Delicious Blood Orange Spring Cocktail Recipe

This post is going to show you exactly how to make a beautiful spring cocktail using Blood Orange!

Let me tell you, when Spring is rolling around there’s no better way to celebrate than indulging in a delicious cocktail that highlights some seasonal fruit! There’s a sweet spot around the month of February where blood oranges are still at their peak!

I wanted to create an original Sweet Recipe that was fruity, floral, bright, and full of flavor! I think you all will love this one just as much as I do! Lets get right into it! I call this:

“Blood Thirsty”

What You Will Need

Alcohol:

The base of this spring cocktail is going to be Mezcal! I have chosen to go with 400 Conejos Tobala. This mezcal is not only smooth, but compliments fruity notes so well! This herbal mezcal will also pair very well with another amaro we will be adding. 400 Conejos has a couple different styles of mezcal and they are all fantastic! I recommend checking some of them out and stocking up for your home bar! Not only is this a great mezcal to mix with, its also awesome on the rocks or made into an old fashioned! I picked up my bottle at Total Wine and More.

Next, to really accentuate some of those fruity and herbal notes we will be using Amaro Montenegro! This delicious amaro is full of herbs and bitter sweet notes. I always get notes of orange, vanilla, floral, dried fruits, and caramel! These flavors pair so well with mezcal and they really compliment each other when the cocktail comes to fruition. I picked up my bottle at Total Wine and More! This is a great amaro to have on deck for your home bar when you want to start playing with herbal cocktails.

Lastly, we will be rinsing the glass with some Fernet-Branca! Fernet is a wonderful Italian liqueur. It is also a digestif that is typically sipped on after meals to aid with digestion. Fernet has 27 herbs, roots, and spices that come together to make a completely unique flavor. There really is nothing like Fernet! You have got to try it yourself to really get the full scope of how unique it is!

For this cocktail in particular we will be rinsing the glass with an Atomizer. This will coat the inside of the glass and boost those herbal flavors in this cocktail. Fernet is a MUST have at your home bar. I got my bottle at Total Wine and More, but you can find it at most grocery and liquor stores as well!

Citrus and Other Fresh Ingredients:

Of course for this Spring cocktail we will be wanting to use Fresh Blood Orange Juice! Fresh juice is always the way to go. Once you taste the difference there will be no turning back! You get that sharp flavor from the rind of the fruit, and it just elevates your cocktail every single time. Above I am using my Stainless Steel Hand Pressed Citrus Juicer! This thing has got to be one of my favorite tools I own. It makes it so easy to make individual cocktails, it has a convenient little pour spout, and it’s fun to use for little dinner parties! I highly recommend getting one for your home bar so you can start using fresh fruit as soon as possible!

Next, to add some warm flavor to this delicious blood orange cocktail  we will be making a Cinnamon Simple Syrup! Just like in the name, this syrup is extremely simple to make! All you will need is cinnamon sticks, sugar, and water! Some simple syrups vary when it comes to ratios in order to make things a little sweeter, but for this recipe we will keep it simple with a 1:1 ratio. This means equal parts water to sugar.

Here’s how you make it!

• In a pot on the stove add desired amount of water
• Turn up heat and add in the same amount of sugar that you did water
• Before water starts to boil add in fresh cinnamon sticks ( The larger the batch, the more cinnamon stick you will want to add)
• Be sure to be mixing slowly so the sugar dissolves nicely into the water to form a syrup like consistency
• Once mixture comes to a slight boil, pull off of the heat
• Let syrup sit for at LEAST 30 minutes before straining into a container of choice
• All done!

This syrup can stay good in the fridge for up to a month! If you are planning to make this cocktail for a party or multiple times in a month then go ahead and make yourself a bigger batch!

I love to store my syrups and juices in small glass bottles with a pour spout like pictured above. These little bottles fit into the fridge with ease and add a really professional aspect to your home bar! Always remember to label and date your bottles so you can assure you’re always serving the most fresh and delicious product. I get most of my bottles from Amazon. You can check out an awesome set that comes with everything you will need RIGHT HERE!

 

The next fun ingredient we will be using is a Nitro Cold Brew! I chose to use the brand High Brew Coffee. The mixture of coffee, Mezcal, and Amaro Montenegro is truly a match made in heaven! I love using the nitro cold brews because it makes the cocktail have a little extra smoothness and froth on top which I love. You can pick up cold brews in a can like this at almost any local grocery store!

Saline Solution:

Lastly, we will be adding a bit of saline solution to this cocktail! It is addicting once you see what it does for the drink. Just like in food, salt enhances all of the ingredients in a cocktail! Specifically in this cocktail the salt really brings the blood orange and herbal notes to life! The cool part is you don’t need much. I used to add actual grains of salt before shaking, but then I learned about  20% Saline Solution! This is just a mixture of Kosher Salt and Water and you can make it at home!

• 40 ml Water : 10 g Kosher Salt

All you need to do is mix those ingredients together until dissolved and store in a glass bottle that has a dropper! Most cocktails only need about 1 or 2 drops of this solution to really make it pop! You can check out a glass with a dropper RIGHT HERE!

Bar Supplies:

The main component you will need for this spring cocktail is a shaker. I usually use a Boston shaker when building my cocktails, but recently for guests and for filming I have been using a Glass Cobbler Shaker! I love the look of this shaker and the ease of the pour. This particular shaker has a built in strainer! When you shake a cocktail you are diluting it and building it in volume at the same time! This is a crucial step for most drink builds. If you want to check out the glass shaker that I use you can do so right HERE!

Next we will need a Jigger! A jigger is used to measure the liquid ingredients that are going into a cocktail. A great cocktail should be balanced, consistent, and beautiful! When you’re using a jigger, you can almost always assure the final product is going to be spot on.

My jigger shown above ranges from 1/4th oz to 2 oz.If you want to check out one identical to mine you can do so RIGHT HERE!

I must say that when I was just a beginner in the bartending world, I used a jigger that was much more simplified. It was great and truly let me build my skills with confidence. This jigger has only one side, very clear measurement lines, and a pour spout! If you’re just beginning and want to use this jigger to learn I will link the exact one I used to use RIGHT HERE!

I also must mention that you will need ICE. Lots of people have fridges with an ice dispenser which is perfect for you to use. Alas, if you do not have accessible fridge ice, AKA ME, you will have to freeze your own! As you can see in the photo above I use a silicone perfect ice cube tray. You can find an identical one that comes with a LID right HERE! I am lucky enough to have a cocktail store near me as well that  carries perfect ice in every size but that is not always the most affordable option. I would still suggest you check if any such stores exist near your location! Although a little more pricey, definitely worth it in quality!!!

I do recommend that if you are starting to create multiple cocktails at home, you should invest in your own personal Bartending Kit. Most come with everything you will need as a beginner while others provide several items for more complex creations. I will put links to both a beginners set, and a more advanced set on Amazon below!

Beginners Kit : HERE

Advanced Kit : HERE

 

Let’s Build!