If you’re looking to evolve the old fashioned without abandoning what makes it work, you’ve found what you need. The Cranberry Old Fashioned sits at the intersection of tradition and seasonality – familiar yet fresh. The tartness of fresh cranberries plays beautifully against bourbon’s warmth, and when muddled properly, they add complexity that feels intentional, not like a gimmick.
What Is a Cranberry Old Fashioned Cocktail?
Quick Answer: The Cranberry Old Fashioned is a contemporary take on the 1880s classic that originated in Wisconsin. This version introduces fresh cranberries muddled with sugar, bitters, and bourbon, adding deeper fruit character while maintaining the structure that makes old fashioneds enduring.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
What You Need to Make a Cranberry Old Fashioned Cocktail
How to Make a Mezcal Old Fashioned
- Place sugar cubes in your old fashioned glass with both bitters and water.
- Add cranberries and orange peel.
- Muddle gently for 20-30 seconds until sugar dissolves and cranberries release juice.
- Pour bourbon into the glass.
- Add the ice cube and stir until chilled – about 10 seconds.
- Garnish with fresh cranberries and an orange twist. Express the citrus oil over the top
Bartender’s Tips
- Chill your glass. Fifteen minutes in the freezer keeps your drink at proper temperature longer.
- Use one large ice cube. Small ice melts quickly and waters down the drink. One large cube has enough mass to stay solid.
- Sugar cubes don’t need to dissolve completely. A little texture is part of the charm. If you prefer smooth, use half an ounce of simple syrup instead.
- Fresh cranberries matter. Frozen works if you thaw them first, but fresh cranberries have brighter acidity.
- Play with the bitters. All Angostura works. All orange bitters works. Find your ratio.
How to Serve This Cranberry Old Fashioned Cocktail
Serve in a chilled old fashioned glass with a single large ice cube. This is a drink for early evening when people actually want to talk – intimate happy hours, quiet Sundays at home, guests arriving early. It works year-round, but shines from October through December when cranberries are in season.
More Cocktail Recipes
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Cranberry Old Fashioned
Equipment
- Old fashioned glass
- Muddler
- Bar spoon
- jigger
Ingredients
- 2 sugar cubes
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- 1 teaspoon water
- 5 fresh cranberries
- orange peel
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 1 large ice cube
- Garnish: Fresh cranberries and orange twist
Instructions
- Place the sugar cubes in your glass. Add both of the bitters and the water. Add cranberries and an orange peel. Muddle everything together until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the cranberries have released their juice.
- Pour the bourbon into the glass. Add the ice cube. Stir just until chilled.
- Garnish with the cranberries and an orange twist.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Thaw them completely first so you can muddle them. Fresh cranberries are ideal for their brightness.
Angostura brings the traditional old fashioned profile. Orange bitters amplify the citrus and complement the cranberry’s tartness. Together, they create complexity you don’t get alone.
Easy answer; Something you’d actually drink neat. Mid-range or above, 80-90 proof. The bourbon is the star here.
Yes. Use half an ounce if you prefer a smoother texture, but you’ll lose the slight ritual that makes this intentional.
Fifteen to twenty minutes max. Make it when you’re ready to drink it.
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