21 Nov Thanksgiving Made Easy: The Ocean Spray Cocktail Recipe

The Ocean Spray Cocktail Recipe

Welcome to Thanksgiving Week. If you’re like Martha Stewart and have the meal and all the other Thanksgiving logistics firmly in hand, have an impeccable table setting planned, and are looking for a sophisticated cocktail for the appetizer hour to really put the meal over the top, 1) Impressive, 2) Please invite us over because your party sounds amazing, and 3) This week’s post are not for you. Don’t close the browser tab yet, though, because the rest of the blog is. You’ll find tons of ideas for drinks (with a range of difficulty from pretty easy to a bit complicated for one reason or another) that are designed to make your party impressive, if you have just a bit of extra time. We’d suggest, for example this or this as moderate difficulty drinks perfect for Thanksgiving.

This week’s posts, though, are for the rest of us, who perhaps bit off a little bit more than we can chew, have a dish or two more than the oven can really handle, and of course had an emergency come up this morning that threw the whole timetable into disarray. We still want to put a good drink into our guests’ hands, one that tastes good, looks good, and shows a little creativity. We just need to be able to do that with zero time or mental energy. So this week’s drinks take it to the simplest possible level, with just one easy to find liquor and things you always have around the house or were picking up for Thanksgiving anyway.

For example, you’re probably serving two different types of cranberry sauce: from the can, for your spouse who can’t imagine Thanksgiving any other way, and from fresh cranberries, for you because you can’t get yourself to eat something shaped like a can.
Well, today’s drink solves two problems: what drink do you serve? And what do you do with that extra half-bag of fresh cranberries? Well, no one ever complains about sparkling wine, and it’s perfect for a festive occasion, especially if you dress it up a little, which we’ll do with those remaining cranberries.

Ocean Spray Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 bottle white sparkling wine
• 1/2 bag fresh cranberries
• A couple of Tbsps sugar
• Angostura bitters

Instructions

• Boil the cranberries until they pop. I’m afraid using the stovetop briefly is unavoidable. There’s no other way to make the cranberries palatable.
• Strain and let cool.
• Toss the cranberries lightly in the sugar.
• Pour sparkling wine into wine glasses.
• Dress with a tsp of cranberries.
• Add a dash of bitters