Cranberry and orange infused bourbon! Infuse bourbon, whiskey, or rye with your favorite fall flavors in just a few days. Makes the best fall cocktail and is perfect as a homemade holiday gift!
It's that time of year when everyone is obsessing over cranberries! No exception in this house. I am OBSESSED with cranberries and cranberry flavor. Should I even say I like it more than pumpkin? ?GASP!
Here are our top ten favorite Christmas whiskey cocktails to make this time of year!
I decided to get creative with fresh cranberries this year and make the perfect holiday flavored cocktail. First up, infuse bourbon with cranberry and orange. This orange infused bourbon is SOOOOO what you want to make for everyone as a gift this year. Just tie a red and green ribbon around that mason jar and you've got yourself a Pinterest-y foodie gift. Easy as that.
Have you tried this blood orange gin cocktail with rosemary yet?
Notes about this cranberry orange infused bourbon:
- You can use whiskey, bourbon, or rye for this. I'd stick to the good quality stuff though, especially if you are going to give it away as gifts. My favorite is Bulleit Rye Whiskey.
- I kept the cranberries whole. You can cut them in half if you want a very strong cranberry flavor, but I found that if the cranberry flavor is too strong it can start to get a medicinal taste. So, I suggest leaving them whole.
- Stick with fresh ingredients. They will have the best flavor.
- After straining the cranberries, the berries won't taste very good as all of their flavor has been released.
Oh hey, I made a cocktail with this booze too! It's a cranberry orange manhattan, and it's one of the BEST things ever. Or, if you're looking for some other fancy things to try, I recommend these grand marnier cranberries, or this cranberry orange shrub cocktail. Heck yeah!
Recipe
Cranberry orange infused bourbon
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole, fresh cranberries
- ½ large orange, rind zested
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 8 ounces good quality bourbon, whiskey, or rye
Instructions
- Place the cranberries, orange rind, and sugar in a large sterilized mason jar, or other glass jar with tight fitting lid. Fill with bourbon and tightly close lid, making sure the cranberries are completely submerged in alcohol. Give a good shake and let sit for at least 3 days, shaking once a day.
- When bourbon is infused to your taste, strain and return to the jar. Enjoy!
Nutrition
I hope you'll give this a try! Give me a shout on social media with #Rhubarbarians if you do!
Trish
P.S. Want to see what I’m cooking up this week? Check out my Instagram stories! And don’t forget to join my FaceBook community of vegetarian cooks!
Jodi
Hi! I’m excited to try this recipe but a little confused about the orange rind/zest. It says to place the orange rind in the bourbon. In the ingredients, it lists 1/2 orange, rind zested. Do I zest and toss the zest and then remove the rind from the orange? Does the pith also need to be removed? Thanks!!
Trish Bozeman
Hi! You just add the orange zest to the alcohol. I like to use a microplaner and finely zest an orange and then add that zest to the booze. The rest of the orange can be used for another use. Hope that helps!
Susan
Hi, can you let this infuse for more than a week or will it be too strong?
Trish Bozeman
You can let it infuse for as long as you'd like as long as all the ingredients are submerged in liquid. The flavor will become more intense and too much cranberry flavor can start to develop a cough-syrup vibe IMO. But you might like it that way!
Eryn
Let sit on counter ? Fridge ? Mt cranberries were frozen . Love whiskey , can't wait to try !
Patricia Bozeman
Hi Eryn! Definitely let it sit on the counter. Did you defrost the cranberries first? Just make sure that the cranberries are completely submerged in the liquid. 🙂
Eryn
Ok, thanks !
Gin
Wow, yummy! I love the effect of whisky but the taste is strong for me. I think the cranberries and orange rind will mellow it out nicely. And hey, my boyfriend's dad would love this! #fancywhiskeyforxmas
Patricia Bozeman
I tried this with cranberries whole and cut in half. Cut in half, it was definitely more of an intense cranberry flavor, so you could go that route and add more orange rind. I liked it a bit more mellow.