Place fresh cranberries, orange juice and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Place cloves, allspice berries, and cinnamon sticks in the center of a square of triple-thick cheesecloth. Gather corners together to make spice bag and secure the top with a piece of twine.
Place the prepared spice bag in the pot with the cranberries, and push the bag down to submerge it in the cranberry mixture.Cook, stirring frequently, until cranberries begin to burst; about 10 minutes. (As the cranberries cook down, you will hear them pop.)
Stir in sugar and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until all the sugar has dissolved.
Add Grand Marnier (or orange extract) and cook 2 minutes more.At this point, it is a good idea to taste the mixture. Add additional sugar if desired.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Discard spice bag.
The cranberry sauce is ready to serve right away right away; however, we recommend that chilling it for 8 hours (or overnight) before serving to allow the flavors to blend.
Notes
We tend to like our cranberry sauce on the tart side. If you prefer yours sweeter, you can add additional sugar; however, we suggest that you do this after the recipe has cooked down, so you can taste it and adjust as needed. Cranberries will vary slightly in tartness from year to year.The Grand Marnier is optional, but it adds another layer of flavor that you just cannot get from orange extract.Substitutions: You can sub in 1 teaspoon of orange extract. (If you do this, increase the sugar to 2 cups.)