Cranachan Cocktail with Gin and Calvados – Champagne and Coconuts Your SEO optimized title

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Inspired by Cranachan, a Scottish dessert made with raspberries, this Cranachan Cocktail is a celebration of raspberries and other fruit flavors.

Cranachan Cocktail -inspired by the classic Scottish dessert

Adding a fresh stick of cinnamon really makes this drink pop.

This cocktail is a wonderful way to honor the return of the warmer days of spring. Even the pretty pale pink color looks like springtime. And the flavor is so tasty, it warms your heart.

This cocktail starts off with a great gin (we used Caorunn since it’s a lovely Scottish gin) and Calvados – a lovely apple liquor from Normandy.

Add in some honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, and raspberries and you’ve got yourself a unique and flavorful combination that is sure to make you smile.

Serving a Cranachan as a beverage:

The Cranachan Cocktail is wonderfully versatile. It is simple to make, yet looks fancy and sophisticated. Easy enough to enjoy on a quiet evening at home, it also fits in nicely at parties and brunches.

The festive pink color makes it perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day brunch, weddings, and any other event that calls for a pretty, fruity, pink cocktail.

Even though the drink doesn’t have fresh apples in it, I crave a good apple brandy drink during apple season.

And if you’re marking events where it’s appropriate to serve a delicious Scottish cocktail, we think this is an excellent choice for your Burns Night supper, St. Andrew’s Day, or when you’re celebrating the Highland Games.

It’s also an excellent choice for celebrating the New Year – especially if your planning to observe all 5 days of Hogmanay.

In fact, when a cocktail tastes as good as this one, there really isn’t a bad time to serve it!

Thank you to our friends at Caorunn for sharing their recipe and photos with us.

Ingredients to make a Cranachan Cocktail:

  • Gin – we used Caorunn
  • Calvados – or your favorite apple brandy
  • Honey Syrup 
  • Lemon Juice – we used fresh squeezed
  • Raspberries
  • Pasteurized Egg White
  • Soda Water
  • Cinnamon stick, for garnish
  • Cinnamon sugar, for garnish

Note: A Cranachan trifle is made with whiskey. While we’ve made this drink with gin and Calvados (brandy), you may substitute the gin for the Scotch whiskey of your choice. 

If you don’t have honey syrup, you can water down some thick honey with some hot water. 

Whenever it’s apple season, it’s time to pour a drink made with apple brandy. Our recipe uses Calvados, a French apple brandy.

Why do you put egg white in the drink?

Bartenders have been putting egg whites in drinks for ages. It makes the drink taste better and improves the texture; egg white gives a drink a nice creamy texture and tops the drink with foam. When you look at the photos, the foam on top of the drink comes from the shaken egg white.

But I know, you’ve always heard that egg whites can carry salmonella. If you aren’t comfortable using egg white in a drink, that’s okay. Our vegan friends have given us a fantastic substitution.

And frankly, it works great, even if it sounds weird. It’s called Aquafaba – chickpea juice.

Aquafaba does the same job in a drink that an egg white does. And it doesn’t taste like a chickpea is in your drink at all. 

If you’d like to read up more about how to use Aquafaba in drinks, Eater has written a great piece about using aquafaba in vegan cocktails. 

Can I make the drink without alcohol?

Yes, you may make a Cranachan drink without the alcohol. It won’t truly embody the spirit of the trifle it’s named for, but it will still be a delicious drink.

You’ll omit the gin. 

In place of the Calvados, substitute some apple cider. If you can find an apple and pear cider blend, that’s even better. There’s a good one available seasonally from Martinelli’s that’s perfect if it’s the right time of year.

Replace the volume of the gin and calvados with the cider and make the drink as instructed. It will still be a delightful dessert drink.

How to make a Cranachan drink:

First, measure your ingredients and add them to a cocktail shaker. Shake well.

Place a fine mesh strainer over your beverage glass filled with ice and pour through the shaker’s strainer. This is called double straining.

Top the drink with soda water.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick and dust the top with cinnamon sugar if you’d like. It adds a little bit more of that dessert digestif element to it to add the cinnamon and the sugar.

More delicious drinks made with gin for you to enjoy:

Blueberry Lemon Gin Rickey

Sparkling Blood Orange Gimlet

French Rose Champagne Punch

Holiday Tea Punch

Electric Long Island Iced Tea

Peach and Thyme Gin and Tonic

try it and share!

Please let us know how you enjoy our Cranachan Cocktail recipe. If you make it yourself, please let us know on Pinterest that you tried it and tag us with #champagneandcoconuts on your Instagram photo.

If you haven’t had a chance to make it yet, be sure to save the recipe on Pinterest so you’ll remember where you found it.

Delicious to serve anytime, the Cranachan cocktail is obviously a good time to serve for any Scottish holiday or special occasion. Caorunn Calvados lovers will enjoy sipping on a Cranachan cocktail. Made with French apple brandy and gin, this cocktail recipe is a twist on the Scottish Cranachan trifle – a boozy dessert made with whiskey. Perfect to serve year round, since it’s a Scottish recipe, we particularly enjoy serving it for the Hogmanay, Burns Night, and any other Scottish event like the Highland Games.

  • 1 ¼ oz Gin – we used Caorunn
  • ½ oz Calvados
  • ½ oz Honey Syrup you can use honey simple syrup or thin some really thick honey with hot water until it’s a liquid
  • ½ oz Fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 5 raspberries
  • ¾ oz Pasteurized Egg White
  • Soda Water
  • Optional: Cinnamon stick for garnish
  • Optional: Cinnamon sugar for garnish
  • Shake first 6 ingredients and double strain into a highball glass filled with ice.
  • Garnish with a large cinnamon stick and dust with cinnamon sugar.

Please note that nutrition facts are subject to change with your choice of ingredients.A cranachan trifle is made with whiskey. While we’ve made this drink with gin, you may substitute the gin for the Scotch whiskey of your choice.