for the holidays. Perfect for parties. Love the combination of flavours.
Debra
Delicious and so festive....putting this on the menu for Thanksgiving.
Helen Fern
Couldn't wait for the holidays - this drink is really tasty!! It's festive but we'll be enjoying it year round!
Nora
Thank you, Helen! I am glad you liked it!
swathi
Cranberry gin and tonic looks delicious and festive I like to serve this for coming party.
Nora
Thank you, Swathi! Let me know how you liked it!