A beautiful syrup is made by infusing a simple syrup with blood orange juice and ginger. It’s combined with vodka, a splash of fresh blood orange juice, then topped with a splash of seltzer for a refreshing touch.
Tools
Ingredients
Blood Orange Syrup:
1 cup fresh blood orange juice
2/3 cup sugar
4 thin slices fresh ginger
Martinis:
1 1/3 cups vodka
1 1/3 cups fresh blood orange juice
12 Tablespoons Blood Orange Syrup
2 cups seltzer or ginger ale
Garnish:
Blood orange slices
Instructions
Blood Orange Syrup
Combine blood orange juice, sugar and ginger in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to medium and boil gently 5 minutes or until reduced to about 3/4 cup.
Remove from heat and cool completely. Remove ginger before serving.
Martinis
Chill martini glasses in freezer if desired. For each 2 drinks, pour 1/3 cup each vodka and blood orange juice and 3 tablespoons Blood Orange Syrup into an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
Strain into 2 martini glasses and add 1/4 cup seltzer or ginger ale to each.
Garnish with blood orange slices.
Notes
To sugar the rims of martini glasses, rub sugar with a few drops of blood orange juice until mixture is sandy but not wet. Rub blood orange peel on rims then dip in the sugar.
The Blood Orange Syrup makes enough for 8 drinks but if you aren’t making that many, the leftover syrup is delicious drizzled over pancakes or waffles, or over ice cream or sorbet.
If you can’t find fresh blood oranges, look for blood orange juice in the refrigerated section of the supermarket or use Cara Cara oranges, but they will be pink, not red.