5 Cocktails to Make for Thanksgiving

Hosting Thanksgiving this year? Here are five cocktails to serve alongside the feast — from a classic Vodka Cranberry to a Pumpkin Pie Martini, plus an alcohol-free option for guests who prefer it.

All five lean into the flavors of the season: cranberry, apple, vanilla, pumpkin, ginger and cinnamon.

What Cocktails Work Best for Thanksgiving?

The best Thanksgiving cocktails use seasonal flavors — cranberry, apple, cinnamon and pumpkin — that complement the food on the table. Here are five worth making, from simple builds to shaken cocktails.

1. What is a Vodka Cranberry — and Why Does it Work at Thanksgiving?

Cranberries are as synonymous with Thanksgiving as the turkey itself — native to North America and a staple of the holiday feast since its earliest days.

The Vodka Cranberry is the simplest way to bring that flavor to the glass: Absolut Vodka and cranberry juice over ice, garnished with a lime wedge.

Vodka Cranberry Ingredients:

• 45 ml Absolut Vodka
• 180 ml Cranberry Juice
• Lime Wedge, to garnish

Ready to make it? Watch Rico show how to make a classic Vodka Cranberry:

2. How Do You Make an Apple Pie Shot?

The Apple Pie Shot brings the flavors of the season into a single shot: Absolut Vanilia, apple juice, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, shaken with ice and strained into a cinnamon-rimmed shot glass, garnished with a fresh apple slice.

Ingredients for an Apple Pie Shot:

• 30 ml Absolut Vanilia
• 20 ml Apple Juice
• 10 ml Lemon Juice
• 10 ml Simple Syrup
• Apple Wedge, to garnish

Watch Rico show how to make Apple Pie Shots:

3. What is the Thanksgiving Punch — and How Do You Make It?

The Thanksgiving Punch is an alcohol-free cocktail that’s perfect for scaling regardless of how many people you’ve got coming to your Thanksgiving feast.

Made with sweetened cranberry juice, lemonade and ginger ale, it’s then combined in a punch bowl and garnished with lemon wedges.

Thanksgiving Punch Ingredients:

• 3 parts Cranberry Juice
• 1 part Lemonade
• 2 parts Ginger Ale

How to Make a Thanksgiving Punch:

1. Add 3 parts cranberry juice to a punch bowl.
2. Add 1 part lemonade and stir gently to combine.
3. Just before serving, pour in 2 parts chilled ginger ale.
4. Stir once gently to combine — avoid over-stirring to keep the fizz intact.
5. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve over ice.

4. How Do You Make a Falling Leaves Cocktail?

The Falling Leaves is a seasonal cocktail built around Absolut Mandrin — our mandarin-flavored vodka that pairs naturally with cranberry juice, apple cider and fresh lemon juice.

Balanced with simple syrup and finished with a cinnamon cane and grapefruit wedge, Falling Leaves is one of the most seasonally appropriate cocktails on this list.

Falling Leaves ingredients:

• 45 ml Absolut Mandrin
• 60 ml Cider
• 30 ml Cranberry Juice
• 15 ml Lemon Juice
• 10 ml Simple Syrup
• Cinnamon Cane
• Grapefruit Wedge, to garnish

How to Make a Falling Leaves Cocktail:

1. Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
2. Use a jigger to measure and pour Absolut Mandrin into the glass.
3. Add cranberry juice.
4. Add cider.
5. Squeeze half a lemon using a citrus press and add fresh lemon juice.
6. Add simple syrup.
7. Stir gently with a bar spoon to combine.
8. Garnish with a cinnamon cane and a grapefruit wedge.

5. How Do You Make a Pumpkin Pie Martini?

Pumpkin Pie is non-negotiable at Thanksgiving — and the Pumpkin Pie Martini brings those same flavors to the glass.

Absolut Vanilia, whole milk, cinnamon syrup and pumpkin purée, shaken and strained into a martini glass.

Rich, decadent and exactly what the end of a Thanksgiving feast calls for.

Pumpkin Pie Martini Ingredients:

• 1 ½PartsAbsolut Vanilia
• 1PartMilk
• 1TablespoonCinnamon Syrup
• 2TablespoonsPumpkin Puree
• 1TeaspoonSugar, Superfine1 ½ Parts Absolut Vanilia 1 Part Milk 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon Syrup 2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Puree 1 Teaspoon Sugar, Superfine
• 45 ml Absolut Vanilia
• 30 ml Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon Syrup
• 2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Purée
• 1 Teaspoon Sugar

How to Make a Pumpkin Pie Martini:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
2. Measure and pour Absolut Vanilia into the shaker.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon syrup.
4. Measure and add the milk.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of pumpkin purée.
6. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar.
7. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosty.
8. Double strain into a chilled martini glass using a Hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Looking for more drink-spiration? Check out these cocktail recipes.