Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail

Our festive Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail recipe is a perfect holiday drink! With a fizzy mix of fresh and warm flavors and fun seasonal colors, it’s the perfect holiday mocktail to celebrate with!

How’s your holiday menu planning going? It’s just the 4 of us for Thanksgiving at my house this year, and we’ll have a small Christmas celebration in a few weeks, too.

Hopefully, you’ve got a great meal planned to share with friends or loved ones! We’re keeping our actual meal on the simple side, but going big with delicious desserts like Pie and Cake and, of course, a fun holiday mocktail recipe!

This Cranberry Moscow Mule mocktail is a delicious holiday drink that’s perfect for this time of year. It’s a fun spin on our Virgin Moscow Mule recipe from last year, this time with a cranberry twist! It’s a delicious combination of fizzy, spicy ginger beer, sweet-tart cranberry flavor, and a kiss of freshness from lime and mint.

The color is beautiful, the flavor is light, and it makes a perfect addition to your holiday meal or holiday season celebration. It’s a great alternative to simple apple cider or Christmas punch. A little more elegant, a little more nuanced, and totally delicious.

And the ingredients couldn’t be easier. Here’s all you need for our cranberry moscow mule mocktail recipe…

Simple Ingredients For A Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail

• Ginger Beer. This yummy soda has a more gingery, peppery bite than traditional ginger ale and it’s an essential ingredient for a classic moscow mule. Wondering which brand to try? We did a whole taste test of popular brands of ginger beer to find the best ginger beer for mocktails!
• Cranberry Juice. Rather than using cranberry syrup (which can be a bit fussy to make), a little cranberry juice adds a splash of bright red color and delicious sweet-tart flavor. Instead of straight cranberry juice (which can be REALLY tart!), I recommend a cranberry juice blend. You can absolutely choose a sweetened cranberry juice, but I usually choose a 100% juice cranberry cocktail juice blend to cut down on added sugar. 
• Mint Simple Syrup. A classic for a mule mocktail! I love how much bright flavor is packed into every drop. (You can make your own with just 3 ingredients!)
• Fresh Lime Juice. I recommend fresh lime juice over bottled lime juice, which can run bitter and overly acidic. (Plus, you can use leftover limes for garnish!)
• Plenty of Ice. Always and forever. A mocktail must!
• Fun Garnishes! More on this in a minute, but you better believe we have some good ideas!

Is Ginger Beer Alcoholic?

Nope! Just how root beer isn’t alcoholic even with “beer” in the name, almost all ginger beer you’ll find in grocery stores is alcohol-free. Non-alcoholic ginger beer has a more spicy, assertive flavor than ginger ale soda, and it adds a lovely layer of flavor to this holiday drink.

How To Make A Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail, Step By Step

First, Make The Mint Simple Syrup:

1. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat and add fresh mint leaves.
2. Steep the mint for at least 30 minutes up to 2 hours, then cool to room temperature.
3. Strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve and store in a glass jar.
4. Mint syrup will keep several weeks in the fridge and can be made in advance.

To Make One Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail:

1. Fill a copper mug (or collins glass) with ice.
2. Pour in simple syrup, lime juice, cranberry juice, and ginger beer. If desired, top up the cup with sparkling water.
3. Garnish with lime slices, cranberries, a fresh mint sprig, and more.

To Make A Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktails For A Crowd:

1. Add ice to a punch bowl.
2. Pour in simple syrup, lime juice, cranberry juice, and ginger beer. If desired, top up the pitcher with sparkling water. Gently stir a few times to combine (be gentle and slow so you don’t make it go flat)
3. Garnish with lime slices, cranberries, a fresh mint sprig, and more. Happy holidays!

Make It Pretty! Fun Garnishes To Try

One of my favorite parts of putting together a delicious mocktail recipe is the garnish! It’s amazing what a fresh garnish or two (or three!) can do for a holiday mocktail like this one. Here are some of our favorite fresh finishes for this easy drink:

• Fresh Cranberries or Frozen Cranberries. Play up the colors and flavors of this delicious drink by adding more cranberries.
• Sugared Cranberries. Always elegant!
• Fresh Lime. Lime wedge, lime wheels, lime slices, lime rosettes. Anything with lime!
• Fresh Mint. I love how light and fresh this looks. The green of the mint looks lovely with the reds in this drink!
• Orange Slices. Or, add another twist of flavor with an orange slice! Candied or dried orange slices work, too!
• A Sprig of Rosemary. Or, add a sprig of fresh rosemary for a festive touch!

Try A Copper Mug!

To keep with tradition, I love to serve any moscow mule mocktail in a frosty copper mug. The traditional copper moscow mule mugs keep the drink SUPER cold and gives it a delicious frosty finish that looks. I fyou don’t have a copper cup, no worries! Just serve these cranberry mule mocktails in a collins glass.

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail

Can I Use Ginger Ale Instead Of Ginger Beer? Yes, though the ginger flavor will be much less pronounced. This is a great option for spice-sensitive kids (or grown-ups!) who prefer a little less bite. It makes for a much sweeter drink, so I recommend cutting it with a bit of club soda.

Try This Twist! For a fun variation, swap out the mint simple syrup for a batch of this rosemary simple syrup. It’ll be a slightly different flavor profile, but rosemary pairs really beautifully with ginger, cranberries, and lime!

Can I Make This For A Crowd? Absolutely! I’ve got instructions & tips in the recipe card below for making either a single drink or a big batch of this for a crowd. It looks beautiful in a punch bowl or pitcher for a holiday party!

Can I Make This Into A Cocktail? Sure! I don’t drink, but a traditional moscow mule is made with vodka.

🌟 Leave a star rating below when you try our Cranberry Moscow Mule Mocktail recipe! We can’t wait to hear what you think!

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