The Conversation
The Secret Ingredient in This Cosmopolitan Is Delicious AND Will Get Rid of Your Leftovers
Sparkles? Check. Cranberries? Check. Orange liqueur? Check. A large splash of vodka for good measure (if you’ve got any leftover from this ginger-lime-vodka infusion)? Check. Okay, we’re all set for holiday cocktails! It’s pretty difficult to improve upon the classic cosmopolitan, but we think we’ve cracked it, while using up holiday leftovers too! The addition of a good spoonful of store-bought or homemade cranberry sauce to that cocktail shaker adds an extra sweet tanginess that tastes amazing. Take it over the top with a sugar- and edible glitter-rimmed glass, then finish it off with fresh cranberries and beautifully fragrant thyme. This is the party cocktail of the season!
Ingredients:
Serves 2
- 1 lime
- 2 heaped Tablespoons superfine sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine edible gold glitter
- 2 cocktail stirrers/skewers
- 12-14 fresh or frozen cranberries
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 Tablespoons cointreau (or other orange liqueur)
- 2 1/2 fluid ounces (5 Tablespoons)Â vodka
- 2 1/2 fluid ounces (5 Tablespoons) cranberry juice
- 2 heaped teaspoons cranberry sauce
Instructions:
- Slice the lime in half, and make a shallow cut into the flat side of one of the lime pieces (like you’re going to cut the lime into quarters, but don’t go all the way through with the knife). Take a martini glass, and use the cut part of the lime to run the lime around the whole edge of the glass. Repeat with a second glass. Place the sugar and edible glitter on a plate. Stir to mix. Place one of the glasses upside-down into the glitter sugar to coat the top of the glass (the lime juice should make it stick). Repeat with the other glass. Put the glasses to one side.
- Thread the cranberries onto the two cocktail skewers, then wind the thyme sprigs around the cranberries. Put to one side.
- Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the cointreau, vodka, cranberry juice, cranberry sauce and juice of the remaining half of the lime. Place a lid on the shaker and shake thoroughly.
- Pour the cocktail into the glasses (use a strainer so the ice and any lumps of cranberry sauce are left behind).
- Top the glasses with the cranberry and thyme skewers before serving.
Slice the lime in half, and make a shallow cut into the flat side of one of the lime pieces (like you’re going to cut the lime into quarters, but don’t go all the way through with the knife). Take a martini glass, and use the cut part of the lime to run the lime around the whole edge of the glass. Repeat with a second glass. Place the sugar and edible glitter on a plate. Stir to mix. Place one of the glasses upside-down into the glitter sugar to coat the top of the glass (the lime juice should make it stick). Repeat with the other glass. Put the glasses to one side.
Thread the cranberries onto the two cocktail skewers, then wind the thyme sprigs around the cranberries. Put to one side.
Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the cointreau, vodka, cranberry juice, cranberry sauce and juice of the remaining half of the lime. Place a lid on the shaker and shake thoroughly.
Pour the cocktail into the glasses (use a strainer so the ice and any lumps of cranberry sauce are left behind).
Top the glasses with the cranberry and thyme skewers before serving.
Have you got a cranberry sauce hack? We’d love to hear — tweet us @BritandCo, and check out our Pinterest for more festive cocktails!
Nicky lives in Cheshire in the UK with her husband Chris and their two children Gracey and Lewis. She spends her days creating, photographing and writing recipes for her blog Kitchen Sanctuary.
More From Cocktails
It can be intimidating to step out on your own and build a business from the ground up. As part of our collaboration with Office Depot, we're talking with Selfmade alum and solopreneur Colette Lawrence, the faith-based motivator and relationship builder behind The M.E.E. Movement, about ways in which women in business can find success.
B + C: How did you know M.E.E. Movement was your business to start?
The M.E.E Movement represents motivation, empowerment, and encouragement for women. It is what represents me. I did not know at first that it was my business to start, but then the thought of monetizing what I loved came to me. It scared me, however. I registered the business in July 2020 and have been slowly building my wings since.
B + C: What's one strategy that's helped you start your business?
Thinking through and researching what the requirements are to start my business, and then asking questions of people who are in the business. Not all advice worked; however, it helped me to figure out what I needed to do and not to do.
B + C: Did you always know life coaching would be your entrepreneurial path?
(Smiles) No, I did not. I 'stumbled" on it. I knew that people were always coming to me for advice and I found that I loved having conversations with them, especially with women, young and old.
B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?
My most valuable takeaway was the first day of training: Get out of your own way. There were a lot of great moments and important takeaways from every presenter. However, getting out of my own way, pushing past doubts, was for me my most valuable takeaway. Doing something that I had never done before took courage. If I do not focus on what is happening with me mentally then I cannot deliver to my clients successfully.
B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?
Get out of your head. You have something to offer. You have what you need to succeed so go ahead and do it.
B + C: How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by listening to music and listening to motivational speakers, and sometimes someone will just reach out and talk about the impact that I made in their life. That adds the extra juice or sauce I need to pummel through the day.
B + C: What's your best organizational tip?
Keep a diary and journal. It's the best way for me to keep organized and it also provides a source motivation as I record not only my "losses" but my wins as well.
B + C: Who inspires you in the entrepreneurial space?
Shirley Toliver – She motivates and empowers and makes me always want to show up.
B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot scholarship to Selfmade done to help you start or grow your business?
The scholarship was a blessing in that all the areas that were covered offered valuable information that I needed, from social media to HR. As a new business owner, I needed to know this to increase my own personal awareness in what it takes to run a successful business. The candidness of the presenters made it easy to see myself in their shoes and helped me to realize that I can also get there.
Thanks Colette! You can follow The M.E.E. Movement on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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Head to Office Depot's Selfmade page to check out even more amazing business resources (and discounts!) to help you accomplish more on your entrepreneurial journey. These offers are available for a limited time only, so be sure to take advantage of all this goodness while supplies last. Want to join the next Selfmade cohort this summer? Check out all of the scholarship details right here.
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