Christmas

Holiday Sparkler

by:
November  6, 2011
4.3
3 Ratings
Holiday Sparkler
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes 1 punch bowl (or 25 single drinks)
Author Notes

This recipe came from a coworker's mom (who is an amazing cook and party planner) as kind of a "add a little of this, a little of that" which typically I'd stay away from in a cocktail because I'm not a natural mixologist. But it was my sister's engagement party last year and she really loved the ingredients so I had to take a leap of faith. We had about 40 for the party and I needed to make a large quantity that was easy for the bartender to serve. We served it individually, as requests came in, but this could easily thrown together and served in a beautiful punch bowl. It was truly a hit for my sister's party and I was pleased to have pushed my comfort level for her. —meganvt01

Test Kitchen Notes

Take a break from mimosas on New Year's Day, try this pretty, pink sparkler. Cranberry, lime and mint dance in the punch bowl with effervescent cava, making the drink tart, sweet, verdant and bright. Cava leads, though, so be careful–this stuff goes straight to the brain. —Lauren Utvich

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 4 bottles cava (chilled)
  • 2 bunches fresh mint
  • 1 cup triple sec
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 cup cranberry juice
  • additional mint, lime or fresh cranberries for garnish
Directions
  1. The night or morning before your party mix together the triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry. Mash up (muddle) the mint and toss into the liquids. Let sit overnight and remove the mint.
  2. Add your cava to punch bowl first. Then add about 3/4 of your mixer (triple sec, lime, and cranberry). Taste - everyone has a preference on sweetness so you can stop here or add the rest. Serve chilled.
  3. If you wanted to serve a la carte rather than in a punch bowl, add about 1 oz of the mixer to the bottom of a champagne flute then fill with cava. Enjoy!!!
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  • QueenOfGreen
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  • tota
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  • AntoniaJames
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  • lapadia
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meganvt01

Recipe by: meganvt01

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5 Reviews

QueenOfGreen
QueenOfGreen December 26, 2021
Made along with the “Cara Cara Oranges with Prosciutto & Pistachio” salad to brighten up a heavy Christmas dinner. Didn’t do morning of prep (because there was already enough going on that morning), so perhaps would have been an additional star if I had had the time needed to make ahead as directed.
 
tota
tota December 28, 2011
This sounds like a great variation on a very simple Nigella recipe we recently used (quite successfully too) for a drinks party. In hers you simply mix 1/4 cup Grand Marnier, 2 cups unsweetend cranberry juice and 1 bottle of cava or prosseco. This was quite good, but I like your addition of mint and the pre-muddling part. will look forward to trying yours soon.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames November 25, 2011
Serving this at a party soon!! ;o)
 
lapadia
lapadia November 10, 2011
Love the name and all ingredients, thanks for sharing!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames November 6, 2011
Sounds divine! So appealing. Thanks for posting this. ;o)