Poinsettia drink (cranberry champagne cocktail)

This cranberry champagne cocktail, officially known as the Poinsettia drink, is the most beautiful Christmas drink! It’s deliciously sweet, tart, and bubbly-- and the colors are perfect. The beautiful crimson color with a green accent explains why (keep reading for a ton of different garnish options).

Not only is the Poinsettia drink delicious and gorgeous, it couldn’t be simpler. All you need is 3 standard ingredients and a pretty garnish. 

 I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays!

what makes this cranberry champagne cocktail so good?

I love to upgrade the ingredients a bit to make it more flavorful and, of course, more memorable.

• We use Grand Marnier in place of a standard triple sec. It adds notes of caramelized bitter orange, roasted nuts and sweet vanilla. It also gives the cocktail a richness that you won’t get from Cointreau or other triple secs.
• 100% cranberry juice, instead of the sugary dilute juice hodgepodge marketed as cranberry cocktail juice. It’s very tart and a little too intense on its own, but it packs so much flavor in cocktails. 
  • NOTE! Watch out for “100% Juice: Cranberry” labels. Those sneaky labels are usually apple juice with a splash of cran.
• Traditional method sparkling wine. Real Champagne isn’t necessary, and no one should spend that kind of money on wine to mix it with juice and liqueur. But Cava, Cremants, or affordable traditional method sparkling wines from around the world all provide quality wines with fine bubbles, toasty flavors, and low residual sugar. And that goes a long way in improving this cranberry champagne cocktail!

Poinsettia ingredients:

• Grand Marnier
• 100% cranberry juice
• traditional method sparkling wine
• rosemary

how to make a Poinsettia drink:

1. Combine Grand Marnier and cranberry juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Stir to chill and strain into a flute.
3. Top with chilled sparkling wine.
4. Garnish! (see ideas below)

For the best results, stir the Grand Marnier and cranberry juice on ice to chill and then add the chilled sparkling wine. To speed it up, skip the cocktail shaker part-- the drink just won’t be as cold.

To batch the Poinsettia drink for 8:

1. Combine 1 cup of Grand Marnier and ¾ cup cranberry juice in a glass jar.
2. Chill in the fridge until ready.
3. Pour 2 ½ oz of the mix into each flute and top with Champagne. 

garnish ideas for cranberry champagne cocktail:

Here’s a list of a ton of fun ways you can garnish your holiday Poinsettia cocktail!

• Halved fresh cranberries, dropped into the flute
• Sprig of rosemary placed upside down on the rim, like a Christmas tree
• Frozen cranberries dropped in the flute
• Sugared sage leaves
• Orange wheel or candied orange peel
• Fresh bay leaf
• Fresh cranberries, threaded on a cocktail pick, and balanced on top of the flute
• Sugared rim for a festive sparkle
• Orange twist, draped off the rim
• Sugared cranberries, skewered on a pick
• Fresh mint sprig
• Pomegranate seeds

More Christmas drink recipes to try:

bourbon milk punch

chai whiskey flip

champagne cocktail recipe

holiday whiskey punch

boozy coconut hot chocolate

vodka cranberry martini

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