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Cocktail History
The Santa’s Cup is a Christmas cocktail that was created by food writer and author Jessica Strand and was first published in Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season. It’s a simple variation of the classic Pimm’s Cup recipe that starts with Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur, lemon, and soda water just like the original, but this version swaps out the simple syrup for spiced cranberry and the aromatic bitters for some flavored with cherry and baking spices. It then tops off the drink with an array of wintry garnishes.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Pimm’s No. 1 Liqueur: This is a liqueur made in England with herbs, spices, caramelized oranges, and alcohol. For a mocktail version of this drink, try homemade Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur in place of the Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
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.
Soda Water: This is a type of water that has been infused with carbon dioxide gas under pressure. We used Topo Chico Sparkling Mineral Water because it’s light, essentially flavorless, and refreshing.
Cherry, Clove, & Cinnamon Bitters: This is a food product made with cherry, cloves, cinnamon, botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. We used Crude Bitters & Sodas “Attawanhood” Cherry, Clove, & Cinnamon Bitters.
Tangerine Slice: This is a slice of tangerine that has been cut into a half wheel shape.
Cranberries: This is a small red fruit. We used fresh cranberries.
Mint Sprig: This is an herb. We used Mojito mint.
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.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Tweezers: This is used to place the garnish on the drink. We used one from the Stainless Steel Food Tweezers Set.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used one from the I-MART Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.
Tasting Notes
The Santa’s Cup has cool and fresh mint and orange aromas and a slightly spiced, tart flavor that features the Pimm’s unique herbal mixture, mulling spices, and a bit of citrus to balance the sweetness back out.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This recipe tickled us both as pink as Santa’s cheeks. We both found the simple tweaks of the Santa’s Cup to be deliciously perfect for the holidays.
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: ⭐⭐⭐
“As far as Pimm’s Cup variations go, you can certainly do worse than this one. More or less similar to the original but with the substitution of spiced cranberry syrup for the original simple, this has a bit more seasonal flavor at very little expense. It was quite good!”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“I absolutely love the classic Pimm’s Cup and was really excited to find a variation we could try at Christmas. You don’t see riffs on this template enough, in my opinion. Although this one’s made with simple tweaks, I really loved how the cranberry mixed with the Pimm’s liqueur. It was delicious and still tasted true to the original Pimm’s Cup, which I really loved. Give this one a try if you’ve got a bottle of the liqueur around!”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season by Jessica Strand.
Add Pimm's No. 1 liqueur, lemon juice, spiced cranberry syrup, and cubed ice to a highball glass.
Stir for 5-10 seconds.
Top with soda water and bitters.
Stir for 5-10 more seconds.
Garnish with cranberries, tangerine slice, and mint sprig.
Ingredients
Directions
Add Pimm's No. 1 liqueur, lemon juice, spiced cranberry syrup, and cubed ice to a highball glass.
Stir for 5-10 seconds.
Top with soda water and bitters.
Stir for 5-10 more seconds.
Garnish with cranberries, tangerine slice, and mint sprig.
Make It a Mocktail: Use homemade Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur in place of the Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Pimm’s Cocktails
If you like this Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Winter Pimm’s Cup: A Pimm’s liqueur cocktail made with lemon juice, simple syrup, ginger syrup, American lager, blood orange slices, cranberries, rosemary, and oregano
Pimm’s Cup: A Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur cocktail made with lemon juice, simple syrup, soda water, Angostura aromatic bitters, a cucumber slice, a mint sprig, a lemon slice, and a strawberry
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