Blood Orange Flip

This time of year, I love to use blood oranges in my cocktails. I love the citrus and sweetness, but with less acid as compared to regular oranges.

Tonight we did two cocktails, a pre-dinner and a post-dinner offering.

Pre-dinner:

Bourbon Sunrise –

4 oz of blood orange juice

2 oz of bourbon

1 tsp of maple syrup (or honey, or simple syrup, or….)

I like to use maple syrup in the winter, that flavor profile just seems to fit the season a little better than other sweeteners. Not to mention that maple and bourbon are a dynamite combination. This one is pretty easy. Put all the ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Shake well, and strain into a lowball/rocks glass with one large ice cube. Garnish with a blood orange wedge. You could go a little heavier on the bourbon, the sweetness of the juice and the maple syrup hide the spirit pretty well, and I like to taste my bourbon when I make cocktails.

Bourbon Sunrise

Post-dinner:

Blood Orange Flip (Pictured at Top) –

1 oz of blood orange juice

1.5 oz of rye whiskey (or bourbon)

.5 oz of simple syrup

3 dashes orange bitters

1/2 of an egg white from a large egg

Start by whisking the egg white in a small bowl for 10-15 seconds, or until it starts to froth. Then add all the ingredients to a shaker full of ice and shake very well. Double strain into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with a blood orange slice.

I used rye for this because I wanted the spice of the rye whiskey to offset the sweetness of the juice, as well as the creaminess of the egg white. They turned out great and drank far too easily.

Give one, or both, of these recipes a try now that blood oranges are in season and let me know what you think!

-Him

Tonight was all about the blood oranges…and my current obsession, disco. I cannot seem to get enough of it these days, it’s been my background music at the office all week, and Studio 54 has been in regular rotation on my morning and evening drives. Given the recent disco fever, tonight felt like a perfect time to give one of the latest additions in my collection a spin. While the blood oranges will be short lived, disco will never die.

-Her