Most holiday punch recipes either taste like sugary juice with a vodka afterthought or require thirty ingredients you’ll never use again. This Jingle Juice recipe is built around vodka and cranberry with ginger ale and citrus—a straightforward formula that serves 24 people in ten minutes, making it a perfect festive cocktail.
What Is a Jingle Juice Cocktail?
Quick Answer: Jingle Juice is a vodka-based holiday punch combining cranberry juice blends, orange liqueur, ginger ale, and fresh fruit. One batch serves about 24 people without requiring constant bartender attention.
Holiday punch goes back to American colonists adapting English wassail traditions—swapping hot spiced ale for cold fruit punches once Caribbean citrus became available. By the mid-1800s, punches dominated gatherings because they solved one problem: how to serve everyone at once without running yourself ragged. This version uses grocery store staples and a dispenser that does the work.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
What You Need to Make a Jingle Juice Cocktail (By the batch)
How to Make a Jingle Juice Cocktail
- Drop your cranberries, orange slices, and lime slices into your punch bowl or drink dispenser. Get this done first—trying to add fruit through liquid never works as smoothly as you’d hope.
- Pour in the cran-pomegranate juice, cran-pineapple juice, vodka, and orange liqueur. Use a long spoon to stir until everything blends together. You’re looking for uniform color throughout.
- Top with ginger ale and give it one gentle stir. Don’t overwork this step—aggressive stirring kills your carbonation before anyone takes a sip.
Bartender’s Tips
- Taste before the bubbles: Mix everything except the ginger ale first, then taste. If the balance feels off, adjust with more juice now. Once the ginger ale goes in, you’re committed.
- Let the fruit work: The longer the cranberries and citrus sit in the punch, the more flavor they contribute. If you’re setting up early, build everything except the ginger ale, then add the bubbles right before guests arrive.
- Watch the dilution: Ice in the dispenser waters down the punch faster than you think. Instead, pre-chill all your ingredients and skip ice in the main batch. Let guests add ice to their individual glasses.
- Sugar rim option: For a finished presentation (like we do with our brandy crusta recipe), rim glasses with granulated sugar. Run an orange or lime wedge around the rim, press into sugar, let it set for a minute. Drop in an orange slice, lime slice, and a few cranberries. Your guests will photograph it.
- Strength adjustment: If the punch tastes too strong after your test sip, add more of the cranberry blends in small increments. Stir and taste between additions until it hits the right spot.
How to Serve This Jingle Juice Punch
Serve in a clear glass dispenser so guests can see the fruit suspended in the liquid—it’s part of the appeal. Use rocks glasses or punch cups, set up a self-serve station, and keep a bottle of vodka nearby for guests who want to adjust the strength of their own glass (as long as you trust the guest. And yeah, you know who we’re talking about….).
More Cocktail Recipes
Need more crowd-friendly drinks? Check our holiday cocktail collection or vodka cocktails guide for recipes that scale without the stress.
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Jingle Juice Punch Recipe
Equipment
- 1.5 gallon drink dispenser or punch bowl
- long spoon
- liquid measuring cups
- Knife
- cutting board
Ingredients
- 6 cups cran-pomegranate juice cocktail
- 6 cups cran-pineapple juice cocktail
- 2 cups vodka ½ cup orange liqueur
- 6 cups ginger ale
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 medium oranges thinly sliced
- 2 medium limes thinly sliced ice cubes, for serving
Instructions
- Add the cranberries, orange slices and lime slices to a punch bowl or drink dispenser.
- Pour the cran-pomegranate and cran-pineapple juices, vodka and orange liqueur.
- Stir the mixture with a long spoon until it feels blended.
- Top with the ginger ale and give it a gentle stir.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Combine the fruit, juices, vodka, and orange liqueur up to one day ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator, then add the ginger ale right before your guests arrive to keep the carbonation intact.
Keep the recipe as written and place a bottle of vodka next to the dispenser. Anyone who wants more kick can add a splash to their individual glass without affecting the main batch.
Absolutely. Swap one cranberry blend for regular cranberry juice cocktail, or try cran-apple or cran-cherry in place of the cran-pomegranate. The formula stays the same—you’re just shifting the flavor profile.
Pre-chill all your ingredients before mixing. Skip ice in the dispenser and let guests add ice to their individual glasses. This keeps the punch from diluting before anyone gets to it.
White rum works well if you want a slightly sweeter profile (or try our Christmas Mojito). Tequila will make it brighter (similar to our Cranberry orange margarita). Keep the measurements the same—just swap the vodka for your preferred spirit.
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