by Joan Mccord

Created on: November 08, 2011

Make this Cranberry Cobbler cocktail the highlight of your Christmas party drinks. Not too sweet, but with a bright and sparkly flavor, some sippers might question if this is truly a non-alcoholic drink. Don’t mislead anybody but urge them to give your "new favorite" drink a try. If that fails, an alcoholic version is included.

Star mixologist, writer, and consultant,

Jim Meehan, emphasizes use of freshest ingredients and careful preparation to bring out the most enjoyable characteristics of the drink.

Makes 6 cocktails

Ingredients

¾ cup sugar

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 lemon, cut into wedges

½ orange, sliced into thin rounds

¼ cup tonic or spicy ginger ale

For alcoholic version:

1 ½ cups Beefeater London dry gin; ½ cup, plus 1 Tbsp off-dry Sherry. Make this addition just before allowing the mixture to steep.

Method

* Make a simple syrup: Bring sugar and ¾ cup water to boil in a medium-sized sauce pan and stir until sugar is dissolved. Use 1 cup of the simple syrup for this recipe and reserve the remainder in the refrigerator for later use.

Heat the 1 cup of syrup remaining in pan to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add cranberries. Allow cranberries to simmer just until they begin to burst, about 2 or 3 minutes. Allow cranberries and syrup to cool.

* Place 2 Tbsp drained cranberries and 6 Tbsp cranberry syrup in large pitcher. Add lemons and oranges. Muddle the fruit by vigorously pressing and twisting a muddler or wooden spoon to quickly remove juice and oils from the fruit. Allow to steep for 5 minutes.

* Strain mixture into a medium-sized pitcher. Fill 3 glasses with crushed ice.

The flavor of the crushed ice makes a difference. There are ice houses that produce crushed ice with a neutral flavor for drinks but if finding one makes a hassle, try to use ice made from the water you normally drink. Small ice crushers come in a variety of sizes and price ranges and, over time, can prove to be handy kitchen tools.

* Pour half of mixture into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain into prepared glasses, then mound with additional ice.

* Garnish with a mint spring and 3 cranberries. Before placing your mint garnish, place the mint spring in one hand and clap your hands. This releases the mint oils and aromas.

* A finishing touch: Always smile when serving someone a drink.

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