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Thanksgiving Punch

Thanksgiving punch with chilled cranberry-apple cider base and bright orange-lime flavor, finished with ginger ale for gentle sparkle. Served cold with floating orange slices, fresh cranberries, rosemary sprigs, and ice in every glass.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
chill 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Drink
Cuisine: American
Calories: 170
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cranberry juice cocktail
  • 4 cup cranberry juice cocktail chilled
Apple cider
  • 2 cup apple cider chilled
Orange juice
  • 1 cup orange juice at room temperature or lightly chilled
Fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice lime juice (measure as 1/4 cup)
Ginger ale or sparkling water
  • 1 L ginger ale or sparkling water chilled; pour in just before serving
Orange slices
  • 1 orange thinly sliced
Fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries for floating
Fresh rosemary
  • 4 sprig fresh rosemary for sprigs on top
Ice
  • 1 ice for serving

Method
 

Mix the base
  1. Combine cranberry juice cocktail, apple cider, orange juice, and lime juice in a punch bowl.
  2. Stir gently to blend, keeping any citrus pieces from sticking to the bottom.
Chill
  1. Chill the punch bowl until ready to serve for 30 minutes, covered, so the flavors meld and the base stays cold.
Add floating garnishes
  1. Add orange slices, fresh cranberries, and rosemary sprigs to the chilled punch.
Finish and serve
  1. Pour in ginger ale or sparkling water just before serving so it stays fizzy.
  2. Add ice and ladle into glasses for immediate, cold servings.

Notes

For the cleanest presentation, slice the orange thinly and keep the rosemary sprigs dry before adding so they don’t brown. Refrigerate the base (without ginger ale) up to 24 hours; add ginger ale and ice right before serving. Freezing isn’t recommended because the citrus and carbonation won’t hold up. For a lower-sugar option, use unsweetened sparkling water or a no-sugar ginger ale instead of ginger ale.