It’s kind of a known that decorating your tree/pulling out the menorah/ preparing to celebrate your chosen holiday requires a festive beverage (or, depending on your living situation.. like 5 or 6… it’s ok, no one’s judging). So, here’s a comforting twist on the traditional vodka cranberry.

I was at the store yesterday buying diet cranberry juice for this recipe and discovered that there are now multiple fruit flavor melds available in diet, including cranberry pomegranate (the one I used in this recipe), cranberry mango, and cranapple! Hooray for having more diet juice base options!

VODKA POMECRANBERRY – 4 carbs

Ingredients:

• 2 oz vodka
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• 3/4 cup diet cranberry juice (I used pomegranate cranberry)
• 1/4 cup sparkling water (this is optional… I found a straight juice base was too sweet for me so cut it down a bit – if you like it sweet, just use 1 cup of juice & skip this item)
• 2-3 drops smoked orange bitters (I like the Cocktail Punk brand)
• 2 drops “Golden” flavor bitters ( they contain turmeric, cardamom & sassafrass flavor)
• Fresh lime quarter (or more if you want to up the acid a bit)

Directions:

• In a medium size whiskey glass, pour all ingredients over 1-2 large ice cubes and mix well
• Squeeze lime slice and add more if desired
• Try not to use a ladder decorating the tree while drinking