Food & Cooking Recipes Drink Recipes Cocktail Recipes Cranberry Blood-Orange Spritz This batched cocktail recipe is tangy, vibrant, and perfect for festive sipping. Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 5 mins Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Servings: 8 Jump to recipe Our vodka spritz recipe gets its tangy flavor and gorgeous color from an easy, homemade cranberry and blood orange syrup. Since it makes one large batch and the syrup can be prepared ahead of time, it is an ideal option for entertaining. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries for the syrup. Try to seek out a blood orange if you can, as its ruby color and floral flavor shine in this recipe, but don't hesitate to swap in a naval orange in its place—it'll still be delicious. To make this recipe non-alcoholic, simply swap in unflavored seltzer water for the vodka. 20 Fall Cocktail Recipes Packed With Cozy Autumn Flavors Credit: Louise Hagger What Makes a Drink a Spritz? A spritz always includes a carbonated ingredient such as prosecco, seltzer water, or ginger beer. It can be made with a variety of liquors, from the vodka used in this recipe to the pleasantly bitter Aperol in an Aperol spritz. Many spritzes tend to be lower in alcohol, though that isn't always the case. They can even be non-alcoholic when made with fruit shrubs or flavored syrups instead of liquor. Make Ahead The cranberry blood-orange syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week. Remove the orange slices before refrigerating to keep the syrup from becoming overly bitter. Directions Make cranberry blood-orange syrup; chill: Stir together sugar, cranberries, orange slices, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until cranberries just start to burst, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool completely. Remove orange slices; discard. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Assemble batched cocktail: In a pitcher, combine syrup, vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer. Serve over crushed ice with mint and fresh orange slices. More Uses for Cranberry Blood-Orange Syrup The uses for this sweet-tart syrup go way beyond our vodka spritz. Try using it to sweeten hot or iced tea, add it to lemonade, brush it onto cakes, or drizzle it over pancakes or ice cream. You can also simply add it to seltzer water to make an easy and all-natural homemade soda. More Cranberry Cocktail Recipes to Try: Cranberry Mule Poinsettia Cocktail Bourbon-Cranberry Shrub Apple Cider, Cranberry, and Ginger Punch Cranberry-White Wine Spritzer Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.