Blood Orange Martinis

Last week, I received the best box of fresh fruit goodness. One of my favorite people in the world sent me a case of organic citrus fruit from Frog Hollow Farm as a new mama gift. How perfect was that? Blood oranges and tangelos were the big hits around here. The kids were AMAZED by the gorgeous colors in the blood oranges. They were popping them in their mouths as fast as I could peel them.

If you have never indulged in a blood orange in the middle of a dreary, gray winter, get yourself to a grocery store, pronto. Or order yourself a citrus shipment … you know you’re worth it.

This cocktail adventure was inspired by my mom visiting for the weekend. She flew in from Boston to hang out with us and get her new baby fix. I forgot how much I LOVE mixing up new cocktails. And, what better reason to experiment with a new drink than because we have COMPANY…

I sauntered into the laundry room to check out our alcohol supply – doesn’t everyone keep their booze in the laundry room? Much to my surprise, a thin layer of dust covered all of our liquor bottles – maybe not dust, exactly, maybe it was more like laundry lint. We are not big drinkers over here, clearly. Parties, yes. Nightly with dinner, nope. The liquor supply looked just like I left it back in May when I found out I was expecting Baby Cinco. It felt good to dust off some bottles and do a quick little inventory.

For this cocktail recipe, all you need for alcohol is vodka and triple sec. Triple sec is an orange-flavored liqueur. This is a very handy bottle to have in your repertoire. I find myself using it all the time in cocktails. I use it in margaritas, cosmopolitans, martinis … it is hugely versatile.

The rest of the blood orange martini recipe is very easy. You will want start by mixing up a little simple syrup and have a lime and a blood orange (or two) on hand. That’s it. To make enough simple syrup for three to four martinis, I used a 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Bring it to a boil, whisk it, let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until all the sugar is dissolved into the water, and then let it cool while you prepare your other ingredients.

In your cocktail shaker, combine the vodka (6 oz), the triple sec (2 oz) and the juice from one lime and one (or 2) blood oranges. If you don’t have a handy citrus press, you need one. They are not that expensive at all. Everyone needs an easy citrus press in their life.  I have a green one that is lime sized and a yellow one that is lemon sized. Nothing gets as much juice out of your citrus as these simple, aluminum citrus presses.

Invite some company over and give them a dose of vitamin C in a gorgeous cocktail…

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Blood Orange Martinis

Super simple! A bright easy cocktail for the chilly winter months...

Course Cocktails

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 3 to 4 cocktails

Author Erin Brighton

Ingredients

• 6 oz vodka
• 2 oz Triple Sec
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 to 2 blood oranges
• 1 lime
• Ice

Instructions

1. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan to make a simple syrup. Whisk, bring to a boil, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Combine the vodka, triple sec, and the juice from 1 lime and 1 to 2 blood oranges in a cocktail shaker. Add the cooled simple syrup.
3. Add ice. Shake well until the cocktail shaker is too cool to hold.
4. Pour evenly into 3 to 4 martini glasses. Garnish each glass with a slice of blood orange.