Cocktails With Christie: Blood Orange Negroni

Inspiration: Perusing one of my favorite baking magazines a few months back, they advertised an upcoming cocktail book that looked interesting — Holiday Coupetails. Trusting the editors of Bake From Scratch, I gave the book a go…and am delighted that I did.

Not only does Holiday Coupetails have drink recipes, but it also gives instructions on how to make the garnishes and some fun, festive nibbles!

Even better, Hoffman and Bell (the authors) give the basic recipe for said drink garnishes, allowing you to dress them up as you see fit. This focus on the basics is a refreshing change from the recipes for things like dried citrus peels you find on the internets, which tend to be either overly complicated or assume you’ve got specialized equipment (like a dehydrator).

In any case, this cocktail turned out great! On my second try….

Learn From My Mistakes: When making it, do not put in an equal amount of blood orange juice to that of the other ingredients. The extra sweetness totally flattens the taste of the Campari and makes the cocktail somewhat dull. As they instruct in the book — a single squeeze is enough!

Christie: This is a drink I could see Poirot or Mr. Satterthwaite enjoying — as it is both bitter, sweet, and sophisticated. More importantly, since one version or another of this cocktail has been around since the 1920s, it means either gentleman could easily have ordered a negroni on their travels.

Cocktails With Christie!

This Week’s Recipe: Grenadine

Inspiration: As I’ve written about before, I’ve got a stupid allergy to sulfur, and it pops up in the strangest places. The newest substance to contain this bright yellow chemical element — grenadine!

Since it called for in many drinks, I’d resigned myself to a series of disappointing Malibu Sunrises, Bomb Pops, and Cherry Bombs…

…Until, surprise, surprise, a book came to the rescue!

In Tequila Mockingbird, it had a recipe for grenadine! Which is dead simple to concoct and lasts for ages.

(BTW – these literary punny drinks are a lot of fun to make and drink. Plus, the book gives additional recipes for mocktails and some interesting recipes for accompanying nibbles — all still literarily themed. Tequila Mockingbird would make a great gift to someone who loves reading and the occasional libation!)

Christie: This reminds me of Miss Marple (as portrayed by Geraldine McEwan) from the television when she made her own sweet sherry. And while I won’t give out bottles of grenadine as presents, it still reminds me of our beloved sleuth!

Cocktails With Christie!

Inspiration: The Poisoner’s Cabinet

You need to give the Poisoner’s Cabinet podcast a listen! It is absolutely splendid. Pairing classic, obscure, and occasionally original cocktails with vintage crimes from around the world. (The most recent crime they’ve covered on the main episodes so far was in the eighties….Which is a disturbing number of decades in the past.) 

I absolutely love our irreverent hosts Sinead and Nick. When telling the tales of poison, murder, and mayhem, they don’t celebrate the perpetrators, they empathize with the victims and point out the failings or successes of the police, doctors, vicars, and others around these crimes. 

Now a word of warning, the first season focuses exclusively on classic poisoning cases, which with the built-in framework of the episodes, does get a bit samey sounding. However, starting in season two, while giving poisonings pride of place when covered — they branch out to historically macabre, odd or mysterious murders.

In any case, both Sinead and Nick often have pre-cocktail cocktails before starting to record their podcast and one of their favorites is a Negroni. 

Negroni Recipe: 1 oz. Campari

                            1 oz. Gin

                            1 oz. sweet vermouth 

                            Stir together and enjoy!

So my husband and I decided to try it out.

On the first sip, my tastebuds asked me why I suddenly hated them, as the drink was seriously bitter. (My usual cocktail is two ounces of peach vodka, an ounce of raspberry liquor, six splashes of peach bitters, and a dash of Luster a non-alcoholic alcohol, all of which I top off with lemonade. Not overly sweet, but by comparison is practically a syrup.)

But we’re not quitters.

Running around our local co-op a couple of weeks later, we came across a box of premixed cocktails, which has helped us overcome the bitterness hurdle! And we now mixed Negroni cocktails with impunity!

Christie: Honestly, I can see Mr. Harley Quin sipping a drink like this since love can be both bitter and sweet.

Cocktails With Christie!

This Week’s Recipe: A Maiden’s Prayer

Inspiration: Okay, in honor of the spooky season, we’ve got a Pumpkin Spice Liqueur (produced by Bellewood Farms in Lynden, Wa.) to try in a cocktail called a Maiden’s Prayer!

So I managed to find Valencia Oranges (hand squished), Meyer lemons (the very best kind, imho), triple sec (which is seriously cheap), and this pumpkin spice liqueur…the full recipe’s found here.

And my oh my, if you enjoy pumpkin spice, this is very, very drinkable!

Smooth, citrusy (without being overpowering), and with autumn distilled down to its’ alcoholic essence — this drink is everything I’d hoped it would be!

I think I’m in heaven…

Christie: I do believe if Ariadne Oliver had one of these after discovering the body bobbing amongst the apples in the tub — it might’ve calmed her nerves…