Keeping in mind all the multi-dish bustle that comes with Thanksgiving, this year I set out in search for a cocktail recipe that would be:
- quick and easy to prepare (and replenish!)
- adjustable to suit a wide range of age groups and tastes (with and without alcohol)
- pretty and festive on the holiday table
- a good pre-dinner drink, but also something that could carry over to complement the flavors and textures of the Thanksgiving meal
Tall order? Maybe, but I think I found a pretty good solution in an old holiday classic: The Poinsettia.
A sparkling wine-based cocktail with the added zip of cranberry and orange, the Poinsettia is a perfect fit for the Thanksgiving table. Dry, light, fruity, and effervescent, it packs a lot of flavor without being too heavy or boozy, and can easily be adapted into a tasty adult and kid-friendly teetotaling version by swapping out the sparkling wine for club soda, ginger ale, or sparkling apple cider, and subbing-in orange juice for the orange liqueur (or simply leaving it out).
Because the Poinsettia doesn't require precise measures, or shaking, stirring, or straining, and is mixed right in the drinking glass, it's super-easy to prepare - and refill - mid-meal.
A Google search turned up a boggling number of recipe variations (prepared in a punch bowl; with addition of simple syrup or rum; with more or less cranberry juice; etc.), but I turned to the ever-reliable Dale DeGroff for a simple, well-balanced formula:
Poinsettia (adapted from Dale DeGroff, The Craft of the Cocktail)
makes one cocktail
2 ounces cranberry juice
4 ounces (approx. measure: enough to top up glass) champagne, prosecco, cava, or other dry, sparkling white wine
1/2 ounce orange liqueur (DeGroff suggests Cointreau, but I tried the less sweet, rum-based liqueur, Clement Creole Shrubb, and found it worked quite nicely.)
Pour cranberry juice into a champagne flute and top up with sparkling wine. Then top with a “float” (a final layer) of orange liqueur. Garnish with an optional twist of orange and single fresh cranberry.
Are you serving Thanksgiving cocktails this year?
Related: Thanksgiving Wines: Keep It Simple
(Images: Nora Maynard)
-Nora
This sounds lovely! I want to try it.
view faith's profile
I'm curious, Are you using 100% cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail (blend).
view G&D's profile
The juice is a sweetened "cocktail" blend. If you're using pure, unsweetened cranberry juice, you'll probably want to add a dash of simple syrup.
view nora's profile
Thanks!
view G&D's profile
This sounds great. Do you think it would be possible to mix up a pitcher ahead of time? Also could I use Grand Marnier? My husband got a huge bottle last year, so I am trying to use it!
view dcfullest's profile
dcfullest:
Absolutely use that Grand Marnier!
I think the drink would lose something with the pitcher method though. The sparkling wine would get a little flat with all that extra handling and sitting around in a wide-mouthed container.
view nora's profile
Or perhaps you could mix everything together except the sparkling wine, and add that into the glass at the last minute?
view Joan A.'s profile