This Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktail is the perfect drink for your holiday party because it’s tasty, colorful, and just a little whimsical.
It’s the little extras that transform an ordinary party into a memorable event — a few decorations to liven up the space, some background music to set the atmosphere, and a theme-based cocktail to add some cheer.
So, for your next holiday party, play the Nutcracker in the background, string some fairy lights around for ambiance, pick up some Nutcracker ornaments as party favors, and serve Sugar Plum Fairy cocktails.
If you’re hosting a holiday breakfast party, check out this Christmas mimosa recipe, which goes great with cranberry white chocolate scones.
Jump to:
- A Note About Sugar Plums
- SAVE THIS RECIPE!
- ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 🥘 Ingredients
- 🔀 Substitutions
- 🌈 Variations / Options / Add-Ins
- 🥄 Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools
- 🔪 How to Make Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktails
- How to Make a Single Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktail
- ❓ Recipe FAQs
- 🙏 Pairing
- SAVE THIS RECIPE!
- 📋 Recipe
- Recipe FAQs
A Note About Sugar Plums
Fun fact: Despite the name, did you know that sugar plums have NOTHING to do with plums? They’re actually a mixture of dried fruit, nuts and spices mashed together, then rolled in sugar.
If you want to learn more about real sugar plums and find out how to make your own, check out this post by Toni from Boulder Locavore.
But since most people don’t know what sugar plums actually are, we’re going to use sugar and plums in our sugar plum fairy cocktails. These taste so good, no one’s going to give you a hard time.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktail is the perfect drink for your holiday party because:
- Easy to make: No complicated mixing involved, just pour all the liquid in a large pitcher and chill.
- Looks beautiful in a glass: The color of this drink with the rimmed glass and fruit across the top, just looks so beautiful.
- Fun to make: It’s fun to make something that turns out so pretty and tastes great, especially when you see how much your guests enjoy it.
If you want to try another cocktail that looks pretty in a rimmed glass topped with fruit, try this lavender margarita.
🥘 Ingredients
These ingredients should all be easy to find at your local store.
- Moscato: This wine is sweet, light-bodied, and has a musky aroma. It’s known for its sweet, fruity flavors of peaches, apricots, tangerines, and other stone fruits with notes of citrus, orange blossom, honeysuckle, and pears.
- Sparkling White Grape Juice: The juice adds a fruity flavor and has a light and crisp bubbly texture that complements the effervescence of moscato.
- Cranberry Juice: This juice is a refreshing and vibrant twist on the wine. The tartness provides a contrast that balances the flavor and the tangy juice complements the fruity flavors.
- Plums: Slice the plums and add to the cocktail pick for garnish.
- Red grapes: Toss in sugar and add to the cocktail pick for garnish.
- Fresh cranberries: Just like the grapes, the cranberries are tossed in sugar and added to the cocktail pick for garnish
- Sugar: The sugar adds a touch of sweetness to the fruit, complementing the drink and balancing its flavors.
- Light corn syrup: This is optional, but dipping the rim of the glass in light corn syrup and sugar adds to the pretty look of the drink.
See recipe card for complete list of ingredients and quantities
🔀 Substitutions
If you don’t have the ingredients you need, see if you have these instead:
Moscato: If you don’t have this wine, try Prosecco, Riesling, or a sweet sparkling rosé instead.
Sparkling white grape juice: Sparkling apple cider, ginger ale, or club soda mixed with a splash of simple syrup for sweetness can work as substitutes.
Cranberry juice: Pomegranate juice, cherry juice, or a cranberry cocktail blend can be used instead for a similar tartness.
Fresh cranberries: If you can’t find fresh cranberries, you can soak dried cranberries in water or juice to plump them up.
🌈 Variations / Options / Add-Ins
Customize the drink for different preferences or for a different look, while keeping the festive, sparkling vibe!
- Non-alcoholic: Leave out the Mosato and still use sparkling white grape juice for a bubbly, sweet base or try it with apple cider.
- Garnish: Add pomegranate arils on the cocktail stick for a pop of color and sweetness.
- Coating: Instead of coating the fruit in granulated sugar, use powdered sugar, finely shredded coconut, or crushed rock candy for a decorative and sweet coating.
- Rimming the glass: Instead of corn syrup, try using honey, agave syrup, or even a simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated until dissolved) for additional flavor. For a different look, instead of the granulated sugar, try colored sugar, sanding sugar, or edible glitter.
If you want a kid-friendly Nutcracker drink, try this sugar plum hot chocolate.
🥄 Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools
You only need a handful of things to make this recipe, and they should be easy to find.
- Large pitcher: This is where you’ll mix the wine and juices for the drink.
- Shallow dish: You’ll put the corn syrup and sugar in this for rimming the glass.
- Small bowl: The sugar will go in a bowl for coating the fruit.
- Cocktail glasses: Serve the beverage in any kind of cocktail glass that you like.
- Cocktail picks: Put the fruit on a cocktail pick for the garnish.
🔪 How to Make Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktails
If you’re making these cocktails for a party, here are the instructions for making an entire pitcher at once.
This cocktail comes together really quickly, but you’ll want to make it long before your party so you can give it time to chill properly.
Step 1: Combine and Refrigerate
To make it, simply combine the moscato, grape juice and cranberry juice in a large pitcher. Then place the pitcher in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Step 2: Coat the rim
When you’re ready to serve the cocktails, pour a thin layer of light corn syrup in a shallow dish. On a separate shallow dish, add some sugar.
Dip the rim of each glass first in the corn syrup and then in the sugar.
Step 3: Pour the Drink
Carefully pour the cocktail into each glass.
Step 4: Coat the Fruit
Next, in a small bowl, add ¼ cup of sugar. Rinse the cranberries and grapes and shake off the excess water (but don’t wipe dry).
Immediately toss the cranberries and grapes into the sugar to coat.
Step 5: Garnish and Serve
Slice the plums and add a slice, along with a sugared grape and cranberry to a cocktail pick to add to each cocktail.
Your fancy beverage is ready to serve to your guests.
How to Make a Single Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktail
Perhaps you just want to sip on something festive while you wrap gifts or unwind after a long day of shopping and baking. These sugar plum fairy cocktails aren’t JUST for parties.
The directions are almost identical to the recipe above for making a full pitcher. You just have to adjust the amounts.
Ingredients
- 3 oz. Moscato
- 1 ½ oz. Sparkling White Grape Juice
- 1 ½ oz. Cranberry Juice
You can certainly still slice a plum, but if you don’t want to eat the rest of one, simply use a couple of grapes and cranberries instead of limiting yourself to just one of each, and skip the plum.
If you start with cold Moscato, sparkling grape juice and cranberry juice, you can skip the two hour chilling process. If not, and you don’t want to wait two hours, just add a couple ice cubes.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes, frozen cranberries and grapes can be used, but they might sweat as they thaw. Serve the drink immediately to avoid a watery mess.
Absolutely! For a sweeter drink, add more sparkling white grape juice or use cranberry cocktail instead of unsweetened cranberry juice.
For less sweetness, use club soda or reduce the sparkling white grape juice.
Yes! The sparkling white grape juice already adds some fizz, but you can enhance it further by topping each glass with soda water, ginger ale, or Prosecco.
🙏 Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with this Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktail:
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📋 Recipe
Sugar Plum Fairy Cocktail
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Equipment
- Large pitcher
- Shallow dish
- Small bowl
- Cocktail glasses
- Cocktail picks
Ingredients
- 25 ounces moscato
- 1 cup sparkling white grape juice
- 2 cups cranberry juice
- 2-3 plums sliced for garnish
- 6-8 red grapes for garnish
- 6-8 fresh cranberries for garnish
- ¼ cup sugar for coating
- extra sugar and light corn syrup to rim the glass (optional)
Instructions
- Combine moscato and juices in a large pitcher and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.25 ounces moscato, 1 cup sparkling white grape juice, 2 cups cranberry juice
- To serve, add a thin layer of light corn syrup to a shallow dish, then add a thin layer of sugar to another shallow dish. Dip the rim of each glass into the corn syrup, and then into the sugar to coat.extra sugar and light corn syrup to rim the glass
- Carefully pour the cocktail into each glass.
- In a small bowl, add ¼ cup of sugar. Rinse the cranberries and grapes and shake off the water (but don't wipe dry). Toss them into the sugar to coat.6-8 fresh cranberries, ¼ cup sugar, 6-8 red grapes
- Slice the plums. Add one plum slice, one cranberry, and one grape to individual cocktail picks and add them to each glass as a garnish.2-3 plums
So easy to make!
Good, I’m glad you think it’s easy to make. Thanks for commenting.
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