Cranberry Cosmo Mocktail: A festive non alcoholic holiday drink!

I love making special drinks for the kids over the holidays and especially for New Year's eve. When the adults are celebrating with wine or cocktails, it's nice to have a non alcoholic drink option. And this Cranberry Cosmo Mocktail is perfect for kids or anyone looking for a holiday drink without alcohol.

The Cosmopolitan aka Cosmo was all the rage in the 90's, really shooting to stardom with the popularity of the television show "Sex and the City," which I have to admit, I was never a huge fan of. But, it totally popularized the Cranberry Cosmo, of which I am a HUGE fan!  Interestingly, the Cosmopolitan drink made a significant impact on how we approach drinking and cocktail culture in general. Much of the high-end cocktail culture we encounter today with drinks so complex only a mixologist can recreate them, can be attributed to the simplicity of the Cosmo era.

Easy mocktail recipes to make at home

Then bartenders began to hate the Cosmopolitan for the same reasons they loved it when it was first created; it was too simple. They wanted to challenge people with flavors and textures, not simply make them a drink that was easy swill or worse yet... easy to make at home! You can read more about that HERE.

And this drink is so easy to make at home! You don't need any special ingredients- just cranberry cocktail, sparkling water (which I add to cut down on the sweetness) lime juice and orange extract, all of which you can get at any grocery store. I used frozen cranberries for ice, which you can also get at your local grocery store. The sparkling sugar and edible glitter on the glass rim can be purchased at a craft store  (I bought it at Michaels Arts & Crafts) or online, but you could really use any edible sparkles/sprinkles you'd use for cookie decorating (that you also get from the grocery store) for the rim of the glass. See recipe NOTES.

Famous Mocktail Recipes

The cosmopolitan is a really great drink for celebrating the holidays. Even if you have smaller children and are worried about them chocking on the frozen cranberries or ice, just use a straw, skip the ice/frozen cranberries and put the drink in a fancy plastic glass like the one in the photo (there are lots available - see below) and your little ones are ready to P-A-R-T-Y! Heck, I used to put mocktails in a sippy cup when my kids were small and they would be absolutely thrilled.

Mocktail recipes

Mocktails are a great way to enjoy a special drink with your kids, if you don't drink, are avoiding alcohol or just want to enjoy a refreshing non alcoholic beverage. And if you are looking for more holiday mocktail recipes ideas then give this Shirley Temple a try!

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5 from 6 votes

Cranberry Cosmopolitan Mocktail

This non alcoholic Cranberry Cosmo Mocktail is really fun, festive and the perfect holiday drink for adults or kids!

Course drink

Cuisine American

Keyword cosmo, cosmopolitan, cranberry, mocktail

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 2 drinks

Calories 121kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cup cranberry cocktail
• ¼ cup sparkling water
• ¾ tsp orange extract
• 1 tbsp lime juice from concentrate

Garnish

• fresh lime slice
• sparkling sugar and edible glitter
• frozen cranberries and or ice, as desired

Instructions

• Wet the rim of the glass. You can do this by running a slice of lime along the rim, dipping the glass in water or lime juice (SEE VIDEO in NOTES)
• Pour some sparkling sugar and edible glitter onto a plate
  
• Place the glass upside down, on the plate and turn/spin the glass to coat it with sugar and glitter
  
• Turn glass upright, then add cranberry juice, sparkling water, lime juice and orange extract to glass, dividing ingredients between 2 drinks.
  

Garnish

• Add some frozen cranberries or ice and half a slice of lime to garnish. Serve and enjoy!
  

Notes

My Amazon Recommendations (affiliate links)

Nutrition Facts

Cranberry Cosmopolitan Mocktail

Amount Per Serving

Calories 121 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 17mg1%

Potassium 31mg1%

Carbohydrates 31g10%

Sugar 26g29%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin C 96mg116%

Calcium 7mg1%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*NOTE: How to sugar the rim of a cocktail glass video

Nutrition

Calories: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 31mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin C: 96mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

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