Cranberry Negroni: A Gin and Cranberry Juice Cocktail

This cranberry Negroni is a delicious variation on a classic cocktail. And the deep red color of this gin and cranberry juice cocktail makes it the perfect winter Negroni for the holidays.

The Negroni is a bitter cocktail. And pure cranberry juice increases the bitterness.

To adjust, there is less Campari than in a classic Negroni. And a sugared rim is added to counteract the bitterness in this gin and cranberry cocktail.

Make a sugar-rimmed glass

To rim a glass with sugar, start by rubbing a lemon wedge lightly around the outside of a lowball glass. Add some superfine sugar to a plate, and roll the outside of the glass into the sugar. Tap the glass lightly to knock off any loose sugar.

You can rim a glass with other things. Salt is an obvious alternative. But you can also use cocoa, cinnamon sugar, or spices. My cherry Bakewell cocktail has a rim of ground nuts and sugar. This spicy margarita has a rim of chipotle salt.

Tips and tricks

Cranberry juice vs. cranberry juice cocktail

This cocktail calls for 100% cranberry juice. You could substitute cranberry cocktail for the 100% cranberry juice. However, cranberry cocktail has sugar added and is therefore much sweeter. At minimum, I would skip the sugared rim if you are substituting cranberry juice cocktail.

Tip from the wise quacker: shaken or stirred? The teaching is that cocktails made entirely of alcohols should be stirred with ice and poured into the glass or even built in the glass. This cranberry Negroni is shaken because of the cranberry juice.

Variations and substitutions

• A Negroni can be served up or on the rocks, depending on your preference.
• Use cranberry gin (see below).
• Garnish with sugared cranberries

Cranberry Negroni with cranberry-infused gin

Instead of using gin and cranberry juice. you can make this cranberry Negroni by infusing your gin with fresh cranberries. I was this many years old when I found out that the inside of cranberries look like this.

Slice your cranberries in half, put them into a clean jar, and add gin to cover. Leave the jar in a cool place or the refrigerator for a few days before straining out the cranberries.

To make the cranberry Negroni, shake together the cranberry-infused gin with one ounce of sweet vermouth and one-half to one ounce of Campari. Include or omit the sugared rim, depending on your preferences for more sweet or more bitter cocktails.

Big batch cranberry Negronis

You can scale this cranberry Negroni recipe for a crowd. “They say” to provide two drinks per hour for the first hour of a cocktail party and then one drink per hour after that.

But remember that this cocktail is the equivalent of two drinks. Do with that information what you will. And please drink responsibly.

	1	2	4	8	16
dry gin	1.5 fl oz	3 oz	3/4 cup	1 1/2 cup	3 cups
sweet vermouth	1 fl oz	2 oz	1/2 cup	1 cup	2 cups
100% cranberry juice	1 fl oz	2 oz	1/2 cup	1 cup	2 cups
Campari	0.5 fl oz	1 oz	1/4 cup	1/2 cup	1 cup

FAQs

Related recipes

Check out other uglyducklingbakery holiday beverages like the Porn Star martini or French 75. If you love the bitterness of this Negroni, check out my Negroni spritz, Aperol Negroni, or Aperol sour.

Want a digestivo to go with your aperitivo? Go with a Frangelico cocktail like this Frangelico sour.

Or do you want more cranberry recipes? There’s nothing like a turkey meatloaf recipe with dried cranberries or a cranberry chicken salad to make you dream of Thanksgiving.

What’s next

If you make this cranberry Negroni recipe, please leave a comment or rating here.