This Warm Mulled Mimosa Cocktail takes the brunch classic and gives it a cozy winter makeover: orange juice simmered low and slow with cinnamon and clove-studded orange, then topped with sparkling wine right before serving. It's festive, fragrant, and made for Christmas morning and New Year's Day brunch.
A regular mimosa is bright and chilly, which is perfect in July but feels a little out of place on a snowy December morning. Warming the juice with spices turns it into something closer to a gentle mulled punch, while the sparkling wine keeps that celebratory mimosa feel. The slow cooker does almost all of the work, and it keeps the drink warm for self-serve refills while everyone opens presents or lingers at the table.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Orange juice. The backbone of the drink. Pulp-free juice gives the smoothest texture, but pulpy juice works if you like a bit of body. Freshly squeezed is lovely here; you'll need about 8 to 10 oranges for 2 cups. Blood orange juice or a tangerine blend makes a gorgeous deeper-colored version.
- Sparkling wine. A dry brut or a sparkling rosé both work well. Brut keeps the drink crisper, while rosé adds a soft berry note and a pretty blush color. Prosecco and cava are budget-friendly swaps. There's no need to buy an expensive bottle since the spices take center stage.
- White sugar. Balances the tartness of the juice and helps the spices bloom. Start with ½ cup if your sparkling wine is on the sweet side, and taste before adding more. Honey or maple syrup can stand in, measure for measure, for a rounder flavor.
- Cinnamon stick. Whole sticks infuse slowly and leave the drink clear. Ground cinnamon will make it cloudy and gritty, so skip it. Grab a few extra sticks for garnish.
- Orange and whole cloves. Studding the squeezed orange halves with cloves is an old-fashioned trick that keeps the cloves together so they're easy to fish out. A mesh tea ball works just as well if you'd rather not poke cloves into peel.
Helpful Tips
Mull the juice first, add the bubbles last. Sparkling wine loses its fizz and much of its alcohol when it's heated for hours. Letting the orange juice and spices mull on their own, then stirring in the wine for a short final warm-up, keeps a little sparkle and the true mimosa character.
Keep it warm, never boiling. Once the wine goes in, switch your slow cooker to LOW or WARM. A hard simmer makes the wine taste flat and cooked. You want it steaming and fragrant, about the temperature of a comfortable cup of tea.
Warm your glasses. Pouring a hot drink into cold glassware can crack it. Rinse glasses in hot tap water just before serving, or use heatproof glass mugs. Small stemless tumblers look festive and are easy for guests to hold.
Taste and adjust before serving. Orange juice varies a lot in sweetness from brand to brand and season to season. Give the mulled base a taste before the wine goes in; a squeeze of lemon brightens a too-sweet batch, and an extra spoonful of sugar rounds out a tart one.
Short on time? Use the stovetop. Simmer the juice, sugar, and spices in a saucepan over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, then add the wine and warm gently for 5 minutes. It's a great option when you're making it the same morning.
Variations
- Cranberry orange. Swap ½ cup of the orange juice for cranberry juice and add a handful of fresh cranberries for a ruby-red holiday version. If you love cranberry drinks, try our Cranberry Margarita too.
- Extra spiced. Add 2 star anise pods, a few allspice berries, and a couple of thin slices of fresh ginger along with the cinnamon.
- Grand Marnier splash. Stir in ¼ cup orange liqueur with the sparkling wine for a stronger, more grown-up sip.
- Apple cider mimosa. Replace half of the orange juice with apple cider for a flavor that sits somewhere between a mimosa and our Mulled Five-Spice Crockpot Apple Cider.
- Non-alcoholic. Use sparkling white grape juice or ginger ale in place of the wine so kids and non-drinkers can join the toast.
Serving Ideas
Set the slow cooker out on the buffet with a ladle, a stack of warmed glasses, and a small bowl of cinnamon sticks and thin orange slices so guests can garnish their own. It turns the drink into a little brunch station and frees you up to finish the rest of the meal.
This drink pairs beautifully with cozy holiday breakfast dishes. Serve it alongside a Ham and Cheese Frittata, a stack of Eggnog Pancakes, or a slice of Eggnog Coffee Cake. Salty sides like bacon or sausage balance the warm, sweet citrus nicely.
Storing & Freezing
Leftovers keep in a covered jar or pitcher in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The bubbles will be gone by then, but it still makes a lovely spiced orange punch. Reheat it gently in a saucepan over low heat until steaming, and top each glass with a splash of fresh sparkling wine or club soda to bring back a little fizz.
For make-ahead brunches, freeze the mulled orange juice base (before adding the sparkling wine) in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, warm it in the slow cooker or on the stove, and stir in the chilled wine right before serving. We don't recommend freezing the finished drink since the wine turns flat and a bit dull once thawed.
More Holiday Drinks
If you loved this festive sipper, here are a few more holiday drinks to try:
Recipe
Warm Mulled Mimosa Cocktail
Equipment
- mesh tea ball optional, for the cloves
Ingredients
- 2 cups orange juice pulp-free or fresh-squeezed
- ¾ cup white sugar use ½ cup with a sweet sparkling wine
- 1 cinnamon stick plus more for garnish
- 1 orange plus orange slices for garnish, optional
- 10 whole cloves
- 1 bottle sparkling wine 750 ml, brut or sparkling rosé, chilled
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, stir together the orange juice, sugar, and cinnamon stick until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Cut the orange in half and squeeze its juice into the slow cooker. Press the whole cloves into the outside of the squeezed orange halves (or place them in a mesh tea ball) and add them to the juice.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours (or LOW for 3 to 4 hours), until the juice is hot and fragrant.
- Pour in the chilled sparkling wine and stir gently. Switch the slow cooker to LOW or WARM, cover, and heat for 15 to 20 minutes, just until warmed through. Do not let it boil.
- Remove the clove-studded orange halves and the cinnamon stick. Ladle into warmed heatproof glasses or mugs and garnish each with a cinnamon stick and an orange slice. Keep the slow cooker on WARM for refills.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition details are an estimate, per serving.
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