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Cocktail History
The Holiday Bellini is a Christmas cocktail that was created by Erin Lynch, recipe developer and blogger at Platings & Pairings based in Portland, Oregon. A lot like the original Bellini, which mixes peach and sparkling wine, this variation also uses bubbly as the base but swaps out the peach for a more festive cranberry and ginger syrup.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Sparkling Wine: This is a carbonated wine made with white or red grapes. We used Villa Bellezza Winery Brillante because it has a light and airy flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine.
Cranberry Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with cranberries, ginger, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Cranberries: This is a small red fruit. We used fresh cranberries.
Rosemary: This is an herb. We used fresh rosemary from our herb garden.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Bar Spoon: This is used to stir ingredients. We used the Barfly Stainless Steel Teardrop Bar Spoon.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used one from the I-MART Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.
Tasting Notes
The Holiday Bellini has savory, woodsy aromas that are punctuated with a slightly spicy ginger taste of baking spices, cranberry, and an effervescent wine finish.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Whether this is a true Bellini or not could be argued, but what can’t be denied is that the Holiday Bellini is a simple, delicious, and jolly way to start a Christmas morning the adult way.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“This very simple take on the Bellini doesn’t disappoint, and what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in tastiness. The ginger spice from the syrup gives it the perfect amount of zing, and the cranberry gives it the seasonality it needs. Win-win!”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I don’t know if a recipe really qualifies as a Bellini if there’s no peach, but this one identifies itself as such and is quite delicious nonetheless! It’s really just cranberry and ginger-flavored wine, which is hard to mess up, in my opinion. As simple as it is, I really loved the flavor profile and would probably pour myself one of these over the classic Bellini any day of the year.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Platings & Pairings, a recipe blog.
Add cranberry ginger syrup to a champagne glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Stir gently for 3-5 seconds.
Garnish with cranberries and rosemary sprig.
Ingredients
Directions
Add cranberry ginger syrup to a champagne glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Stir gently for 3-5 seconds.
Garnish with cranberries and rosemary sprig.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Christmas Cocktails
If you like this Christmas-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Santa Baby: A sparkling wine cocktail made with cranberry liqueur and cranberries
Christmas Mimosa: A sparkling wine cocktail made with cranberry juice, orange curaçao, cranberries, and rosemary
Poinsettia Cooler: A tequila cocktail made with cranberry juice, cranberry shrub, lime juice, and cranberries
Cranberry Cobbler: A sherry cocktail made with cranberry syrup, orange slices, a mint sprig, and cranberries
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