Cranberry in a Can (Batched Rye-Cranberry Shrub Cocktail) Recipe

By
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a longtime food and drink expert whose recipes and cocktail-making tips can be found on her newsletters What to Drink and The Dinner Plan. She is the author of  The One-Bottle Cocktail and Batch Cocktails, both published by Ten Speed Press.
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Updated March 26, 2025
Rye-Cranberry Shrub Cocktail
Photograph: © Kelly Puleio 2018, resized for publication

Why It Works

  • Unsweetened 100% cranberry juice, such as R. W. Knudsen, adds bold flavor and brightness to the drink when paired with delicately tangy champagne vinegar.
  • Crushed ice provides quick dilution and chills the drink in the glass.
  • Batching 12 servings in advance means there's no last-minute fuss and guests can serve themselves.

Dee Ann Quinones dreamed up this warming and festive single-spirit drink recipe for the holiday menu at Grace Gaelic Hospitality in New York. It's perfect for wintertime entertaining because you can make the easy cinnamon-spiced cranberry mixer far ahead of the last-minute chaos, add booze, and offer the drink in a pitcher for guests to serve themselves. Don't be afraid of the vinegar: It slips in just enough tartness to balance the warm cinnamon and whiskey flavors.

Crushed ice is essential here to give the drink adequate dilution and chill. If you don't have a Lewis bag and mallet, fill a zipper-lock plastic bag with ice, wrap it in a dish towel, and give it a few wallops with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin.

Reprinted with permission from The One-Bottle Cocktail: More Than 80 Recipes With Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit by Maggie Hoffman, copyright © 2018. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Recipe Details

Cranberry in a Can (Batched Rye-Cranberry Shrub Cocktail) Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Cook 40 mins
Active 10 mins
Chilling Time 60 mins
Total 105 mins
Makes 12 drinks
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Quick Cranberry-Cinnamon Shrub:

  • 1 cup sugar (7 ounces; 200 g)

  • 4 ounces (120 ml) unsweetened 100% cranberry juice

  • 4 ounces (120 ml) champagne vinegar

  • 5 cinnamon sticks

For the Pitcher Cocktail:

  • 24 ounces (720 ml) rye whiskey (see note)

  • 12 ounces (180 ml) Quick Cranberry-Cinnamon Shrub

  • 12 cinnamon sticks (optional), 12 fresh mint springs, 35 fresh cranberries or red currants

Directions

  1. For the Quick Shrub: Combine sugar, cranberry juice, and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir well to mix. Break up cinnamon sticks and add to the syrup. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes to dissolve sugar and bring mixture to a bare simmer, then remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer set over a resealable container and discard cinnamon sticks. Refrigerate shrub for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week.

  2. For the Pitcher Cocktail: Combine rye and 12 ounces shrub together in a 1 1/2– or 2-quart pitcher and stir well to mix. Pour about 3 ounces (90ml) into each julep cup or rocks glass. Fill with crushed ice. Garnish each glass with a mint sprig (and cinnamon stick, if desired) plus 3 cranberries or red currants, and a straw.

Special equipment

Saucepan, fine-mesh strainer, 1 1/2– or 2-quart pitcher, straws for serving

Notes

If you're not a fan of rye, try cognac; it makes a satiny-smooth, easy-drinking version of the punch. If you'd prefer to mix drinks individually, just combine two parts rye to one part shrub and mix well together before adding crushed ice.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
2569Calories
1gFat
257gCarbs
2gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories2569
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g1%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 40mg2%
Total Carbohydrate 257g94%
Dietary Fiber 4g14%
Total Sugars 247g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 151mg755%
Calcium 165mg13%
Iron 1mg7%
Potassium 412mg9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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