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Cocktail History
The Santa Clausmopolitan is a Christmas cocktail that was created by Erin Wilson at Session Cocktails in Auburn, Alabama and was first published in Garden & Gun, a national magazine focused on the South. The recipe is a simple holiday-inspired variation of the original Cosmopolitan that also calls for vodka as the base spirit, but it swaps out the remaining ingredients for cranberry and brown sugar syrup, lemon juice instead of lime, and citrus bitters for balance.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Vodka: This is a spirit made with grains, vegetables or fruits, and alcohol. We used Smirnoff Vodka because it’s high quality and affordable. For a mocktail version of this drink, try STRYKK Not V*dka in place of the vodka.
Spiced Cranberry Syrup: This is a sweetener made with cranberries, baking spices, white sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Demerara Syrup: This is a sweetener made with Demerara sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Orange Bitters: This is a food product made with oranges, botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. We used Angostura Orange Bitters. For a mocktail version of this drink, try All The Bitter Non-Alcoholic Orange Bitters in place of the orange bitters.
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.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Tasting Notes
The Santa Clausmopolitan has woodsy evergreen rosemary aromas followed by a candy-sweet taste that features spice-filled cranberry with subtle hints of orange that show up to chase it down on the finish.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: While definitely not what you might call complex ingredient-wise, the Santa Clausmopolitan certainly delivered plenty of sweetness, baking spices, and cranberry flavor, and if you’re one to go for that like Kendall is especially, this is the perfect drink for you.
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 slightly-less-complex Cosmo riff was delicious, for sure, but in my opinion, it lacked a little bit of something. Far from me to call the original Cosmopolitan particularly complex, but the mixture of tart cranberry with orange liqueur does offer some flavor variety; this one, as tasty as it was, mostly just has the flavors of spiced cranberry. That said, for a spiced cranberry sour-style cocktail, you can do far worse, for sure! But if you’re a fan of the classic Cosmo, this one isn’t exactly what will up the ante for you when it comes to flavors.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I can’t think of a drink format that serves as a better interpretation of cranberry sauce than this recipe. As Alex said, he found it to be too sweet and just not complex enough for his palate, but I really enjoyed it. Yes, it’s sweet and mostly tastes like the spiced cranberry syrup; I think that’s the entire point though. Anyone who likes a sweeter cranberry drink will love this holiday variation too. And it’s 100% worth making a batch of the spiced cranberry syrup so you can try it at home. So yummy!”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Garden & Gun, a national magazine focused on the South.
Add vodka, spiced cranberry syrup, lemon juice, demarara syrup, bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with rosemary sprig.
Ingredients
Directions
Add vodka, spiced cranberry syrup, lemon juice, demarara syrup, bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with rosemary sprig.
Make It a Mocktail: Use STRYKK Not V*dka in place of the vodka and All The Bitter Non-Alcoholic Orange Bitters in place of the orange bitter 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:
Mistletoe Martini: A blackcurrant gin cocktail made with dry vermouth, spiced cranberry syrup, cranberry juice, cranberries, and rosemary
White Christmas Colada: A white rum cocktail made with coconut milk, coconut liqueur, white crème de cacao, lime juice, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and cranberries
Let It Sloe: A port wine cocktail made with sloe gin, apricot brandy, red wine syrup, aromatic bitters, and tonic water
Chocolate-Covered Cherry: A brandy cocktail made with dark crème de cacao, cherry liqueur, and a cherry
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