Cranberry Martinis

I usually make the same, but with pomegrante. Sub pomegrante juice for cranberry juice cocktail and several of the seeds in the bottom of the glass, skipping the need to rehydrate dried cranberries. Taste for whether it requires a bit of simple syrup (cranberry juice cocktail has quite a bit of sugar) and voila! a lovely, holiday cocktail. A sugared rim makes it extra festive.

Cointreau IS triple sec. Grand Marnier is not and is sweeter. Cointreau is better for cocktails.

Why not soak the dried cranberries in the liqueur rather than water?

@Karen: I admire your enthusiasm but that would be a waste of Cointreau. Follow the ratio in the recipe: 3 parts Ocean Spray, 2 parts Vodka and 1 part Cointreau + ice & garnishes. You'll have a nice balanced cocktail and the bonus is you'll have a half bottle of Cointreau left for later. Cheers.

I started using 100% cranberry juice instead of cranberry juice cocktail in my cosmos and it's so much tastier! But if you go that route, do a 1:1 mix with the vodka, and taste to see if you want to add simple syrup. And yes, do spring for the Cointreau instead of De Kuyper's triple sec or whatever your liquor store stocks on the bottom shelf. With so few ingredients, quality makes a big difference.

For a crowd, I love the idea of preparing a batch in advance and shaking/pouring each drink with fresh ice and garnish as needed. The measurements might not be quite as precise as written, but I'm thinking a 750 ml bottle of vodka, a 32 oz bottle of juice, and most but not quite all of a bottle of Cointreau (save some back for a really nicely measured cocktail later!) would do nicely for 12 drinks. When time to serve, shake 3/4 cup of the mix with 1/2 cup ice; strain into glass with 1TB cran!

The makers of Cointreau would disagree with SS. Triple sec may be considered a generic term for orange liqueurs but there is world of difference between Cointreau (which I generally prefer for drinks), Gran Marnier (which is perfect for orange crepes), and the much lighter and less flavorful triple sec you find in most bars and liquor stores.

If you like a gin martini (as do I), you won't like these - too sweet. I've made them for the rest of the crowd, and then simply made myself a gin martini.

Use Cointreau, it makes a superior cocktail.

We found this recipe too sweet, but we’re also fans of very dry martinis (hold the mixer up in front of the vermouth bottle). However, the flavor profile is promising. I started by reversing the cranberry juice and vodka proportions and reducing the triple sec to 1 tbs. The cranberry flavor still informs this modified cocktail.

This is a delicious drink indeed and the dried re-hydrated cranberries a lovely touch but it's def not a martini, which is strictly gin or vodka, a splash of vermouth and a garnish (lemon twist or olive). Vodka, Triple Sec/Cointreau and either whole cranberries or a lime wedge is a Cosmopolitan or Cosmo. The only shared traits: both are cocktails served very cold and usually in a parfait-type stem glass. Sorry to be so picayune about the drink's name but Cranberry Martini is confusing.

I hope you would!