Christmas

Cranberry-Rosemary Sparkler

by:
October 15, 2012
5
2 Ratings
  • Makes 2 cups of cranberry-rosemary syrup
Author Notes

This is a simple and delicious drink to serve at your next dinner party or holiday table. It’s tart, tangy and sweet from the cranberries, ginger, and citrus, with a lovely, unexpected herbal note from fresh rosemary. While it’s a special non-alcoholic drink, by all means add cava instead of sparkling water if that’s the way you roll. —EmilyC

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 orange
  • 1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)
  • ½ cup thinly sliced ginger
  • 2 leafy rosemary sprigs, each about 7 to 8 inches long
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • Freshly squeezed lime or orange juice, for finishing
  • Sparkling water (or cava), for finishing
  • Frozen cranberries for garnish (optional)
Directions
  1. To get started: Remove rind from orange in long strips using a sharp vegetable peeler, taking care to avoid white pith. Juice the orange. You should have about ½ cup of juice.
  2. To make syrup: Combine orange rind, juice, cranberries, ginger, rosemary, raw sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Lower heat and maintain a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes; you want the cranberries to pop and release their juice. Take off heat and let cool to room temperature; leave rosemary sprigs in so they'll impart more flavor. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing down and scraping back and forth with a spatula to extract as much of the juice as possible. Discard solids. Store in a tightly-sealed glass jar or measuring cup in the refrigerator for one week.
  3. To make soda: Combine 3 parts syrup with 1 part lime (or orange) juice. Add sparkling water or cava until you get the dilution you prefer. Frozen cranberries make a nice garnish.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • hardlikearmour
    hardlikearmour
  • EmilyC
    EmilyC
  • Anne E Fitzgerald
    Anne E Fitzgerald
EmilyC

Recipe by: EmilyC

I'm a home cook. I love salads. Two things you'll always find in my refrigerator are lemons and butter, and in my pantry good quality chocolate and the makings for chocolate chip cookies.

3 Reviews

Anne E. November 23, 2024
Perfect base for cocktails or mocktails. Add 1 oz of gin and a Prosecco float for cocktails, and sparkling water or ginger beer/ginger ale for mocktails. Gorgeous color and really nice flavor balance.
 
hardlikearmour October 15, 2012
This sounds really refreshing! Can't wait to try it.
 
EmilyC October 16, 2012
It is really refreshing -- I'm planning on making it a lot this holiday season. Hope you try it and like it! : )