My Candy Cane Martini is another holiday favorite, but if you really love sours try this grapefruit tequila sour - it's great all year long.
This recipe is meant for people over 21 years old. Please drink responsibly.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
This Cranberry Whiskey Sour is puckery sweet and holiday ready!
Cranberry juice cocktail plays nicely with bourbon, citrus, and simple syrup in this perfectly balanced holiday drink.
Bright, Christmas red color. Mouthwatering cranberry citrus flavor perfectly balanced with bourbon. Bring on the Bing Crosby Christmas tunes and plates of hors d’oeuvres.
🧾 Ingredients
A whiskey sour is a classic cocktail made with three, simple ingredients – whiskey, citrus, and simple syrup – sometimes an egg white is added.
We’ve updated this version for Christmas with bright cranberry and sweet orange flavors. Make it with or without the egg white, as you wish.
Why egg white?
If it was good enough for Abraham Lincoln…
Whiskey Sours have been around since the 1860s at least and for most of those years they sported a thick, foamy top – thanks to egg white. The egg white adds a rich creaminess to the drink without adding flavor.
But is raw egg safe?
That’s up to you. Clean eggs and freshly washed hands go a long way – and salmonella is very unlikey. If you’re concerned definitely leave it out – but if you’re the adventurous type it adds an entirely new dimension to this old fashioned favorite.
🍹Garnish
There are a lot of ways to garnish a cranberry whiskey sour. I tend to prefer simply adding some frozen cranberries, orange zest, and maybe a cherry.
Other possibilities include:
- Sprig of rosemary
- Orange wheel
- Lemon wheel
- Sugared glass rims
- Bay leaf
- Cinnamon sticks
💭 Tips for success
Expert Tip: If you are using the egg white don’t add the ice until you’ve shaken the other ingredients briskly for about 30 seconds.
- Fresh squeezed lemon juice works best in this recipe but use what you have.
- Frozen cranberries help keep your cocktail cold without diluting it - plus it's pretty!
- Freeze a couple of cranberries and a small piece of rosemary in the ice cubes – pretty!
- You can make this ahead of time (except for the egg white) and keep the mix in a large, covered pitcher.
📚 Related recipes
📖 Recipe
Cranberry Whiskey Sour
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
- On the Rocks Glasses
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 1 ounce lemon juice
- 3 ounces cranberry juice cocktail
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- 1 egg white, optional
- Orange peel
- Maraschino cherry
Instructions
FOR WHISKEY SOUR WITHOUT THE EGG
- Add all ingredients except the cherry to the shaker filled with ice.
- Shake for 30 seconds.
- Strain into an ice filled glass.
FOR WHISKEY SOUR WITH THE EGG
- Add the bourbon, lemon, simple syrup, cranberry juice, orange peel, and egg to the shaker. DO NOT ADD ICE.
- Shake vigorously for 30 seconds – or until frothy.
- Add ice and shake until very cold.
- Strain into an ice filled glass and let it sit for a minute so the froth separates from the liquid.
Notes
- If you are using the egg white don’t add the ice until you’ve shaken the other ingredients briskly for about 30 seconds.
- Fresh squeezed lemon juice works best in this recipe but use what you have.
- Frozen cranberries help keep drinks cold without diluting them.
- Freeze a couple of cranberries and a small piece of rosemary in the ice cubes – pretty!
- You can make this ahead of time (except for the egg white) and keep the mix in a large, covered pitcher.
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