Wintertime to me means seafood and cranberries.
In the late winter, my partner, Jared, and I attend an annual crab feed in the town of Port Orford. We drive there in the middle of the night usually, down the coast, but when we leave there, during the day, we can see the gorgeous cranberry bogs. They are like seas of red jewels where you’d expect to see farmland or even just a straight-up beach or ocean. It’s one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Nearly 3,000 acres of cranberries are cultivated in Oregon, with production centered in the south coast towns of Bandon, Langlois, Sixes, and Port Orford. Oregon growers produce approximately 40 million pounds of berries each year.
It’s a bucket list goal of mine to tour a bog and learn about how they are harvested because I am an uber-food nerd who has to know every aspect of eating and that includes where the food comes from.
With COVID-19 still making us stay safer at home, likely, we won’t be going to the crab feed this year but that doesn’t mean I can’t have my own little bog in a cup! Tiana and I took it to the waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge instead of the Oregon Coast for a little cocktail picnic.
Make a Moscow Mule Your Way!
Step in a twist on your classic Moscow mule where we do vodka but make it Christmas! I am a big believer that you should mix up your mules with different ingredients. Try a different liquor base or soda flavor to change up this refreshing drink. It’s also fairly easy to make a big batch of these for when we can gather safely again…or you know…when you need bulk alcohol for binge-watching.
Use High-Quality Ingredients. You won’t regret this simple shift!
My recommendation is to use a nice soda, nice vodka, FRESH fruit, and FRESH garnishes. This post is not sponsored by Olympia Vodka but we’d highly recommend them as your liquor base. Because Northwest waterfalls call for Northwest vodka! We also used DRY Sparkling Cranberry.
CHECK OUT the cute mule mugs we used. Tiana is a genius and found these black mule mugs. We typically like to use metal cups for our mules but feel free to mix it up and use what you have! But to get the bog look, use a wide-mouth glass or mug.
Cranberry Bog Mule
A Holiday Drink to impress inspired by the Cranberry bogs of the Pacific Northwest.
Ingredients
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1 cup of fresh cranberries
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2 ounces vodka (we used Olympia Artesian Vodka)
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½ ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
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4 ounces DRY Sparkling Cranberry Soda
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Ice
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Garnish: lime wedge
Directions
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In a cocktail shaker, muddle about a ¼ cup of fresh cranberries with the lime juice until properly smashed (like you will be soon).
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Add ice, cover, and shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
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Grab your mule cup and fill it with ice. Add in vodka, and strain the mixture from your cocktail shaker into the mule cup.
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Top off with your soda.
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Garnish with the rest of your cranberries (until the top is completely covered like a bog!) and a lime wedge.
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Serve with a sustainable straw so that your “bog” doesn’t hit you in the face as you sip!
Tips & Tricks:
? Feel free to garnish more minimally by skewering the lime wedge and cranberry on a cocktail pick.
NOTE: Again this post was not sponsored by Olympia but we are big fans and we STAN our local beers and spirits! Also PRO TIP: don’t have a cooler or ice? Stick your liquor in a river. ?
What do you think of the 12 Days of Drinkmas so far!?! Follow along on Instagram as we make 12 different cocktails to celebrate the holiday season. Don’t forget to tag us if you give these a try!
Cheers babe!
KK
