5 Blood Orange Cocktails: A Sweetly Sinful Roundup
A blood orange by any other name would taste just as delectably sweet and tangy, and look just as exotic—but no other name would describe this gorgeous, decadent, ruby-red fruit so well. A true star of the citrus season, blood oranges are on the shelf now. Get the most out of their color and sweet, almost berry-tinged flavor: Add blood orange segments to your salads, blend the sweet red flesh into your smoothies, and absolutely, without a doubt, juice that bloody citrus into your cocktails.
Here’s a roundup of cocktail and drink recipes to get your tart little heart pumping.
The Basic: Blood Orange Cocktail
The Hungry Mouse’s Blood Orange Cocktail is simple and sweet, letting the orange shine through. It looks like a Cosmopolitan, but tastes like much, much more.
The Spicy: Blood Orange Ginger Cosmo
This Blood Orange Ginger Cosmo from Martha Moments incorporates fresh grated ginger, enough to give your cocktail a kick that offsets the sweetness perfectly. Scroll down for more ideas, including candied blood orange wheels. Yum.
The Herbed: Blood Orange Aperitifs
The Basil Infused Blood Orange Cocktail from What’s Gaby Cooking is based on a simple syrup infused with basil. If you can’t wait two hours for the infusion (your loss), try this Herbes de Provence and red wine vinegar Blood Orange Cocktail from My Man’s Belly. It’s still a bit of work to make the vinegar reduction — but oh, is it worth your trouble.
The Virgin (or Spiked): Blood Orange Punch
Martha Stewart’s Blood Orange Punch calls for a hit of light rum, but would be equally delicious without. Its combination of blood orange juice, orange Pellegrino and bitters is light and intriguing. Personally, I might add a touch of red pepper, but that’s just me.
The Sacrilegious: Bloody Orange Mary
You might catch hell from your bartender friends for this one, but it’s a fun experiment nonetheless: Martha Stewart’s Bloody Orange Mary combines the Bloody Mary with a Blood Orange Screwdriver for a sweet and savory, potentially confusing and slightly exotic drink.
image: Didier Baertschiger
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