Christmas Gin Cocktail Recipe: Keep Calm Santa Gin O’Clock Is On Its Way!

Santa's Sunset Christmas gin cocktail in coupe glass with ruby red colour silky foam rosemary garnish and cranberries - copilot

Discover our Santa’s Sunset Christmas gin cocktail recipe – a stunning ruby red festive gin sour that takes five minutes and tastes completely magical!

Santa gin o’clock is officially upon us, and here at Under The Christmas Tree, we have been shaking, stirring and very enthusiastically taste testing our way to the perfect Christmas gin cocktail.

The result is our gloriously festive Santa’s Sunset: A beautiful ruby red gin sour that tastes every bit as magical as it looks and takes approximately five minutes to make.

Whether you are hosting a Christmas party or looking for something special to sip on Christmas Eve, this is the only Christmas gin cocktail recipe you will ever need.

What You Will Need: Santa’s Sunset Christmas Gin Cocktail

The beauty of this recipe is its brilliant simplicity, just a handful of ingredients, and you are minutes away from the most gorgeous festive gin cocktail imaginable:

Christmas gin cocktail recipe ingredients including gin lemon cranberry juice egg white and festive garnishes on dark surface - copilot

50ml of your favourite gin – a classic London dry works brilliantly, but a sloe gin adds an even deeper festive colour.

25ml fresh lemon juice – Always fresh, never bottled for the best flavour

15ml cranberry juice – For that beautiful ruby red Christmas sunset colour

10ml simple syrup – One part sugar, one part water, stirred until dissolved

1 egg white – for the most gloriously silky festive foam on top

Ice – plenty of it

To garnish – a sprig of fresh rosemary, a dried orange slice, and a few fresh cranberries

Premium London Dry Gin 🔗

Cocktail Shaker Set 🔗

Coupe Cocktail Glasses 🔗

Christmas gin cocktail recipe: How To Make Your Santa’s Sunset — Step By Step

Person shaking cocktail shaker at Christmas home bar with coupe glass rosemary and cranberries ready for garnish - copilot

Step 1 — Dry shake first. Add your gin, lemon juice, cranberry juice, simple syrup and egg white to your cocktail shaker without ice. Seal it tightly and shake hard for a full 15 seconds; this builds that gorgeous silky foam without diluting the drink.

Step 2 — Add ice and shake again. Open your shaker, add a generous handful of ice, reseal and shake hard for another 15 seconds.

Step 3 — Double strain. Strain your cocktail through a fine mesh strainer into a chilled coupe glass; the double straining keeps the foam silky smooth and removes any ice shards.

Step 4 — Garnish beautifully. Place a sprig of fresh rosemary, a dried orange slice and three fresh cranberries on top of the foam. The cranberries will sit perfectly on the silky surface, and the rosemary adds the most wonderful festive aroma as you drink.

Step 5 — Serve immediately and enjoy every single sip. 🎄

Santa’s Sunset: Tips And Festive Twists

Want to make it even more festive? Here are our favourite variations:

Three variations of Santa's Sunset Christmas gin cocktail in coupe glasses showing different ruby red tones with festive garnishes - copilot

Sloe gin version: Swap your London dry for sloe gin and reduce the cranberry juice slightly for a deeper, richer Christmas flavour.
Non alcoholic version: Replace the gin with a premium alcohol free spirit like Seedlip for an equally beautiful mocktail.
Batch version: Multiply the recipe by eight and pre-mix without the egg white in a large jug — add egg whites and shake individually per glass when serving
Extra festive garnish: Rim your glass with a mix of caster sugar and cinnamon before pouring for a spectacular sparkly finish