A mulled wine inspired cranberry mocktail, this is made with warm winter spices like cinnamon and ginger, and topped off with cranberry juice, orange juice, and kombucha. Lightly sweet, spicy, and a little tart, it'll be your new favourite winter drink!
Get into the holiday mood with a Christmas simmer pot (though this mocktail will make your house smell great too!), a vegan ginger cake, or make your own spiced orange pomanders.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Cranberry juice: use unsweetened. If you can't get it without added sugar, omit the brown sugar from the drink.
- Kombucha: use a plain kombucha. Ginger beer is a good substitution.
- Brown sugar: you can sub honey or maple syrup if preferred, but don't use something like coconut sugar.
How to Make a Cranberry Mocktail
Step 1: add the cranberry juice, spices, sugar, and orange peel to a small pot. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
Step 2: add the chilled cranberry juice mixture to a glass and top with orange juice and kombucha.
Top Tips
- Plan in advance: the cranberry juice and spices need to simmer for a while, and then need more time to cool, so you should make this ahead of time.
- Reuse the spices: the spices and orange peel can be used twice. After straining, keep them in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or two, and then simmer with more cranberry juice and sugar.
- Serve immediately: this doesn't make a great punch, since kombucha is naturally bubbly and the carbonation doesn't last long. You can have the cranberry mix in a bottle and mix the three right at the table, though.
How to Store
Storage: keep the spiced cranberry juice in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don't recommend storing the fully mixed cranberry mocktail.
Freezing: I don't recommend freezing this. If you want to chill even more, instead of ice cubes, try adding frozen cranberries!
FAQ
Can I use sweetened cranberry juice?
It can be hard to find unsweetened cranberry juice. If you can't, you can sub sweetened (sometimes called cranberry cocktail) and omit the sugar, but note that it will taste different.
Can ground ginger be subbed for fresh?
I don't recommend making this change. Ground ginger has a completely different flavour from fresh, and it's hard to strain out.
Does kombucha have alcohol in it?
Kombucha can contain some naturally occurring alcohol since it's fermented, but it's generally considered to be nonalcoholic.
More Wintery Drinks
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Recipe
Cranberry Mocktail
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Small pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 star anise
- 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger sliced
- 2 strips orange zest
To Serve
- Orange juice
- Unflavoured kombucha or ginger ale or sparkling water
Instructions
- Add the juice, sugar, spices, and orange zest to a small pot. Bring to a simmer over low heat and simmer for 20 minutes, covered.2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 stick cinnamon, 2 star anise, 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, 2 strips orange zest
- Chill the mixture fully. This takes a couple of hours. Once cold, strain through a fine sieve.
- To make the mocktails, mix 2 oz. of the cranberry mix with 2 oz. of orange juice and 2 oz. of kombucha. Garnish with fresh cranberries and rosemary, and serve cold.Orange juice, Unflavoured kombucha