Delight Your Guests By Serving These Spiced Cranberry Rosé Spritzers At Thanksgiving

When it comes to Thanksgiving drinks, we're all about the festive flavors. This refreshing and delicious bevvie is one of our absolute favorites! Tieghan from Half-Baked Harvest was kind enough to share this insanely yummy drink recipe with us. Take it away, Tieghan!

Getting into the Thanksgiving spirit with these Spiced Cranberry Rosé Spritzers. Homemade spiced cranberry jam, woodsy rosemary, fruity rosé, sweet elderflower liquor, fresh citrus, and spicy ginger beer. Mix everything together to create a festive pitcher style cocktail that's easy to create, refreshing, and delicious. Bonus… this drink can be made ahead of time for easy holiday entertaining, and the festive red color doubles as a gorgeous decor piece on any table!

And just like that I'm in full on holiday mode. Can't help it, this time of year makes me so happy! And with Thanksgiving less than two weeks away it's hard not to be excited. Anyone else feeling the same?

We've been having the coziest weather up here in the mountains. It's inspired me to create recipes that will to warm us up from the inside out. That's honestly one of the cheesiest things I'll say, but it's the truth. I know it's hard to imagine a drink warming you up, especially one that's served over ice, but the spices in this wine spritzer do just that.

The key to this fun drink is the cranberry jam/syrup. It's actually kind of a mix between a jam and syrup. It uses fresh fruit like a jam would, but it's consistency is much more syrup like. SO, it's kind of a cross between the two. Whatever you'd like to call it, it's a delicious mix of sweet honey, fresh tart cranberries, rosemary, and warming cardamon. The honey balances out the tart cranberries, while the rosemary and cardamon add coziness and warmth. Perfect for a Thanksgiving spritzer.

To make the jam, just add all ingredients to a pot. Bring to a boil, boil a minute or two, and done, so simple.

Once the jam has cooled, add it to a pitcher, along with a bottle of your favorite rosé, elderflower liquor (this is my favorite right now), cranberry or pomegranate juice, and a few dashes of orange bitters. Chill the mix, and then just before serving, add fresh citrus slices. I used blood oranges, but regular oranges or grapefruit would be great too. Top it all off with fizzy, spicy, ginger beer (another one of my favorites).

This cocktail is both refreshing and warming, perfect for a chilly November night, or a snow filled Thanksgiving Day…

Complete with cozy blankets, a roaring fire and candles galore. ENJOY!

Spiced Cranberry Rosé Spritzers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus more for serving
• 1 tablespoon cardamon pods or 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 bottle (750 ml) rosé wine
• 4 ounces elderflower liquor
• 1/3 cup cranberry or pomegranate juice
• 2-3 dashes orange bitter
• 2 blood oranges or regular oranges, sliced
• 4-6 (12 ounce) ginger beers, to your taste

Directions:

1. To make the cranberry syrup: In a medium pot, bring 1/2 cup water, the honey, cranberries, rosemary, and cardamon to a boil over high heat. Boil 5 minutes or until the cranberries begin to burst, then remove from the heat. Let cool. Remove the rosemary and cardamon pods. If desired, strain out the cranberries.
2. In a large pitcher, combine the cranberry syrup, rosé, elderflower liquor, cranberry juice, and orange bitters. Chill until ready to serve, up to 2 days.
3. Add the orange slices and ginger beer just before serving. Garnish each drink with a candied rosemary (recipe below), if desired.

Candied Rosemary

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently run rosemary sprigs under a little water to dampen and place on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the rosemary with granulated sugar on all sides, making sure the rosemary is thoroughly coated in sugar. Allow to dry on the baking sheet for 1 hour. The rosemary can be made 1 day in advance and stored at room temperature.

Want more recipes for Thanksgiving drinks like this one? Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter!