Ingredients
Scale
- 4 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
- 1 mandarin orange (sliced)
- 2 – 3-inch cinnamon sticks
- 1 – 2-inch piece of ginger (thinly sliced)
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 5 star anise
- 1/2 – 1 cup maple syrup (more, to taste)
- 2–4 cups of bourbon (depending how strong you like your cocktails)
Instructions
- Pour the cranberry juice into a medium-sized pot. Add the mandarin orange slices, cinnamon sticks, ginger, peppercorns, cloves, and star anise and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Strain the juice to remove the spices.
- Add a 1/2 cup of maple syrup to the pot. Taste and add more maple syrup, to taste.
- Pour 1 ounce of bourbon into your glass and top with 1 ounce of the spiced cranberry juice.
Notes
If you can’t find unsweetened cranberry juice, use cranberry cocktail and omit the maple syrup.
If you’d like, sugar the rim with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Make a big batch by adding 4 cups of bourbon to the spiced cranberry juice and let guests serve themselves.
If you like a less strong cocktail, use 1 ounce of bourbon and 2 ounces of spiced cranberry juice.
The spiced cranberry juice will keep for at least a week in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cocktail