Cranberry Fizz
Tart cranberry, lemon and soda - the sharpest drink on the shelf.
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 720 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 720 ml line. Cranberry juice - Unsweetened, or the drink turns into a soft drink
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Lemon juice
- 60 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) of a standard jigger, plus two teaspoons. Simple syrup
- 480 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 480 ml line. Soda water
- 6 wheels Lime (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Build the cranberry and lemon over ice, sweeten to taste and top with soda.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 1.35 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a highball glass with ice and pour in the cranberry juice and lemon juice.
- Add the syrup and stir it through the ice until it has mixed.
- Top with soda water, pouring it down the inside of the glass.
- Add a wheel of lime, and taste it once more before you take it anywhere.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Cranberry Fizz
Cranberries are almost too sharp to drink on their own and about as good as fruit juice gets when they are given some fizz and a little sugar, which is why this has been the standard non-alcoholic drink at parties since long before anybody thought to put it on a cocktail list. It is also the most useful recipe here: it works at every time of year, and it takes a sprig of rosemary or a slice of orange without complaining.
Getting it right
Buy unsweetened juice if you can find it, because sweetened cranberry juice is already halfway to a soft drink and there is no coming back from that. Sweeten it yourself, in the glass, and taste as you go - the right amount depends entirely on the juice. The lemon is not decoration: cranberry and citrus are what make each other taste of anything at all. Everything should be cold, and the soda should go in last.
Tasting notes
Tart and clean, with the sugar rounding off the first mouthful and the lemon arriving behind it. It is the driest of the fruit drinks here, and the one that goes best with food.