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. This Cranberry Cosmopolitan Mocktail is perfect for kids or anyone looking for a holiday drink without alcohol.

But this cosmopolitan mocktail is also very easily spiked for those who would prefer it with alcohol by simply adding vodka. You can exchange the orange extract for Triple Sec or Cointreau (orange liqueur) but you don't have to. Either way, it's a fun, festive, and delicious classic drink! This drink inspired my Cosmo Cranberry Aioli!

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🍒Reader Review
Why You'll Love This Recipe
🥘 Ingredient Notes
📖 Variations & Substitutions
Top Tip
🔪 How to Make a Cosmopolitan Mocktail
Top tip
How to Store A Cranberry Cosmo Mocktail
🍸More Mocktails!
📋 Cranberry Cosmopolitan Mocktail Recipe

🍒Reader Review

"I took a month off of drinking for my diet and these are fabulous. So similar to the real deal. Thank you!"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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." 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.

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 the birth of craft cocktail culture HERE.

The Cosmopolitan is not only a famous mocktail recipe, it's a really great drink for celebrating the holidays.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

It tastes just like a Cranberry Cosmopolitan! The taste is so similar you'll be blown away!
It's bubbly! Sparkling water adds the carbonation that makes it bubble.
It's so pretty and festive! With the cranberries and sparkly rim, this drink screams "holiday celebrations!"
Alcohol-free. It's perfect for kids or anyone who cannot drink alcohol or is trying to avoid it. Dry January is a great time to try this drink!
You don't need special equipment. You don't need a cocktail shaker or any other special equipment for this drink. I like to put my cosmopolitan mocktail in a martini glass but you don't have to.

🥘 Ingredient Notes

These ingredients I use to make this drink taste so similar to a Cranberry Cosmopolitan that you won't even miss the alcohol!

Cranberry juice (cranberry cocktail). Cranberry cocktail is the main ingredient. I use it because it's sweet enough to carry this drink. Pure cranberry juice would be too bitter and not nearly as pleasant tasting!
Sparkling water. I use lemon-lime sparkling water because it's carbonated and gives that bit of bubbly. It also tastes much better than Club Soda or Tonic Water.
Orange extract. The orange extract mimics the taste of Triple Sec orange liqueur.
Lime juice from concentrate. Lime juice balances the sweetness of the cranberry cocktail. I use lime juice from concentrate because I always have it on hand and it's concentrated so I need less of it.
Lime wheel (fresh lime slice). A slice of lime finishes garnishes this drink, making it look even fresher and more delicious. You could substitute an orange slice.
Sparkling sugar and edible glitter. Sparkling sugar and edible glitter (affiliate links) mixed together are the ultimate festive way to rim a glass and give your mocktail visual appeal!
Frozen cranberries make great ice cubes and give even more visual appeal to your nonalcoholic drink.

📖 Variations & Substitutions

Spike it: This mocktail is also very easily spiked for those in the group who would prefer it with alcohol by simply adding vodka. You can exchange the orange extract for Triple Sec or Cointreau but you don't have to. Either way, it's a fun, festive and delicious drink!
Lime juice: you can use fresh lime juice instead of lime juice from concentrate, but you'll need to double the amount.
Cranberries: you can use fresh cranberries and ice instead of frozen cranberries
Sparkling water: you can substitute tonic water or club soda.

Top Tip

For little kids

If you have smaller children and are worried about them choking 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 below (which I bought at the dollar store). Your little ones will be ready to P-A-R-T-Y! You can even buy plastic martini glasses on Amazon (affiliate link).

Heck, I used to put mocktails in a sippy cup when my kids were small and they would be absolutely thrilled!

Cranberry Cosmo Mocktail in a plastic glass for smaller children

🔪 How to Make a Cosmopolitan Mocktail

It really is as simple as pouring a few things into a glass and mixing! You can use a cocktail shaker, but you don't have to. The fun part is sugaring the rim of the glass to make it look fancy (kids really love that and it's festive for the holidays)!

PREP: Wet the rim of the glass. You can do this by running a slice of lime along the rim, and dipping the glass in water or lime juice.

How to rim the glass:

plate with sparkling sugar and edible glitter

Step 1: Pour some sparkling sugar and edible glitter onto a plate

glass upside down on plate with sparkling sugar and glitter

Step 2: Place the glass upside down, on the plate and turn/spin the glass to coat it with sugar and glitter/

Step 3: Turn the glass upright.

Step 4: Then carefully add cranberry juice, sparkling water, lime juice, and orange extract to glass, dividing the ingredients between 2 drinks. (*you can use a measuring cup with a spout or a funnel if you don't feel confident in your pouring skills 🙂 ) Garnish: Add some frozen cranberries or ice cubes and half a slice of lime to garnish. Serve and enjoy!

Top tip

The most important part is that you sugar the rim before you pour liquid into the glass. Then you need to pour carefully, so you don't spill any liquid on your rim *You can use a measuring cup with a spout or a funnel if you don't feel confident in your pouring skills!

How to Store A Cranberry Cosmo Mocktail

You can make this non alcoholic cosmopolitan in advance and store it in the fridge for up to a week.

You can also store it in the fridge for up to a week after making it. I store it in a sealed juice jug. (affiliate link) *Just be sure to check that the expiry dates on your ingredients coincide with your storage dates! Sugar the rim just prior to serving.

Freezing is not recommended.

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. It's also the perfect drink for bridal showers, baby showers or simply for happy hour!

🍸More Mocktails!

And if you love wine, but don't want the alcohol, I have recently discovered THE BEST non-alcoholic wine ever - Leitz. The Pinor Noir, the Sparkling Reisling, and the Sparkling Rose are all fantastic! I have found it at several wine shops in my city. It's dealcoholized so it tastes like wine, has the aroma of wine and feels like wine on the palate. It's delicious and satisfying!

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