Photography by Julie Bidwell
Q: I’d love to use my new set of coupe glasses this holiday season. What’s a festive drink that’ll show them off?
A: This cocktail with its combination of sautéed berries, aromatic spices, and wintry pine notes from the gin checks all of your holiday drink boxes. Adding sparkling wine for festive bubbles is the cherry—or in this case, cranberry—on top.
Cranberry French 75
INGREDIENTS
For the spiced cranberry cordial:
3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
2 whole star anise pods
5 cardamom pods
3 whole cloves
1 C water
2 C sugar
Peel of one orange
2 C fresh cranberries
1 C fresh lime juice (8 limes)
3/4 t kosher salt
For the cocktail mix:
1 C spiced cranberry cordial
1 C freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (2 pink grapefruits)
1 1/2 C London dry gin
DIRECTIONS
For the spiced cranberry cordial:
Add cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom, and cloves to a saucepan and toast over medium heat, shaking pan frequently, until fragrant; make sure not to let them burn. Add water, sugar, orange peel, cranberries, lime juice, and salt and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer and cook, using a wooden spoon to smash fruit against side of pan, until all the cranberries have popped. Remove from heat and let cool completely, 1-2 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a resealable container. Cordial can be kept up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
For the cocktail mix:
Up to 2 hours before serving, mix cordial, grapefruit juice, and gin in a pitcher, bottle or resealable container. Use immediately or store up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.
TO SERVE
Fill a coupe or fluted glass with ice and add 3I ounces cocktail mix and 2 ounces chilled sparkling wine. Stir gently and garnish with skewered cranberries.