This time of year, a refreshing sparkling cocktail is much needed. Blood oranges make this drink tasty. Spiced sugar cranberries make this drink special. We are featuring this beautiful beverage this month because it’s so festive AND we just made sugared cranberries for the first time and LOVED them so a cocktail recipe was needed. The recipe for the sugared cranberries is below. It’s simple and will totally take your cocktail up a notch. December is the beginning of blood orange season too, so if you see this fruit in the grocery stores, grab a few. It really makes the drink that much better.
Makes (1) Cocktail
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz cranberry ginger simple syrup
- 1 oz cranberry juice
- 1/2 oz fresh blood orange juice
- Ice cubes, crushed
- 1 to 2 oz Prosecco (depending on which glass you use – you may only have room for one ounce, but give two if you have the room!)
- Sugar to rim the glass (we used red colored sugar)
- Blood orange wedge to rim the glass
- Sugared cranberries, skewered
- Rosemary garnish
You’ll want to use a martini, coupe or flute glass for this drink, On a dinner plate, spread about a quarter cup of red or white granulated sugar. Rim your glass with lime wedge to wet the edges so sugar will adhere. Turn glass upside down on sugared plate and carefully edge the rim. Set aside until cocktail ingredients are mixed. Add vodka, simple syrup, cranberry juice and orange juice to cocktail shaker with crushed ice and shake well to incorporate. Carefully (so not to knock off your sugar rim) pour vodka mixture into your sugar rimmed glass. Finish with a splash of Prosecco and garnish with skewered sugared cranberries and fresh rosemary sprig. Cheers! You can also add a thin wedge of lime or blood orange for garnish if so desired.
COOK’S NOTES
- If you’re not successful finding blood oranges or juice, you can certainly use navel oranges.
- The splash of prosecco could easily be replaced with a splash of sparkling cranberry juice.
- The sugar frosted cranberry garnishes make for a pretty festive eye catching drink with very little effort. The cranberries are done ahead of time so when you’re ready for cocktailing all you have to do is skewer a few and plop them on the sugar rimmed glass. I’ve included a link to that recipe below.