Cranberry Gin Fizz Cocktail

This is my favorite cocktail from the beginning of Fall all the way through the Holidays. I would drink it all year if I could find cranberries! So pretty and festive and with fantastic seasonal flavors, the Cranberry Gin Fizz Cocktail does not disappoint!

I spied the Cranberry Gin Fizz Cocktail that inspired me to make this cocktail in Bon Appetit magazine when I received their October 2011 issue in September of that year. Though clearly a fall cocktail, at that time we were having a hot streak and the notion of fall or cranberries seemed in the distant future.

Fast forward and suddenly 95 degrees would require that we combine our daytime and nighttime temperatures and add some to boot! We had two back to back big snowfalls in Denver and nothing says fall quite like leaves and snow falling at the same time!

I can’t deny I have a strong proclivity to almost anything cranberry. Maybe it was the year I discovered them after a childhood of associating cranberry sauce with a cylindrical form with ring marks embedded in the shape. I HATED that stuff; ergo I hated all things cranberry by association.

Luckily I politely tried some fresh cranberry sauce at a friends once; everything changed and now this time each season I look forward to seeing what can be done with these pretties.

This cocktail is not just pretty though. While I do love the festive look that can take us from the day after Halloween all the way to the end of the year, it’s the combination of ingredients that make it spectacular. Cranberry, citrus, ginger ale and, or course, gin all meld together to offer a crisp, not too sweet and altogether refreshing cocktail.

I freely admit I’m a Costcoaholic and buying a bag of cranberries means I have to design several uses. I often have them steeping in a pot on the stove with some cinnamon and orange zest; I love having my home scented for the holidays with something other than a room spray.

I also love to decorate my holiday tables with them in bowls of water with floating candles. They float and surround the candles and it makes for a natural and beautiful table decoration.

But you really don’t care about my holiday decor, right? It’s all about the beverage! Beyond the berries, the lemons and orange slices, I think it’s important to use a good quality gin as well as a quality ginger ale. I used Bombay Sapphire gin, it’s my go to gin for cocktails and I’ve also become hooked on ginger beer which I’ve been getting at World Market; a very ginger ale it is!

Ginger beer has become so popular that it is showing up in more and more supermarkets too…it’s worth it if you can find it.

The original recipe called for adding sherry but I substituted ginger ale and it’s perfect…just that little bit of fizz adds a welcome element; ginger beer would also be a great choice if you can find it. But you know what’s important that is probably not often considered for cocktail success? Ice.

When my ice maker went on the fritz; I recalled seeing that the local Sonic drive-in sold ice. I bought some to use until my ice maker was repaired and now I can’t stop. I just love the small round pellets that are so crunch-able. For this cocktail that requires you mound some ice on top, it’s especially perfect!

No Sonic? No problem but for best effect; try to find an ice that is prettier than the moon shaped ones from your freezer; the look really can make the drink! Crushed that ice would be preferable to the whole moon cube too.

I hope you’ll join me and make this Cranberry Gin Fizz Cocktail during the Fall and holiday season; it’s not just a pretty face, it’s perfectly delicious too…cheers!

Want more festive cocktail ideas? I’ve got them!

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