Celebrate the holidays with a festive and delicious Poinsettia Mimosa! This easy-to-make cocktail is made with just 3 ingredients. It’s the perfect drink to enjoy this time of year at any Christmas brunch, party, gatherings, or as a New Year’s Eve cocktail!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Festive Flair: The poinsettia drink has a vibrant red hue, great for holiday celebrations, and embodies the holiday spirit with its bright, cheerful color.
- Balanced Flavor Profile: Combining tart cranberry juice with the sweet orange flavor of triple sec and effervescence of champagne bubbles creates a delicious blend that is bound to be a new favorite.
- Easy: The simplicity of the recipe, requiring just a few simple ingredients, makes it an excellent option for a quick cocktail to whip up for guests.
What is a Poinsettia Mimosa?
The Poinsettia Mimosa is named after the vibrant red Poinsettia plant, which is synonymous with the holiday season. This simple drink captures the holiday essence in a glass. It’s visually stunning, thanks to its bold crimson color, making it a standout at any Christmas morning holiday brunch!
When it comes to pairing with other festive food and beverage, a poinsettia cocktail sits nicely in a lineup that could include warm, spiced beverages like a Hot Apple Cider Toddy, to provide a chilled, bubbly drink option.
For an evening affair, pair with spread of small bites like Whipped Goat Cheese Crostini, Baked Brie with Figs and Honey, and or a holiday themed charcuterie board, like a Christmas Tree board or a Christmas Wreath themed board. Whether for a casual get-together or a formal feast, a Poinsettia Mimosa is a glass of holiday cheer that fits seamlessly into the seasonal celebration.
Ingredient Notes
Cranberry juice cocktail: I prefer to use the sweetened cranberry juice, which is usually labeled as “cranberry juice cocktail” and gives a sweetness similar to that of orange juice in a classic mimosa.
Triple sec: This brings adds an extra sweet and orangey zest to the recipe, which is a nice nod to the original. I always recommend Cointreau for triple sec if your budget allows. The flavor is much more intense compared to the less expensive triple sec. Grand Marnier would also give a great flavor.
Champagne: Technically champagne is a specific type of sparkling wine and can be on the more expensive side. I recommend getting a more affordable sparkling wine like a prosecco or cava, which are better suited for cocktails. I tend to want to save champagne for when I just want to drink the bubbly by itself.
Garnishes: I highly recommend freezing some fresh cranberries to add to each glass. It’s festive and helps keep the cocktail cool. Then, adding a sprig of fresh rosemary gives you the classic red and green Christmas colors.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add frozen cranberries to a champagne flute (optional). Add the triple sec to the flute.
Step 2: Add the cranberry juice cocktail and then top with the sparkling wine.
Step 3: Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, if desired.
Expert Tips
Use chilled ingredients. This will help to keep your cocktail refreshing and delicious. Adding frozen whole cranberries to the glasses are another great way to keep the cocktails cool without dilution.
Serve immediately. Mimosas are best enjoyed fresh.
Adjust the sweetness to your taste. If you find that your Poinsettia Mimosa is too much on the sweet side, add a bit more dry sparkling wine or sparkling water. If you prefer sweeter, add a touch of fresh orange juice and/or simple syrup.
For a little extra flair and sweetness, dip the rim of your glasses in some of the cranberry juice, then dip in a shimmery sanding sugar.
Variations
Below are a few other variations of this festive drink using various fruit juices that you might like to try:
- Cranberry Orange Mimosas: Cranberry juice cocktail, orange juice, triple sec, and sparkling wine.
- Rosemary Grapefruit Mimosas: Grapefruit juice, rosemary simple syrup, and sparkling wine.
- Christmas in the Tropics Pineapple Mimosas: Pineapple juice, cream of coconut (syrup, not the canned kind), and sparkling wine.
- Apple Cider Mimosas: Apple cider, splash of lemon juice, and sparkling wine.
Suggested Glassware and Equipment to Serve a Crowd
Rose Gold Rim Plastic Shatterproof Mimosa Glasses
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Glass Pitcher for Mimosa Bar (1 liter, set of 4)
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Holiday Magnetic Wine Glass Charms & Cocktail Markers Set of 12
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The best option is a dry sparkling wine for mimosas as this will help to balance out the sweetness. Sometimes they are labeled as “dry” or “brut” on the label. I recommend avoiding sweet wines, such as asti spumante and moscato d’Asti as will make the mimosa too sweet.
Here are a few good options to choose from:
-Champagne is the classic choice for mimosas, but I prefer to save champagne for when I want to just drink the bubbly on its own as it is more expensive than other types of sparkling wine. Plus, the nuanced flavors of very high-end Champagnes are often lost in the mix of cocktails.
-Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine that is a more affordable option than pricey champagne, and it also has a dry, fruity flavor that pairs well in mimosas.
-Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine that is made in a similar way to champagne. It has a dry, slightly yeasty flavor that is the perfect choice for mimosas.
Other good options for mimosas include crémant and dry sparkling rosé.
Personally, my go-to bubbly for cocktails are a dry prosecco or cava – they’re affordable and easy to come by.
And quite honestly, I often buy them from Costco.
A Bellini and a mimosa are both classic brunch cocktails made with similar ingredients The main difference between the two is the type of fruit juice used.
Bellini: An Italian cocktail from Venice, it’s made with peach puree and sparkling wine, typically prosecco.
Mimosa: Made with orange juice and sparkling wine, typically champagne or prosecco.
If you like bellinis, you should also check out my Peach Martini Bellini. It’s a more potent drink than a regular bellini but can still be a nice brunch cocktail.
While I used cranberry juice cocktail, you can also use pomegranate juice or cherry juice. If you opt for 100% cherry juice or unsweetened cranberry juice, they can be quite tart so you may need to add some simple syrup to balance the flavors.
Yes, you can make a batch of Poinsettia cocktails, and they can be partially prepared in advance, which is excellent for hosting.
To do so, follow these guidelines:
Mix Together: Combine the cranberry juice cocktail and triple sec in a large pitcher. You can scale up the quantities based on the number of guests.
Refrigerate: Store this mixture in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. This can be done several hours ahead of time, or even the night before.
Chill the Sparkling Wine: Make sure your unopened bubbly is thoroughly chilled.
Combine: Right before serving, gently stir in the chilled sparkling wine into the pitcher with the juice mixture. Doing this too early can cause the wine to lose its effervescence.
You can also make a “mimosa bar” by leaving the cranberry juice cocktail and triple sec mixture in the pitcher and keeping the chilled bubbly ready next to it.
Guests can pour from the pitcher into their champagne flutes and then top with the bubbly. Although, some people can be a little heavy handed with the bubbly, so I’d have an extra chilled bottle or two in the fridge just in case.
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Cranberry Poinsettia Mimosa Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces cranberry juice cocktail
- 1 ounce triple sec (preferably Cointreau)
- 2-3 ounces champagne (or prosecco or cava, dry/brut style)
- Frozen whole cranberries and/or fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)
Instructions
- Add the frozen whole cranberries (if using) to a champagne flute, then add the cranberry juice cocktail.
- Add the triple sec and top with the champagne.
- Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, if desired.
Notes
- 1 ½ cups cranberry juice cocktail
- 1 cup triple sec
- 1 (750 ml) bottle of champagne (or prosecco or cava, dry/brut style)
- Frozen whole cranberries and/or fresh rosemary (optional)
- Mix Together: Combine the cranberry juice cocktail and triple sec in a large pitcher. You can scale up the quantities based on the number of guests.
- Refrigerate: Store this mixture in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. This can be done several hours ahead of time, or even the night before.
- Chill the Sparkling Wine: Make sure your unopened bubbly is thoroughly chilled.
- Combine: Right before serving, gently stir in the chilled sparkling wine into the pitcher with the juice mixture. Doing this too early can cause the wine to lose its effervescence.
- You can also make a “mimosa bar” by leaving the cranberry juice cocktail and triple sec mixture in the pitcher and keeping the chilled bubbly ready next to it.
- Guests can pour from the pitcher and then top with the bubbly. Although, some people can be a little heavy handed with the bubbly, so I’d have an extra chilled bottle or two in the fridge just in case.
Nutrition
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