Thanksgiving Cocktails: 14 Drinks From Parade to Pie

Thanksgiving Day is not one drinking occasion. It is four. There is the morning, when the parade is on and someone is already basting. There is the afternoon, when football takes over the living room. There is dinner. And there is the long stretch after dinner when nobody wants to move.

Most lists of Thanksgiving cocktails throw 40 drinks at you and hope one sticks. These Thanksgiving cocktail recipes (fall cocktails, really) are organized by when you will actually pour them during the holiday feast, with batch options for a crowd, a few easy drinks you can make one at a time, and zero-proof versions for the people who are driving or skipping alcohol. Every recipe uses ingredients you can find at a regular grocery store.

How to Plan Thanksgiving Drinks

Three rules make hosting easier:

• Batch one drink, not five. Pick one big-batch cocktail, like a punch or a sangria, for the crowd and mix it before anyone arrives. Then you only make individual cocktails for the people who ask.
• Lean on the flavors of the season you already bought. Apple cider, cranberry, orange, maple, and cinnamon show up in the pumpkin pie and the cranberry sauce anyway. Use them in the glass too.
• Have one good non-alcoholic option. Not just water and soda. A real drink that looks like the others, so nobody feels singled out.

Plan on about three drinks per adult guest across the first two hours, then one an hour after that, and buy more ice than you think you need.

Thanksgiving Morning: Parade and Brunch Drinks

1. Thanksgiving Bloody Mary Bar

The easiest way to keep people happy while the turkey is in the oven. Set out the base, the juice, the vodka, and a board of garnishes, and let everyone build their own. No bartender required.

• 1 oz Stu's Classic Bloody Mary Seasoning
• 4 to 5 oz tomato juice
• 1.5 oz vodka (or skip it)
• Garnishes: celery, pickles, olives, cheese cubes, cooked bacon

Build over ice and stir. Everyone pours a little less Stu's for mild or a little more for bold, so each glass comes out the way that person likes it with no doctoring afterward. For a big group, the Bloody Mary pitcher recipe scales it up into a large pitcher, and our guide to building a Bloody Mary bar covers the setup. Want ideas for the snack board? See what to serve with Bloody Marys.

2. Cranberry Mimosa

• 1 oz 100% cranberry juice
• 1 oz fresh orange juice
• 4 oz chilled prosecco or dry sparkling wine
• A few fresh cranberries and a rosemary sprig

Pour the juices into a flute and top slowly with the bubbly. Tart, tangy, festive, and lighter than a regular mimosa. Pomegranate juice works in place of the cranberry. Use 100% cranberry juice, not cranberry cocktail, or it gets sweet fast.

Football Afternoon: Apple Cider Punch, Mules, and Margaritas

3. Apple Cider Bourbon Punch

Our pick for the one Thanksgiving punch to make. Serves 12 to 14.

• 2 cups bourbon
• 4 cups fresh apple cider
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 cups ginger beer, cold
• Apple slices, fresh cranberries, cinnamon sticks

Stir the bourbon, cider, lemon, and maple together in a punch bowl or drink dispenser up to four hours ahead and keep it cold. Add the ginger beer and fruit right before serving so it stays fizzy (the zesty lemon is what keeps it from tasting like dessert), and serve over ice in each glass rather than in the bowl. For a cranberry bourbon version, swap 1 cup of the cider for 100% cranberry juice. Swap the bourbon for spiced rum or vodka if that is what your crowd drinks. More batching tips are in batch cocktails for a crowd.

4. Apple Cider Mule

• 2 oz vodka
• 3 oz fresh apple cider
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• Ginger beer to top
• Apple slice

Build over ice in a copper mug or rocks glass, top with ginger beer, and stir once. It is a Moscow mule with apple cider, one of the easiest Thanksgiving vodka cocktails, and it drinks like fall in a mug. Use ginger ale instead of ginger beer if you want it milder.

5. Cranberry Margarita

• 2 oz blanco tequila
• 1 oz 100% cranberry juice
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz triple sec or other orange liqueur
• 1/4 oz maple syrup
• Key Lime Rimmer for the glass

Rim a rocks glass, then shake everything with ice and strain over fresh ice. The rim salt brings celery salt, key lime, and a little warmth that plays off the tart cranberry. It is the Thanksgiving margarita for the person who does not want anything brown.

6. Red Beer

The low-effort game day drink. Pour 1/2 oz of Stu's into a glass, add 3 to 4 oz of tomato juice, and top with a cold light lager. It is lighter than a Bloody Mary and pairs with every snack on the coffee table. Full build in our red beer recipe, and the tailgate food ideas post has the snacks.

Drinks That Complement the Thanksgiving Feast

At the table, go lighter and drier. Sweet, heavy cocktails fight with turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Bubbles and bitterness help.

7. Cranberry Orange Fennel Spritz

• 1 oz Jo's Orange Fennel Tonic
• 1 oz 100% cranberry juice
• 4 oz prosecco, or sparkling water for a zero-proof version
• Orange wheel

Build in a wine glass over ice. Orange Fennel brings bright orange, warm fennel, and a bitter finish from real cinchona bark, so the drink cuts through a rich plate instead of piling on. It is the same 1 to 5 ratio whether you top it with prosecco or soda. More on the style in what is a spritz.

8. Rosemary Gin and Tonic

• 1 oz Jo's Original Tonic
• 2 oz gin
• 3 oz sparkling water
• Rosemary or thyme sprig and a few cranberries

Build over ice and stir. This is the 1-2-3 build: one part tonic syrup, two parts spirit, three parts bubbles. Dry, herbal, and clean next to a heavy meal.

9. Apple Cider Sangria

Serves 8.

• 1 bottle (750 ml) dry white wine, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
• 2 cups fresh apple cider
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 2 apples and 1 pear, thinly sliced, plus a few orange slices
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Club soda to top

Combine everything but the club soda in a pitcher and refrigerate for at least two hours so the fruit soaks it up. Pour over ice and top each glass with a splash of soda. This pitcher-style apple sangria is easy to make the night before and looks great on the table. If your crowd wants something warm instead, mulled wine works the same way in a slow cooker.

After Dinner: Old Fashioneds, Spiked Cider, and a Pumpkin Pie Martini

10. Maple Old Fashioned

• 2 oz bourbon or rye
• 1/4 oz maple syrup
• 2 dashes aromatic bitters
• Orange peel

Stir with ice until cold and strain over one large cube. Twist the orange peel over the glass and drop it in. Maple in place of sugar or simple syrup is the only change, and it tastes like the end of a long, good day. Sip it slowly. One of the best Thanksgiving bourbon cocktails, and the easiest.

11. Spiked Hot Cider

• 6 oz fresh apple cider
• 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 1 star anise, and a strip of orange peel
• 1.5 oz bourbon or spiced rum

Simmer the cider with the spices for 10 minutes until the whole kitchen smells like spiced apple, pour into a mug, and stir in the spirit off the heat. For a crowd, keep a slow cooker of spiced cider on low and set the bottle next to it so people can spike their own, or not. A drizzle of caramel in the mug turns it into a caramel apple version.

12. Pumpkin Espresso Martini

• 1.5 oz vodka
• 1 oz fresh espresso or strong cold brew, cooled
• 1/2 oz coffee liqueur
• 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 oz maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon
• Freshly grated nutmeg to finish

Shake hard with ice for 15 seconds and double strain into a chilled coupe. Some people call it a pumpkin pie martini. Think pumpkin spice latte, after dark. If you would rather drink your dessert, this is the one.

Prefer classic drinks after dinner? Manhattans (rye and sweet vermouth), Negronis, whiskey sours, or a small pour of amaro or amaretto all work, and spiked coffee with whipped cream is hard to beat with pumpkin pie. More options in our after-dinner drinks guide.

Thanksgiving Mocktails and Zero-Proof Drinks

Someone at the table is driving, pregnant, sober, or just not drinking this year. Give them something as good as everything else.

13. Cranberry Mule Mocktail

• 2 oz Cranberry Zero-Proof Spirit
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 4 oz ginger beer
• Fresh cranberries and a rosemary sprig

Build over ice in a mug. Tart cranberry with a savory edge, without the sugar of cranberry cocktail juice. It looks exactly like the boozy mule, which matters more than people admit.

14. Virgin Mary

Same Bloody Mary bar, minus the vodka. Add 1 to 2 oz of our Jalapeño Zero-Proof Spirit where the vodka would go for a grassy kick. Full recipe in our Virgin Mary drink guide.

For a whole lineup of zero-proof drinks, including a cider-and-cranberry punch made for the Thanksgiving table, see our fall mocktails.

What to Bring if You Are Not Hosting

Bring a drink, not just a bottle. A punch base in a growler, a pitcher of sangria, or a Bloody Mary setup for the next morning all get used, while another bottle of wine often goes in the closet. A boxed kit also makes an easy hostess gift that is ready the morning after. If you are bringing a side, our cornbread stuffing travels well, and Bloody Mary deviled eggs are an easy appetizer that never comes home. If your family does seafood, a round of oyster shooters made with the same Bloody Mary base is a fun start to the day.

Looking ahead to December? Our holiday drink recipes have more festive drinks and holiday cocktails, and the Christmas Bloody Mary picks up where this list leaves off.

Thanksgiving Cocktails FAQ

What is a good cocktail for Thanksgiving?

An apple cider bourbon punch is the easiest crowd pleaser because you make it once and it serves 12 to 14. For individual drinks, an apple cider mule, a cranberry margarita, or a maple old fashioned all use fall flavors and come together in under two minutes.

What is the most popular Thanksgiving drink?

Apple cider cocktails, cranberry drinks, and bourbon cocktails are the Thanksgiving drinks people look for most, and wine is on most dinner tables. Bloody Marys are a morning tradition in a lot of households, especially with the parade and football on.

What are good Thanksgiving batch cocktails?

Apple cider bourbon punch, apple cider sangria, and a pitcher of Bloody Marys all batch well. Mix the base ahead, keep it cold, and add anything bubbly right before serving so it stays fizzy.

What drinks go best with Thanksgiving dinner?

Lighter, drier drinks with some acidity or bitterness. A spritz, a gin and tonic, a dry sparkling wine, or a dry white wine cut through rich food better than sweet cocktails.

What are good non-alcoholic Thanksgiving drinks?

A cranberry mule made with a zero-proof spirit, a Virgin Mary, a cider and cranberry punch, or a spritz made with tonic syrup and sparkling water. Serve them in the same glasses as everything else so nobody feels left out.