Cranberry Thyme Spritzer

At a glance

What stands out: With sweet-tart cranberry juice, freshly squeezed orange juice, and thyme-infused simple syrup, this cranberry thyme spritzer is the reliable mocktail to add to your Thanksgiving menu!

How long it takes: 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: highball or stemless wine glass, saucepan for making the syrup
Servings: 1 (we've included instructions for making a pitcher, too!)

The Prettiest Drink on the Table

Some drinks just look like the season. For example, a rosé spritzer shouts summer, a poinsettia cocktail is definitely Christmas, and this cranberry thyme spritzer is pure fall in a glass! The color alone feels festively autumnal, and the fresh cranberries make it picture-reliable for Thanksgiving or any holiday gathering.

We love that it feels special and celebratory while still being straightforward to pull together — and it’s a drink everyone can enjoy, whether you’re skipping the alcohol or adding a splash of gin. (Be sure to check out our pomegranate rosemary spritzer, too!)

What makes it special:

• Make-ahead friendly. The thyme simple syrup can be made up to a week ahead, saving you time on busy holiday days.
• Inclusive for everyone. This spritzer is a mocktail but you can add gin or vodka to make it a traditional cocktail. We love this because it feels more inclusive at a big holiday get-together. No one is left out!
• Festive flavor and color. Although we associate cranberries most with Thanksgiving, they’re still in season in December (sugared cranberries, anyone?), so you can enjoy this cranberry spritzer throughout the holiday season. And if you’re making cranberry sauce from scratch, you can easily spare a few berries for garnishing your cocktails!

What goes in

• Thyme-infused simple syrup: This recipe makes ½ cup which is enough for 8 drinks, but it’s straightforward to increase if you want to make a bigger batch. All you need is water, granulated sugar, and fresh thyme. Fresh thyme is a must; dried thyme won’t work for this recipe.
• Cranberry juice: To make the spritzers, for a standby flavor you’ll need unsweetened 100% cranberry juice. Check the labels carefully; cranberry juice is often sold as cranberry juice cocktail which has a lot of added sugar. Ocean Spray sells three types of cranberry juice. The third product is 100% juice cranberry blend, with no added sugar, but it contains apple, grape, and pear juice to sweeten the blend. Choose the one you like best.
• Orange juice: We recommend using freshly squeezed juice, which has a more vibrant flavor than bottled juice.
• Sparkling water: Look for sparkling water (carbonated water), club soda, or mineral water. You can use unflavored or orange flavored (such as Spindrift). Sparkling water is lightly fizzy with tiny bubbles.
• Garnishes: Whether it’s a cocktail or a mocktail, a beautifully fragrant garnish can make all the difference. We like fresh cranberries, fresh or dehydrated orange slices, and thyme sprigs.
• Ice: Every ingredient should be well-chilled but you’ll also want to have fresh ice on hand to serve these spritzers on the rocks.

How it comes together

Make the simple syrup. Bring the water, sugar, and thyme to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then remove the pan from the heat and let the thyme steep in the liquid for 15 minutes. Discard the thyme and cool, then refrigerate the syrup until you’re ready to use it. A small jar works evenly.

Start the spritzer. Fill a highball glass or stemless wine glass halfway with ice, then stir in the cranberry juice, orange juice, and simple syrup.

Top it off. Pour in the sparking water and stir gently just until the juices are blended. Stirring too vigorously will make your mocktail go flat.

Garnish. Add a sprig of fresh thyme, drop in a few cranberries (or thread them onto a cocktail pick), and add an orange slice. Serve immediately.

Straightforward Recipe Variations

• Swap out the thyme. Fresh rosemary is also rich in this cranberry spritzer recipe!
• Make it boozy. Add 1.5 ounces of gin or vodka to each serving, or swap Prosecco for the sparkling water.
• Use blood oranges. Although the flavor isn’t too different from navel oranges, blood orange juice is pretty in this cranberry spritzer!
• Mix a big batch. Because the simple syrup makes 4 servings you can multiply the rest of the ingredients by 4 to make a pitcher that serves 4. You can also double the syrup and multiply the rest of the ingredients by 8 to make 8 mocktails, and so on.

What Goes With a Cranberry Spritzer

Thanksgiving favorites. Add refreshing cranberry thyme spritzers to your table along with apple stuffing, from-scratch green bean casserole, and herb roasted turkey breast.

Christmas cookies. Serve cranberry spritzers with a spread of Christmas cookies. It’s a lighter alternative to rich eggnog.

Fall finger foods and appetizers. Cranberry spritzers pair evenly with baked brie with cranberries and bourbon pecans and butternut squash crostini with ricotta. The rich flavors of appetizers like sausage pinwheels or bacon wrapped water chestnuts is offset by tart cranberry thyme spritzers. Nibble on spiced pecans with your spritzers.

Brunch recipes. This cranberry spritzer recipe is reliable for serving with brunch. It’s especially rich with cranberry coffee cake, brioche French toast, or apple pancakes.

Keeping leftovers

You can store the thyme simple syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

• Yield: 1
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 5 minutes
• Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For simple syrup (makes ½ cup, enough for 8 drinks):

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs

For each spritzer:

• ice cubes (make sure your ice is fresh)
• ¼ cup 100% cranberry juice (unsweetened)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (about ½ medium orange)
• 1 tablespoon thyme-infused simple syrup, or to taste
• ¼ cup chilled sparkling water (plain or orange-flavored)

Optional Garnishes:

• fresh cranberries, orange slices or dehydrated orange slices, or thyme sprigs

Method

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, sugar, and thyme. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and steep for 15 minutes. Discard thyme and cool completely. Simple syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container (such as a small jar with a lid) for up to 1 week.
3. Fill a highball glass (or a large stemless wine glass) halfway with ice. Add the cranberry juice, orange juice, and thyme simple syrup. Stir well.
4. Top with the sparkling water, and stir very gently. Don't overstir or the spritzer will go flat.
5. Garnish with a fresh thyme sprig, a few cranberries, and an orange slice.
6. Serve immediately.

Notes

Make-ahead tip: Prep the syrup up to a week ahead and juice the oranges the night before (store in a sealed jar).

Cranberry juice: For best flavor, make sure to look for 100% cranberry juice which is usually unsweetened, not cranberry cocktail which is heavily sweetened.

Adding alcohol: If desired, add 1.5 ounces gin or vodka (per serving) to this mocktail to make it a cocktail. Another option is to replace the sparkling water with chilled prosecco.

For a pitcher (4 servings): 1 cup cranberry juice

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

¼ cup thyme-infused simple syrup, or to taste

1 cup chilled sparkling water (if prepping ahead, wait to add the sparkling water until just before serving)

To make 8 servings: Double the above ingredients (2 cups cranberry juice, 1 cup orange juice, ½ cup simple syrup, 2 cups sparkling water).