Blood Orange Whiskey Sour
I was once told that when you’re a parent, the days and weeks seem to go by slowly but the years go by quickly. I’ve never understood how true this sentiment was until this week. Not that anything major or devastating happened, this week just seemed to take 10 years. By the time Friday rolled around, I was really ready for Friday Pizza and a Movie Night accompanied with our fancy cocktail.
We started this tradition as a family a couple years ago. It gave us all something to look forward to at the end of the week, a way to decompress and just chill after all the demands of the week wrapped up. It also gave me the opportunity to flex my mixologist muscle and see what kind of fun cocktails I could create or find.
In fairness, this cocktail came out of a massive fail. I had a recipe I wanted to try so I could increase my mixology skill, but when I took a closer look, I lost complete interest. It was my own fault. I didn’t look closely enough at the recipe to see in intricate steps involved and once I did, I quite honestly didn’t have the bandwidth to be able to do any of those things. So I scratched it completely, looked in my pantry and came up with this one instead.
Win for me because IT was a total win.
The maple syrup cut through the acidity of the orange and lemon, allowing the brightness of the citrus to shine through. This is the perfect whiskey cocktail for the person who loves whiskey as much as it is for the person who avoids whiskey because of its often strong flavor.
The key is finding not just fresh fruit, but also a whiskey that you like. My go to whiskey is Buffalo Trace. It’s easy to find, has a reasonable price point, and it’s really smooth. Meaning you won’t get that burning feeling when you drink it, even when you’re drinking it neat or on the rocks.
The other key is having solid simple syrup. It’s super easy and quick to make and store, so be sure to check out the notes below if you want to learn how to make it yourself!
Blood Orange Whiskey Sour
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1 person
1 oz whiskey
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz maple syrup
1 oz cranberry juice
Juice of half a blood orange
Juice of a quarter of a lemon
Ice
Combine all of your ingredients in a shaker bottle and shake until well mixed (at least 30 seconds, you want both syrups to completely break down). Pour in a glass, garnish with a slice of blood orange and serve!
Notes:
If you want to make your own simple syrup here’s my simple (I’m so funny) recipe:
Bring 1 cup of water to a rolling boil and pour in 1 cup of refined white sugar. Whisk constantly until the sugar completely dissolves (it’ll take a few minutes). Allow to cool, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for one month.
