During the recent warm spell we had a week or so ago, I came across some blood oranges at the grocery store the other day and like every single red blooded alcoholic I thought, “Man, those would go great with alcohol!” So I picked up a half dozen of those, plus a few different mixers and set out to do some experimentation when I had some free time.
For my case, I chose gin because it lends itself to strong-flavored mixes better than vodka. A decent gin has an herbal, aromatic quality that vodka lacks entirely. If used in the right proportions, you’ll notice this, and not the sharp, acrid bite that most people associate with gin. And this is the only thing you’ll have to buy at the liquor store! Although Cointreau or Triple Sec (both orange liqueurs) would both be great ingredients to use in a concoction featuring blood oranges, I wanted to keep this cheap and simple. Plus, I have a nearly full bottle of Chambourd on my shelf that’s been mocking me since I did the “If a Cosmo tasted Good” article in January – the last thing I need is more liqueurs taking up space.
To start, I poured blood orange juice together with regular Bombay Gin (not Sapphire) and a bunch of ice into my blender and hit pulse a few times. Separately, I tried mixing this with soda water, 7-Up, and Orange Crush. After taking the Pepsi Challenge on each, the winner was the Orange Crush mix.
The soda has just enough sweetness and fizz to round out the stickiness of the blood oranges and harshness of the gin. You could easily make this more “gourmet” by using orange juice instead of the Crush and adding a splash of soda water and Cointreau, and even some orange bitters. But, I’m satisfied with my creation; for the price of a bottle of gin and $5 worth of groceries, you’ve got yourself a pretty bitchin’ afternoon.
Cin Cin!
There’s a solid foundation here, but the phrases “orange crush” and “Mashed potatoes” are out of place in any cocktail recipe.
I’d have probably tried club soda and liquid honey.
He he. Touche.
In my defense, after tasting variations of the drink with Orange Crush, Club Soda, and 7-Up, the Orange Crush version came out the winner. I’m not a big fan of the soda on its own-it’s way too sweet and syrupy. But it does OK as a mixer.
If I was making this with the resources of a full bar, I would have tried an orange-infused vodka, Triple-Sec, and simple syrup instead of the Orange Crush. But for the home bartender I think it’s a pretty good recipe. It does taste pretty good-I wouldn’t have written the article if I didn’t like the final product.
Wow, that sounds delicious and refreshing!