Happy Holidays! A little cranberry magic to spice up your meals

Happy Holidays!  I'm writing from Hong Kong where I'm awaiting the arrival of the other half who has been slogging away in the lab and the kitchen making a couple of kegs in time for the Christmas / New Year's week at Beer Table. Go Tony!

It's only another couple of days till Christmas and if you're getting sick of the egg nog, here's a recipe that should spice things up. This recipe was first seen in Nona Brooklyn's Food & Drinks Picks for the Holidays, collected by Rebecca Lando of Working Class Foodies - check out the guide for other delicious ideas from other Brooklyn food peeps, such as Danielle from Brooklyn Home Brew and Liz from Liddabit Sweets. 

Spiced Cranberry Soda

(makes one liter)

half pound cranberries
1 cinnamon stick
10 cloves
2 balls allspice (feel free to experiment with other spices such as nutmeg)
1/4 cup sugar

1. Bring 700ml water to boil in pot. Add in cinnamon.
2. Clean cranberries. Add to water.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
4. Add in clove and allspice. Cut heat. Leave everything in pot for 5 minutes.
5. Strain and filter.
6. Pour into a carbonating device such as a ISI soda siphon. Add in cold water. Carbonate (if you don't own a soda siphon, you can simply add seltzer water to the juice to get a fizzy beverage, or this cranberry juice is also a great mixer for use with vodka).