Ocean Spray’s New Limited-Edition Holiday Drink Is Its Biggest Innovation Yet

What do you picture when you think about the Ocean Spray brand? Whether it’s juice, snacks, or canned sauces, you definitely thought of some form of cranberries. That’s what Ocean Spray has always been known for ever since the company was formed nearly 100 years ago. But just because it has remained consistent doesn’t mean it hasn’t been innovating. Case in point: Starting this month, Ocean Spray will debut a new juice called Holiday Blends Mulled Blackberry Pear, and it’s the first beverage of its kind the brand has ever released. 

On November 12, for the very first time, Ocean Spray is rolling out a juice that can be served cold, straight from the bottle, or warmed up to create a cozy winter drink. The “mulled” part of its name evokes the holiday tradition of mulled wine, in which alcohol is mixed with spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg and simmered over the stove to create a fragrant, warming cold-weather beverage. 

“As a tart fruit, cranberry has a wine-like quality that originates from the tannins in the skins, so we had the unique opportunity to replicate the flavor profile of wine, without the wine,” Trinh Le, vice president of next-generation beverages and omnichannel marketing at Ocean Spray, tells Food & Wine. “Our research and development team was also inspired by poached pears, which are often a popular holiday dessert. This combination, along with the sweetness of blackberry and mulled spices, made it the ideal flavor and moment to introduce this seasonal beverage.”

“When heated this juice has enhanced flavor due to the spices, they become more pronounced, and it creates a really comforting sipping experience,” Le said. In the press release, Ocean Spray also suggests combining the drink with spirits “for even more recipe fun!”

The company isn’t shy about positioning its juice as an ideal cocktail mixer. In a new ad spot this year called “Shake It,” holiday partygoers are hesitant to dance until Ocean Spray cranberry juice is placed in a cocktail shaker, at which point everyone goes wild. “Just Add Cran” is the tagline, one that links the product with fun winter gatherings. The new Mulled Blackberry Pear juice is one more way to align Ocean Spray with winter festivities, a flavorful drink that can be mixed with booze or enjoyed on its own, served warm or chilled, to kids or adults — in other words, a staple for entertaining, no matter who or how you entertain.

In addition to the warming instructions printed on the bottle, Le provided some ideas for how to integrate this new beverage into your holiday sips:

• Make a Fall Mojito mocktail with mint, lime juice, and soda water
• Prepare a Mulled Winter Warmer by pairing Mulled Blackberry Pear with dark rum or whiskey, cranberries, and an orange slice
• Make Mulled Sangria on Ice with Mulled Blackberry Pear, red wine, sweet vermouth, and star anise as a garnish

Like the holiday season itself, this beverage is made more special by the fact that it’s fleeting: It’ll only be available for a limited time, while supplies last, at both Walmart and Amazon for a suggested retail price of $3.52. 

Start mulling your purchases.