A cranberry Old Fashioned is bourbon, cranberry simple syrup, and a few dashes of cranberry and orange bitters, stirred with ice and strained into a coupe. Itโs our holiday spin on the classic, and Jim had a personal stake in it. One of his standard drinks when we are out for dinner is a traditional Old Fashioned, so if we were going to mess with it, the cranberry had to taste like cranberry, not just turn the drink red.
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Key Ingredients
The complete ingredient list and measurements are listed in the printable recipe below.
- Bourbon: Weโve made this with a range of bourbons, and itโs good with every one weโve tried. The one rule is to use a bourbon youโd happily drink on its own. An old fashioned is mostly bourbon, so if you wouldnโt sip it straight, the cranberry syrup and bitters wonโt rescue it.
- Cranberry Simple Syrup: Our homemade cranberry simple syrup is a 1:1 syrup made with fresh or frozen cranberries, and itโs where most of the cranberry flavor comes from. A full ounce of syrup per cocktail is more than a classic Old Fashioned calls for, and thatโs on purpose. With a lighter pour, the bourbon takes over, and the cranberry gets lost.
- Cranberry and Orange Bitters: Angostura is the standard for old fashioneds, and most cranberry versions stick with it. We tested it, and it pushed the cranberry into the background. We landed on three dashes of cranberry bitters and one dash of orange bitters per cocktail. The cranberry bitters keep the fruit up front, and the orange cuts through the syrup’s sweetness and adds a little citrus lift.
a little note from us
October 2026 update:ย The cranberry Manhattan had a good run, but it was time for something new. We retired it and replaced it with a cranberry old fashioned, sweetened with our homemade cranberry simple syrup and finished with cranberry and orange bitters.
Up, On the Rocks, or Neat?
Bartender shorthand can be confusing, so it helps to know what the terms mean. โUpโ means the drink is stirred with ice until itโs cold, then strained into a glass with no ice, usually a stemmed glass like a coupe. Thatโs how we serve ours. โDown,โ or on the rocks, means you pour it over ice in a rocks glass, which is how most Old Fashioneds arrive at the bar.
Donโt confuse up with neat. A neat pour comes straight from the bottle at room temperature, with no ice involved.
Either way, you stir the drink with ice first. Stirring chills it and adds a little water without clouding it, which is why you stir Old Fashioneds instead of shaking them. You can shake one, but it might be foamy and cloudy, and itโs harder to control how much it waters down.
The real difference is in how it drinks. Served up, the drink stays the same from the first sip to the last. Over ice, it gets colder and dilutes as the ice melts, so a large cube is the better choice if you go that route. We like serving it both ways.
More Cranberry Cocktails To Try
Looking for more holiday cranberry cocktail recipes? Try these other favorites:
- Cranberry Orange Whiskey Sour โ Shake bourbon with cranberry juice, fresh orange juice, and the same cranberry and orange bitters used in this Old Fashioned, then strain over ice. Think of it as the brighter, juicier cousin of this drink.
- Cranberry Mojito โ A holiday take on the Cuban favorite, made with white rum, fresh mint, lime, and cranberry juice, topped with club soda.
- Cranberry Aperol Spritz โ A seasonal spin on the Italian spritz, mixing Aperol, cranberry juice, and fresh orange juice with prosecco for a lighter holiday drink.
- Mistletoe Martini โ Vodka, elderflower liqueur, fresh lime juice, and vermouth with homemade cranberry syrup and cranberry bitters, served up in a chilled coupe.
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Cranberry Old Fashioned
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Equipment
- Cocktail Shaker
Ingredients
- 4 ounces bourbon
- 2 ounces cranberry simple syrup
- 6 dashes cranberry bitters
- 2 dashes orange bitters
Garnishes
- cranberries
- orange twists
Instructions
- Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add the bourbon, cranberry simple syrup, cranberry bitters, and orange bitters.
- Stir for about 20 seconds, until the outside of the mixing glass feels cold.
- To serve it up, strain into a coupe; to serve it on the rocks, pour over fresh ice into a rocks glass.
- Garnish with the cranberry pick and the orange twist.
