Poinsettia Champagne Cocktail
This festive Poinsettia Champagne Cocktail is light, refreshing, and full of seasonal flavors. Made with just three ingredients, this drink adds a delicious touch of sparkle to all your winter holiday parties.
The holidays are always a great time to celebrate with a glass of bubbly. But this recipe goes a step beyond plain champagne.
Our cranberry champagne cocktail is a stunning and elegant cocktail that brings a burst of both color and flavor to your gatherings.
Even though we enjoy cranberry orange flavors throughout the year, those lovely, fresh cranberries are only available from the beginning of November.
It’s always worth it to grab a few extra bags to freeze when you see them in the stores.
I like to keep them on hand to make this Cranberry Salsa appetizer. It’s perfect for holiday parties. This Cranberry Mimosa is delicious, too. Or if you’re making cocktails for a crowd, cranberries are amazing in this Christmas Punch.
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Why We Love This Poinsettia Drink Recipe
This is one of the easiest cocktails you can make. You won’t need specialty mixers, cocktail shakers, or a long list of ingredients. You’re just 3 ingredients and a couple of minutes away from a delicious holiday drink.
The tartness of the cranberry juice, the sweetness of the Cointreau, and the effervescence of the champagne create a perfectly balanced cocktail. It’s not too sweet or too tangy.
The vibrant color of the drink is absolutely gorgeous. It makes a great choice for a Christmas brunch drink or a New Year’s Eve cocktail.
Ingredients
- Cointreau
- Cranberry juice (not cranberry juice cocktail; you want 100% juice)
- Champagne, prosecco, or other sparkling wine. We used Une Femme “The Betty” Sparkling Wine.
- Garnish: lime slices, rosemary sprigs, and fresh cranberries. Red edible glitter for the glass rim.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the quantities, full instructions, and nutrition information.
Variations and Substitutions
- For the Cointreau, Triple Sec will give you the same orange liqueur flavor. Grand Marnier will also work well, though it’s a more expensive option.
- If you want to go light on the alcohol, you can use orange juice instead of Cointreau.
- To make a non-alcoholic Christmas cocktail, you could use grapefruit juice or orange juice for the Cointreau. You can also swap the bottle of champagne for non-alcoholic sparkling wine or grape juice.
- If you prefer your cocktail on the sweet side, you can add about an ounce of simple syrup to the glass. Using a cranberry juice cocktail instead of cranberry juice will also add sweetness to the drink.
How to Make a Poinsettia Cocktail
Step 1. Run a lime around the rim of a tall glass or champagne flute. Dip the glass in red edible glitter.
Step 2. Add 1 ounce of Cointreau to the champagne glass or other tall glass.
Step 3. Next, add about 1 and 1/2 ounces of cranberry juice.
Step 4. Add ice cubes to the Cointreau and cranberry juice. Top with Champagne or sparkling wine.
Step 5. To finish your holiday cocktail, garnish with a slice of lime, a sprig of rosemary, and several fresh cranberries.
Champagne Cranberry Cocktail FAQs
Both are types of sparkling wine. Champagne is a specific type of wine made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France.
Part of what makes this such an elegant drink is the bubbly from the champagne, so time is important. But if you’re serving a crowd, you can make it in a pitcher and keep it chilled for up to an hour.
You can mix the cranberry juice and Cointreau or Triple Sec ahead of time and store it in the fridge. Then, just add the sparkling wine right before serving.
Tips for Making a Poinsettia Cocktail
- Start with well chilled ingredients. Because this is not a shaken cocktail, make sure to set your bottle of sparkling wine or prosecco and cranberry juice in the fridge the day before. You can also freeze the cranberries to help keep the cocktail cold.
- Instead of ice cubes, you can use extra cranberry juice. Just pour the cranberry juice into your ice cube trays and freeze it into cubes. The fruit juice keeps the drink from becoming watered down.
- You’ll always want to have food on hand whenever you’re serving this champagne cocktail recipe. Great options are this delicious Maryland Crab Dip recipe or these savory mini tart recipes.
- Pour slowly when you fill the glass with champagne to prevent it from fizzing over the sides.
More Delicious Cocktail Recipes
- Pink Mimosa
- Mango Mimosa
- Salted Caramel Whisky Cocktail
- Mango Mojito
- Bailey’s Latte
- Green Apple Martini
Poinsettia Champagne Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 oz Cointreau
- 1 ½ oz cranberry juice
- Ice cubes
- 4 oz Champagne or sparkling wine
Garnishes
- Fresh cranberries Optional
- Fresh Rosemary Optional
- Red edible glitter Optional
- lime slice Optional
Instructions
- Run a lime around the rim of your glass. Dip glass in red edible glitter.
- Carefully add 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Cointreau. Pour straight into the center of the glass so not to get the glittery rim wet.
- Add 1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cranberry juice, carefully.
- Add ice cubes to the rim and carefully fill with Champagne or sparkling wine.
- Add a sprig of rosemary, slice of lime, and several fresh cranberries.
