This post may include affiliate links; see our disclosure policy.
A Poinsettia drink is a cranberry champagne cocktail that’s vibrant and refreshing. It’s great for entertaining—the perfect winter or holiday drink!
Ready for the most vibrant, stunning cocktail for cool weather entertaining? Enter the Poinsettia, a cranberry champagne cocktail! Its brilliant color and cozy vibe makes it the perfect fall cocktail or winter drink.
It makes any occasion more fun, from Thanksgiving to holiday parties to Christmas to New Year’s Eve drinks. Of course, you can serve it any time of the year too! It uses only a few simple ingredients. Let’s get started!
Ingredients in a Poinsettia drink
The Poinsettia drink is festive, perfect for entertaining, and even better: uses only a few ingredients. It’s a cranberry champagne cocktail, so you can call it that if you prefer.
The Poinsettia is perfect for winter and fall when cranberries are in season. With its vibrant color, it’s fantastic for the holidays as a holiday party drink, Christmas drink, and New Year’s Eve drink. But you can make it any time of the year! Here’s what’s in this cranberry champagne cocktail:
- Cointreau (or other orange liqueur)
- Cranberry juice
- Champagne
That’s it! Of course, the garnish is what takes it over the top. All you’ll need is a few rosemary branches and some fresh whole cranberries. You can use the leftovers for holiday decorations like a table centerpiece or try them in our moist and citrusy cranberry orange bread.
Want more bubbly drink ideas? Try more champagne cocktails, like a French 75, The Classic Champagne Cocktail, Chambord & Champagne, Black Velvet, and a St Germain Cocktail.
Make sure to find 100% cranberry juice
The most important thing to note with the Poinsettia drink is this: make sure to find 100% cranberry juice! There are lots of variations of cranberry juice on the shelf, and many of them have added sugar. If you find bottles labeled cranberry juice cocktail: stay away! It has added sugars or high-fructose corn syrup for extra sweetness.
Alex accidentally bought the sweet stuff when making this cranberry champagne cocktail recipe. Sadly, it turned out tasted overly sweet and “fake” tasting. When we looked at the bottle: it wasn’t 100% juice! I dashed off to the store and we remade it with 100% cranberry juice. It tasted perfectly crisp and tart: exactly what we wanted! So make sure to check the label and find 100% cranberry juice for the Poinsettia.
Can you make a non-alcoholic Poinsettia drink?
You absolutely can make this Poinsettia drink without alcohol! All you have to do is substitute non-alcoholic sparkling cider, grape juice, or wine for the champagne and orange juice for the Cointreau. These days there are some great non-alcoholic sparkling wine options on the market. You could also try this Cranberry Mocktail with ginger beer.
Making mocktails or 0 proof cocktails is perfect for including people who don’t drink alcohol, pregnant women, or kids. Our kids always wants to drink what we’re drinking—so you could make up some kiddie cranberry champagne cocktails for the young ones!
Poinsettia Drink (Cranberry Champagne Cocktail)
A Poinsettia drink is a cranberry champagne cocktail that’s vibrant and refreshing. It’s great for entertaining—the perfect winter or holiday drink!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Cocktail
- Cuisine: Cocktails
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Cointreau, or other orange liqueur
- 4 tablespoons 100% cranberry juice (unsweetened)
- 1/2 glass champagne (6 tablespoons)*
- For the garnish: 1 rosemary sprig, whole cranberries
Instructions
- Place the cointreau and cranberry juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake 15 seconds until cold. Strain the liquid into a champagne flute. (You can skip this step if the cranberry juice is well chilled.)
- Top off the glass with champagne (no need to measure). Garnish and serve. (Note: You can also make a large batch of cointreau and cranberry juice ahead if desired, then measure out 6 tablespoons per glass.)
Notes
*You’ll get about 8 to 10 drinks per 1 bottle of champagne. Make it non-alcoholic by using non-alcoholic sparkling wine.
More cocktails with cranberry juice
If you have leftover cranberry juice, there are lots of great cranberry cocktail recipes to make with it! Here are a few ideas:
- The popular Cosmopolitan cocktail pairs cranberry juice with Cointreau and lime.
- This vodka cranberry cocktail is one of the easiest cocktails there is!
- Try a cranberry Aperol spritz or Cranberry Mimosa with bubbles.
- A Rum & Cranberry is like a rum spin on a Cosmo!
- The Vodka Spritzer is a fun party drink.
- The Madras, Sea Breeze and Bay Breeze are other simple cranberry cocktails.
How far in advance can I make the Cointreau and cranberry mix?
24 hours
What happens after 24 hours and 1 minute…?
The flavors just start to lose punchiness over time.
This is a perfect cocktail for the holidays. I mix the cranberry juice & Cointreau together. Place it in a cocktail shaker & store in the freezer until very cold. Top with champagne & add garnish..I use raspberries instead of cranberries. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Great cocktail for the holidays.
Poured cranberry juice & Cointreau to serve 10 into a cocktail
shaker. Then stored in freezer until liquid is very cold.
Easy to prepare for guests. Very festive 🎄
It was a big hit for my Christmas ladies get together! We had plenty of wine but they all enjoyed the Poinsettias instead. I followed the recipe as listed. I did have to eventually substitute Proseco as we ran out of champagne. We had a great time!
Merry Christmas!
Grace
Can I use Gran Marnier instead?
Yes
If making these non-alcoholic, what do you replace the cointreau with? Thanks!
Great point! Orange juice will work as a substitute for Cointreau. I’ve updated the post!
What’s a good price point champagne that makes these taste best?
We usually go in the $15-20 route or a little cheaper for prosecco.