Cranberry Spice Manhattan: Your Ultimate Festive Holiday Whiskey Cocktail Recipe
The Cranberry Spice Manhattan is more than just a drink; it’s a holiday tradition waiting to happen. Featuring homemade cranberry spice infused whiskey, this cocktail truly shines, making every happy hour throughout the festive season extraordinary.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Stirrings. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Cake ‘n Knife!
There’s an undeniable comfort in a perfectly crafted Manhattan, especially when you’re looking to unwind after a demanding day. The holiday season, with its hustle and bustle, often leaves us craving those moments of quiet indulgence and a touch of festive cheer. That’s where a truly special cocktail comes into play – something that elevates the everyday into an occasion, transforming a simple drink into a cherished ritual. This Cranberry Spice Manhattan is precisely that: a seasonal twist on a timeless classic, designed to bring warmth and joy to your evenings.
While the weeks often seem to fly by, some can feel like an endless trek through mud. Those are the days that truly call for a moment of pause, a chance to shake off the day’s weight and step into the evening with intention. For me, that often means crafting a sophisticated cocktail. It’s a small, personal ritual that helps me transition, ending the day on a high note and setting a delightful tone for the hours ahead. This Cranberry Spice Manhattan, with its rich, complex flavors, is the perfect companion for such moments, infusing the spirit of the holidays into every sip.
table of contents
Toggle
Crafting the Perfect Cranberry Spice Manhattan
To truly perfect the cocktails I craft, especially for special occasions like holiday gatherings or a quiet evening at home, I often turn to high-quality ingredients. This is where Stirrings consistently delivers. If you haven’t yet discovered Stirrings, you’re in for a treat. They are a fantastic company dedicated to creating exceptional mixers, rimming mixes, and bar ingredients. What sets them apart is their commitment to flavor, ensuring that every product contributes to a truly delicious and well-balanced cocktail experience.
Our home bar is always stocked with the full range of Stirrings bar ingredients. Their collection includes staples like simple syrup, a classic dirty martini mix, and their outstanding blood orange bitters and grenadine – all ingredients I find myself reaching for time and again when crafting various cocktails. I’m particularly fond of their flavorful blood orange bitters. It strikes the perfect balance, delivering just the right amount of bright citrus infusion to the traditional bitter profile. This unique touch is actually one of the key ingredients that makes this particular Cranberry Spice Manhattan stand out, lending an exceptional depth and brightness that truly elevates the drink for the holiday season.
Essential Bar Tools for Your Cranberry Spice Manhattan
To embark on your Cranberry Spice Manhattan journey, you’ll need a few essential pieces of bar equipment. For creating the star ingredient, the infused whiskey, an airtight container like a high-quality mason jar is crucial. This ensures optimal infusion by preventing air exposure and maintaining a consistent environment for the flavors to meld beautifully. You’ll want a jar large enough to comfortably hold your whiskey and infusion ingredients without being overly crowded.
For crafting the cocktail itself, a good Boston cocktail shaker is indispensable. Its two-piece design allows for efficient mixing and chilling of your ingredients. Coupled with the shaker, a reliable cocktail strainer is necessary to separate the liquid from the ice and any small solids, ensuring a smooth, clean pour every time. Finally, for serving, feature your Cranberry Spice Manhattan in elegant coupe glasses, which add a touch of vintage sophistication, or classic double old-fashioned glasses, perfect for those who prefer their cocktails on a larger cube.
Discover More Festive Cocktail Recipes:
Looking for more ways to celebrate? Explore these delightful holiday drink ideas:
- The Best Homemade Eggnog
- Spiced Tropical Holiday Champagne Punch
- Cranberry Boulevardier
- Ginger Martini with Drunken Cranberries
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Cranberry Spice Manhattan
Crafting Your Cranberry Spice Infused Whiskey
The cranberry spice infused whiskey is truly the heart and soul of this exceptional holiday cocktail. It’s surprisingly simple to prepare, and the recipe yields enough to create multiple Cranberry Spice Manhattans, or even to enjoy neat for those who appreciate a subtly flavored spirit. The infusion process allows the rich notes of fresh cranberries, aromatic cinnamon sticks, and pungent whole cloves to slowly meld with the whiskey, creating a symphony of flavors. You’ll experience the delightful tart sweetness of the cranberries harmoniously balanced by the warming, festive spices, adding incredible depth and character to the base spirit.
Infusion is a fantastic way to customize your spirits and introduce unique flavor profiles. For this particular whiskey infusion, a minimum of 24 hours will allow the flavors to develop beautifully, though a longer infusion (up to 3-5 days) can deepen the intensity of the spices and fruit. Once infused to your liking, simply strain out the solids using a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Store your homemade cranberry spice infused whiskey in a clean, airtight container at room temperature, and it will be ready to elevate your happy hours throughout the entire holiday season. This preparation step not only makes the cocktail stand out but also offers a wonderful homemade gift idea for the whiskey lover in your life.
Mixing the Perfect Cranberry Spice Manhattan
Assembling a Cranberry Spice Manhattan is remarkably straightforward, building on the foundation of your beautifully infused whiskey. Begin by filling your cocktail shaker with a generous amount of ice. The ice is vital not just for chilling the drink rapidly, but also for providing the precise amount of dilution needed to balance the robust flavors of the whiskey and vermouth. Add your pre-made cranberry spice infused whiskey, sweet vermouth, and those delightful Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters to the shaker.
Once all ingredients are in, close the shaker tightly and shake vigorously for about 15-20 seconds. This ensures all components are thoroughly mixed and perfectly chilled. Before straining, rub an orange peel around the rim of your chosen cocktail glass – this releases fragrant essential oils, adding an aromatic dimension to each sip. Strain the well-chilled mixture into the prepared glass, ideally over a large, single ice cube or sphere, which melts slower and minimizes further dilution. To complete this festive masterpiece, garnish with a skewer of fresh cranberries and a carefully twisted orange peel. These not only enhance the visual appeal but also contribute to the overall sensory experience of this exquisite holiday cocktail.
Understanding the Classic Manhattan Cocktail
The Manhattan cocktail is a true icon in the world of mixology, boasting a rich history that dates back to the late 19th century. Legend has it that the drink originated at a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Winston Churchill’s mother) at the Manhattan Club in New York City. Traditionally, a Manhattan is a simple yet sophisticated concoction made with just three key ingredients: rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. This seemingly simple combination yields a profoundly strong and complex cocktail, making it a favorite among those who appreciate a spirit-forward drink. If you typically shy away from robust cocktails, prepare for a potent experience, though the careful balance of this recipe makes it remarkably approachable.
What truly distinguishes *this* Cranberry Spice Manhattan from its classic counterpart are two brilliant additions: the homemade cranberry spice infused whiskey and the vibrant Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters. The infusion introduces a delightful blend of tart cranberry, warming cinnamon, and aromatic cloves, transforming the whiskey into a festive elixir. Coupled with the bright, zesty notes of the blood orange bitters, the cocktail evokes the quintessential cheer of the holiday season. This careful pairing means you don’t need to splurge on exotic or expensive ingredients to create a truly luxurious and memorable holiday Manhattan that tastes both sophisticated and comforting.
Rye vs. Bourbon: Choosing Your Whiskey for a Manhattan
The traditional Manhattan recipe calls for rye whiskey, known for its spicier, drier, and sometimes fruitier notes that cut through the sweetness of the vermouth. However, I know many whiskey enthusiasts, myself included, often gravitate towards bourbon when sipping spirits neat. If you find yourself in the bourbon camp, or simply prefer a slightly different flavor profile, you’ll be pleased to know that this Cranberry Spice Manhattan recipe is wonderfully adaptable. You absolutely can, and should, use bourbon instead of rye whiskey if that’s your preference.
Opting for bourbon will lend a smoother, sweeter, and often more vanilla-forward character to your Manhattan. The inherent sweetness of bourbon harmonizes beautifully with the tart cranberries and warming spices of the infused whiskey, creating a rich and inviting drink that’s perhaps a bit softer on the palate than a traditional rye-based Manhattan. Feel free to experiment with both to discover which rendition you prefer – part of the joy of home bartending is customizing drinks to suit your personal taste!
Pin this Cranberry Spice Manhattan Cocktail recipe for later!
Continuing the Holly Jolly Giveaways on Cake ‘n Knife!
You all know that the best cocktails are made truly amazing because of their high-quality ingredients. That’s precisely why I consistently turn to Stirrings for their exceptional mixers and bar ingredients. To share the joy of crafting superb cocktails, I am delighted to announce that today I am partnering with Stirrings to give one lucky winner a fantastic set of bar ingredients of their choice! This is a wonderful opportunity to upgrade your home bar and explore the art of mixology with top-tier products.
Cranberry Spice Manhattan Cocktail Recipe Card
equipment
-
OXO Steel Cocktail Strainer
-
Rocks Glasses
-
Boston Shaker
ingredients
- 1 cup halved cranberries
- 2 cups whiskey
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 2 oz whiskey
- 1 oz sweet vermouth
- 1 to 2 dashes Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters
- Ice
- Garnish: cranberries orange peel
instructions
-
To make the infused whiskey, add cranberries, whiskey, cinnamon sticks, and cloves to an airtight container, such as a mason jar. Seal and let sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours.
-
To make the cocktail, place ice in a cocktail shaker. Add the whiskey, vermouth and bitters.
-
Rub the orange peel around the rim of the cocktail glass.
-
Strain the drink into the glass. Add a couple of cranberries and garnish with orange peel.
a Rafflecopter giveaway