Cranberry Apple Spice Mules for Thanksgiving

5 from 13 votes

Published: Nov 7, 2021 · Last Modified: Aug 26, 2023 by Jazzmine Woodard · This post may contain affiliate links · 24 Comments

Make the holiday season more festive and fun with my twist on Moscow mule cocktails made with seasonal spice and fruit flavors to pair perfectly with Thanksgiving dinner. Meet my Cranberry Apple Spice Mules!

Food is the focus of Thanksgiving, as it should be. But let's not forget about the drinks, y'all! If you're no longer at the kids' table, you are probably interested in a good Turkey Day cocktail. The holidays can be a bit stressful with all the planning and coordination required, not to mention having to dodge the possible shade thrown by relatives you only see once a year for a reason. And, with food being paramount on this day, nobody really wants to exert themselves by crafting an elaborate cocktail. Problem, meet Solution. These easy drinks for Thanksgiving are extremely festive, quick to make, and can be as strong or as mild as you need. Let's get into the details!

If you like easy holiday cocktail ideas, try these, too.

festive mule cocktail in copper mug garnished with wheel of lime and cinnamon stick.

This is truly the perfect cocktail for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or even just it's-5-o-clock-somewhere's-giving. It's also pretty enough to carry you through the whole holiday season so feel free to serve it at any gathering through January. The ingredients are simple and you won't need to look any further than your local grocery and liquor stores to find the ingredients for this fancy-looking beverage. You deserve the best Thanksgiving celebration ever. And I've got you covered. Download my guide to the perfect holiday dinner with zero stress today!

bottle of vodka, apple cider, ginger beer, cranberry sauce, two fresh limes, and cobbled ice on wooden cutting board.

What You'll Need for this Cocktail

In creating this easy holiday drink recipe, I wanted to incorporate ingredients that you're likely to have on hand at this time of the year to cut down on any extra Thanksgiving grocery shopping. Making holiday dinners easy is kind of my thing. I also thought about what cocktail to pair with thanksgiving dinner and figured complementary flavors would be best. Year after year, this has proven true.

Apple Cider or apple juice from any brand will work but I don't recommend using sparkling cider, hard cider or dry cider.

Cranberry Sauce adds cranberry color and flavor to make this drink super festive. I recommend using homemade spiced cranberry sauce for holiday flavor!

Vodka of whatever kind you like to typically drink. I'm not a big vodka girl, honestly but keep Highway Vodka or Tito's on deck for this drink.

Ice to cool everything off properly. I shake the cocktail over regular cubed ice but recommend serving with cobbled or crushed ice for aesthetic.

I am not typically a vodka drinker but have recently found a favorite and highly recommend Highway Vodka if you can get it near you. It is hemp-based, distilled six times, and produced very cleanly for no hangover the next day. In my opinion, that's a win on Thanksgiving, since the food coma is already bad enough.

For a zero-proof mule option, try my ginger ale mocktail recipe!

cranberry apple spice Moscow mule in classic copper mug.

As far as tools, you'll need either a jigger or a shot glass, as well as a spoon--either a bar spoon or table spoon would work. You will also want to grab a cocktail shaker and that's about it. If you want to make that fancy cobbled ice for this drink, grab one of these machines or a this set of ice trays, which are a bit more budget friendly. And, in a pinch, you can run over to your nearest Sonic and order a few cups of their ice. It's about the same!

festive thanksgiving mule cocktail decorated with fresh cranberries, apple slice, and cinnamon stick.

How to Serve Cranberry Apple Spice Mules

I love a festive bar setup for the holidays and recommend you let your guests assemble their own cocktails to make things easy on you and allow people to mix, mingle, and pick their own adventure. Of course, this is for people at the big Thanksgiving table, meaning those of legal drinking age where you live. If you are enjoying these festive thanksgiving cocktails with just a few folks, go ahead and use proper copper mugs for the signature Moscow mule look. I recommend garnishing with cinnamon sticks, lime slices, apple slices, and even fresh cranberries if you want to get really on theme.

I hope you and yours (of legal drinking age) enjoy a round a Thanksgiving cocktails on Turkey Day and am sending you all the warm and fuzzy holiday wishes. Check out even more Thanksgiving cocktail ideas. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this spiced mule recipe over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!

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How to Make Cranberry Apple Spice Mule Cocktail Video

Thanksgiving Moscow Mule Recipe

📖 Recipe