This delicious Cranberry Hot Toddy recipe is lightly spiced with winter spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and orange. If you like mulled wine, you will LOVE this toddy recipe.

A glass of spiced cranberry hot toddy with a cinnamon stick.

It's cocktail time! And since the leaves are turning color and the temperature is dropping, I thought this spiced cranberry hot toddy would be the perfect thing to warm us up.

This easy hot toddy recipe starts by simmering cranberry juice with wintery spices like cinnamon, cloves, and orange. Then add some bourbon, sit back, put your feet up, and sip your tasty hot toddy.

Why you'll love this spiced cranberry hot toddy

  • Warm, cozy spices.
  • Cinnamon laced sugared rim. ā† this is as good as it sounds.
  • Healthy cranberry juice and no refined sugar puts this firmly in the healthy drink category. Please tell me you think the same.
  • Bourbon. Cause bourbon really is the best.
  • But if you don't think so, swap some spiced rum, whiskey, or even vodka.
  • It's super easy to make. If you can put some spices and cranberry juice into a pot then you can make this.
  • Bonus: as the cranberry juice and spices simmer, your house will smell AMAZING.
A pot filled with cranberry juice and spices ready to be made into a cranberry hot toddy.

How to make a hot toddy

A basic hot toddy recipe is nothing more than whiskey, honey, lemon juice, and hot water. With respect tradition, we think this spiced cranberry hot toddy is much better.

The wintery spices make this version perfect for this chilly season. And since it's almost as easy to make as the original, there's no reason not to treat yourself.

  1. Add the cranberry juice and spices to a pot.
  2. Simmer simmer simmer.
  3. Sweeten with some maple syrup.
  4. Pour some bourbon into a glass and top with the spiced cranberry juice.

If you want to get fancy, mix a little sugar with some cinnamon and rim your glass before you pour in your cranberry hot toddy.

A glass of bourbon with a sugared rim and a cinnamon stick in it waiting to be made into a cranberry hot toddy.
Making a cranberry hot toddy by pouring spiced cranberry juice into a glass.

How to make cranberry hot toddies for a crowd

This cranberry hot toddy recipe makes 32 small (2-ounce) drinks which makes it perfect for a party. Here's how to do it:

  1. Make the spiced cranberry juice then strain it.
  2. Add the bourbon to the pot. Pop in a couple of orange slices to pretty it up.
  3. Put a ladle in the pot and let your guests serve themselves.

So easy!

A hand holding a cranberry hot toddy with a sugared rim and a cinnamon stick.

PS. If you love cranberry cocktails, make sure to check out our Christmas Cranberry Margarita!

Our favorite savory cranberry recipes:

Our favorite sweet cranberry recipes:

Looking down on two glasses of cranberry hot toddy.

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Delicious Warm Winter Drinks:

A glass of spiced cranberry hot toddy with a cinnamon stick.

Cranberry Hot Toddy Recipe

Yield: 32 2-ounce cocktails
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
This delicious Cranberry Hot Toddy recipe is lightly spiced with winter spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and orange. If you like mulled wine, you will LOVE this toddy recipe.

If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!

4.95 stars (18 ratings)
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
  • 1 mandarin orange, sliced
  • 2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
  • 2 inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 5 star anise
  • Ā½ – 1 cup maple syrup, more, to taste
  • 2-4 cups of bourbon, depending how strong you like your cocktails

Instructions 

  • Pour the cranberry juice into a medium-sized pot. Add the mandarin orange slices, cinnamon sticks, ginger, peppercorns, cloves, and star anise and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Strain the juice to remove the spices.
    4 cups unsweetened cranberry juice, 1 mandarin orange, 2 3-inch cinnamon sticks, 2 inch piece of ginger, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 5 star anise
  • Add a Ā½ cup of maple syrup to the pot. Taste and add more maple syrup, to taste.
  • Pour 1 ounce of bourbon into your glass and top with 1 ounceĀ of the spiced cranberry juice.
    2-4 cups of bourbon

Notes

If you can't find unsweetened cranberry juice, use cranberry cocktail and omit the maple syrup.
If you'd like, sugar the rim with 1Ā teaspoon of cinnamon mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Make a big batch by adding 4 cups of bourbon to the spiced cranberry juice and let guests serve themselves.
If you like a less strong cocktail, use 1 ounce of bourbon and 2 ounces of spiced cranberry juice.
The spiced cranberry juice will keep for at least a week in the fridge.
Serving: 2 ounce cocktail, Calories: 66kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 47mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 34IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 1mg
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