Merry Drinkmas!
This concludes our cocktail series of the month. I am gonna keep this short and sweet because I know we want to get back to our various holiday activities. This drink is inspired by the dried orange garlands that are such a fun DIY during this time of year. I put the candied blood oranges in a Negroni! Fair warning this drink is still pretty strong on herbal, bitter, alcohol flavor but if you want a sweetened version, I would suggest adding a little sweet champagne to the mix and making it a Negroni spritz.
Candied Blood Orange Negroni
Nothing is more festive than this red jewel-toned Negroni topped with candy!
Ingredients
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3-4 Small Blood Oranges, 2 sliced and 1-2 juiced, divided
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1/4 cup sugar
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1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
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1 pinch of ground ginger
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1 dash of sea salt
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1.5 oz Campari
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1.5 oz Gin
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1.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
Directions
Candied Blood Oranges:
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Slice 2 oranges in rounds, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Blot dry with paper towels, and arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and sea salt in a bowl and sprinkle ⅔ over top of orange slices.
- Bake for 3 hours, flipping slices at least 3 times to bake evenly. The edges should be slightly browned.
- After 3 hours, remove from oven and place on cooling racks.
- Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture on top.
- Put aside (I left mine over our heat ducts) for 2-3 days, until completely dry. But if you are impatient like me you can use them after letting them cool overnight.
The Negroni:
- In a mixing glass combine, Campari, Gin, Sweet Vermouth, and 1.5 oz Blood orange juice or to taste.
- Add ice and stir until the mixture is well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with candied blood oranges.
