The Best Way To Use Dried Cranberries In Your Cocktails

Dried cranberries are a festive add-in for salads, muffins, and even turkey burgers. Sweet or savory; they're a versatile ingredient that brings a tart snap to any dish. We recently connected with Molly Horn, the Chief Mixologist and Spirits Educator at Total Wine & More, who blew our minds when it came to a whole new use for dried cranberries.

According to Horn, dried cranberries make for a great infused spirit. "Adding a cup of them to a bottle of vodka (you'll have to pour both into a sealable container such as a ball jar) and letting that sit for a week or so will leave you with a delicately flavored vodka that can be great for anything from vodka sodas to Moscow Mules," Horn says, "and the dried cranberries themselves will plump up with vodka and can make a fun garnish — or even a spiked snack!" A cranberry-infused Moscow mule is the perfect holiday twist to a popular, year-round drink.

Dried cranberry-infused vodka gives you a nice tart flavor without too much sweetness. That's why cranberries make for a natural combination with the ginger and lime notes of a Moscow mule. When thinking up other cocktails that'd be elevated with a touch of cranberry vodka, we looked for vodka cocktails that had effervescence or citrusy flavors to balance with the infused cranberries.

Of course, the first drink that comes to mind is the classic cosmopolitan cocktail. Typically with vodka, cranberry juice, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and an orange twist to garnish, this is a delightfully refreshing drink that makes for the perfect accessory when you're wanting a "Sex and The City" vibe. Some people claim a proper cosmopolitan needs a citrus vodka, while others prefer to go with just your standard vodka, but we're here to encourage you to try cranberry vodka for an extra dose of tart to balance with the zest of the lime.

Another drink screaming for some cranberry-infused vodka is a vodka gimlet. In general, lime and cranberries go beautifully together and this lime-forward cocktail can use a little cranberry for added complexity to all that sourness. If you want to experiment even further, we recommend trying this vodka gimlet & Hemingway daiquiri cocktail combo. Too eager to try your infused dried-cranberry vodka to make a fancy cocktail? Then we recommend mixing together a simple spritzer for your infused vodka to really shine.