Blood Orange & Bourbon Cocktail
Soooo my vitamin C intake has skyrocketed over the past week or so. Yup, pretty sure I’ve been averaging 4000% of the suggested daily intake.
What’s my secret, you ask? Oh you know, the usual – gallons of OJ and grapefruit juice, guava-kiwi smoothies, and red pepper slices by the handful.
…just kidding! I mean, as tasty as all of those things sound and as good-for-you as they may be, I’ve opted to take a slightly different route…
Blood oranges and bourbon. All day, e’ry day.
No, this time I’m not joking. I mean, really – would I joke about bourbon?!
Anyway, in case you haven’t heard, New England has been getting hit with record-breaking amounts of snow – like a scary, Day-After-Tomorrow degree of snow. Pretttttty sure it’s only NOT snowed two days this month. and I don’t want to complain, since I really do like the snow, but I almost feel like I have to – especially since my commute has been averaging 2+ hours each way as a result!
Again, not a joke. I’m clearly NOT IN A JOKING MOOD, PEOPLE.
Honestly Mother Nature, cut us some slack. Or, alternatively: MBTA, get your shit together. Because this is what we’re working with lately:
I’m actually LOL-ing at that right now. Cackling, practically – in an insane, I’ve-lost-all-my-marbles kinda way. Friends, this is what happens when the snow piles are TALLER THAN ME and I haven’t been able to make it into Boston for a full work week since JANUARY. Insanity. Complete and utter madness, e’rywhere.
Whiiiich brings me to my next point. What’s a girl to do when she’s stuck at home with her crazy circus family (+ husband-to-be, who basically counts as family at this point) for more days than she can count and there is ABSOLUTELY NO END IN SIGHT TO THIS WEATHER (besides talk about herself in the third person)?!
Drink, that’s what.
So I made you a drink.
Well, first I made ME a drink (a few of them actually) and then I made you a drink. One that’s chock full of blood oranges and packing a sweet vitamin C punch, of course!
(or something like that)
siiiince blood oranges are in season AND I have bourbon cravings at 8am I basically could live on bourbon AND it is the most delicious combination of flavors in all the land (for right now, at least) AND my favorite blogger of all time concocted the MOST AMAZING DRINK EVER from these two ingredients, I decided that I needed to do the same and share it with the world.
or at least with the seven people that read this.
Last week, Jessica planted the blood orange + bourbon seed in my head. But, like every other insane-crazy recipe she comes up with up, her cocktail had a twist – in the form of a spicy vanilla sugar rim. mind = blown. Honestly, where does she come up with these shenanigans?!
[in a brilliant and sequined-covered, hot pink, magical 90’s-lovin’ land, that’s for certain (and if you’re completely confused, just check out her blog – it’s seriously unreal and you’ll love getting to know her via the interwebs)]
Unfortunately, I’m WAY lazier than Jessica, so I simplified (and healthified) a tiiiiny bit. I nixed the sugar rim and substituted a honey simple syrup instead of your standard white sugar simple syrup. After a delicious five days of taste tests – and a 10am run to the liquor store yesterday morning to refill our bourbon supply – here you have it! Head to your local grocer and buy at least twelve pounds of blood oranges, friends – you’ll be lucky if they last you til the weekend, at this rate.
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 2 blood orange slices, halved
- 2-3 dashes of of Angostura bitters
- 4 ounces freshly squeezed blood orange juice (about 3 small blood oranges)
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 2 ounces club soda
- extra blood orange slices for garnish
- Add the honey to the warm water and stir until dissolved; set aside (essentially you have just created a honey simple syrup - viola!).
- In a chilled glass, muddle a couple of blood orange slices, along with your honey simple syrup and a few dashes of Angostura bitters. Add remaining ingredients and some ice. Stir to mix and garnish with another blood orange slice, if desired.
- Alternatively, if you don't like/want pulp in your cocktail, simply add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds.
- Kick back, relax and enjoy!
Recipe From: How Sweet It Is | Blood Orange Bourbon Smash
Given the record snowfall we’re seeing here in Boston, it only makes sense that you stock up on bourbon & blood oranges ASAP. Winter isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, my friends – might as well enjoy it with a frosty beverage in hand!
