This poinsettia drink is bright red, refreshing, and brimming with holiday spirit! Your guests will love sipping this beautiful cranberry champagne cocktail and will enjoy the subtle hints of orange as well.

Two champagne flutes with red liquid and garnished with cranberries and rosemary.

Poinsettias are beautiful plants that have bright red foliage as well as green leaves, which make it a fitting flower to represent the Christmas season. Around this time of year, you’d be hard pressed not to spot at least a few.

This cranberry juice cocktail pays tribute to the beauty that is the poinsettia flower while celebrating the spirit of the holidays! It’s a drink that’s perfect for serving to guests at your next holiday party but it’s so easy to make, you really can enjoy it any time. If you’re looking for a secondary cocktail, try this fun cotton candy champagne cocktail!

Pair with some freshly made apple cider donuts for a late night treat.

About this poinsettia cocktail

  • Festive: Sip on an elegant poinsettia drink this holiday season and enjoy its bright vibrant and festive flavors! Make a small batch and have a glass while sitting by the fire, have a little grown up cocktail while you wrap presents, or while watching a cheesy heart-warming Hallmark movie on the couch. It’s easy to make any moment feel special with this refreshing sparkling champagne cocktail. It will soon be a new holiday favorite!
  • Simple: This poinsettia cocktail is made with 3 simple ingredients and finished with fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary for garnish. It is lightly sweet and smooth and while the cranberry is the highlight, you can’t miss the subtle hint of citrus from the Cointreau (a type of orange liqueur).
  • Perfect for Christmas: A poinsettia cocktail could be considered a version of a classic mimosa, so we can all agree, this would be a lovely addition to your Christmas brunch board menu as well! For a fun and festive green and red breakfast, try pairing with these bright green Christmas pancakes!
Red champagne based cocktail with a poinsettia flower nearby.

Ingredient Notes

  • 100% Cranberry Juice – Not cranberry cocktail, which is a sugary drink. You want pure cranberry juice for this drink. For more about that, check out the FAQ section.
  • Cointreau – This is a type of triple sec (French for “triple dry”) orange liqueur that is infused with orange zest as well as other spices, giving it both sweet and bitter notes. Grand Marnier, which has a brandy base, is a great substitute if preferred, as are other brands of orange liqueur.
  • Prosecco or Champagne – Both are sparkling wines and either choice will add that refreshing fizz we love in our cocktails.
  • Cranberries & Sprigs of Rosemary – Adding these two ingredients is a beautiful way to garnish a glass, whether in a champagne flute or mason jar!
Cranberry juice, Cointreau, prosecco.

How to make it

Add cranberry juice and Cointreau to a fluted glass. Top off with prosecco or champagne. Garnish with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.

Garnishing Tip

Use sugared cranberries or rosemary sprigs for an extra special festive flare.

FAQs

What is prosecco?

Prosecco is a sparkling wine produced in a little village called (you guessed it) Prosecco in Italy. Champagne is produced in Champagne, France. They are both types of sparkling wine, but Champagne uses a more traditional production method, which leads to its higher price point. Prosecco uses a less hands-on process, resulting in a lower cost in the end. The different production methods also result in a slightly different flavor profile. Either way, they are similar enough that they can usually be used interchangeably.

What is the difference between cranberry juice and cranberry cocktail?

Check your labels! Here’s why: many commercial cranberry juices, will say 100% juice. That does NOT mean they’re made with 100% cranberries. They use other sweeter fruit to balance the tart cranberries, which still makes it 100% juice. Cranberry cocktail, on the other hand, is typically all cranberry juice but with the added sugar (and possibly high fructose corn syrup). In addition, you can also buy unsweetened pure cranberry juice; however, it’s incredibly tart.
For this drink, it’s recommended that you stick with sweetened 100% cranberry juice which isn’t quite as tart as unsweetened pure cranberry juice but not as sweet as cranberry juice cocktail.

How to make this drink your own

  • Make a larger batch: Increase the amounts listed in the ingredients to make as much as you need to serve a party crowd.
  • Make it a party: Add this poinsettia drink to your mimosa bar.
  • Make it a mocktail: Make a nonalcoholic version by replacing the prosecco or champagne with sparkling grape juice and the Cointreau with orange juice. So yummy! It will be similar to our mimosa mocktail.
  • Make it sparkly: Jazz up your champagne flutes with a sugared rim or edible sparkles!
  • Use thyme: Swap fresh thyme for the rosemary. The garnishes make for a gorgeous presentation, but they’re optional.
  • Add more orange: Add a twist of orange peel or slice of orange along with cranberries to garnish.

Make Ahead Ideas

It’s important to serve the drinks immediately after pouring in the sparkling wine. To make these in advance, you can add cranberry juice and Cointreau to each glass and keep them chilled in the fridge. Once you’re ready to serve, remove the glasses from the fridge, pour in the prosecco, add the garnish and serve.

If you’re not making them ahead, be sure to chill all your ingredients in the fridge at least a couple of hours ahead, since there is no ice in these poinsettia drinks!

Two poinsettia cocktails in champagne flutes.

Get the Recipe: Poinsettia Drink

This poinsettia drink is bright red, refreshing, and brimming with holiday spirit! Your guests will love sipping this beautiful cranberry champagne cocktail and will enjoy the subtle hints of orange as well.
5 from 4 rating

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces 100% cranberry juice
  • ½ ounce Cointreau
  • ounces prosecco or champagne
  • cranberries for garnish
  • rosemary sprig for garnish

Instructions

  • Add cranberry juice and Cointreau to a fluted glass.
  • Top off with prosecco or champagne.
  • Garnish with cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.

Notes

  • This drink is lightly sweet and smooth. The cranberry is the highlight with a hint of citrus from the cointreau.
  • If you don’t have Cointreau, you can use triple sec or Grand Marnier.
  • Sugared cranberries or a sugar rim on the glass would make an extra festive touch.
Calories: 118kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 9mg, Potassium: 135mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 26IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 14mg, Iron: 1mg