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Cocktail History
The Blood Orange Sour is a modern cocktail that was first published in the book Gin O’Clock: A Year of Ginspiration by Craft Cocktail Club. It uses a simple sour template that calls for dry gin as the base and enhances it with citrus juices, most notable of which is tart blood orange. This is also what gives the drink its striking magenta color.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
London Dry Gin: This is a type of gin made with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol that has been infused with flavor through redistillation without artificial ingredients or colors. We used Broker’s Premium London Dry Gin because it’s versatile and high proof. For a mocktail version of this drink, try MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin.
Triple Sec: This is a liqueur made with bitter oranges, lemons, sugar, and alcohol. We used Cointreau because it’s one of the highest quality orange liqueurs on the market. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur.
Blood Orange Juice: This is the liquid juice of a blood orange. We used freshly squeezed blood orange juice.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Blood Orange Wedge: This is a blood orange slice that has been cut into a wedge shape.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Tasting Notes
The Blood Orange Sour features aromas of bitter blood orange and has an initially sweet taste accented by citrus and the gin’s herbal flavors while held in the mouth; the swallow then features the unique tart taste of blood orange along with the botanicals from the gin, which all linger together in the throat.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: After tweaking this recipe to better suit our palates, we both thought the Blood Orange Sour was a simple riff done right, especially since blood orange is such a distinctive ingredient.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“When we first came across this recipe, we didn’t love the idea of only 1 oz of gin, so we upped it to 1 ½ oz. I also wasn’t impressed by the original recipe once we tried it, which only called for 1 tsp lemon juice to offset the sweetness, so I ended up adding another 2 tsp lemon juice. This ended up balancing it fairly well, but we both felt this the drink still had a tiny bit too much sourness to it. If I made it again, I would probably try it as-is because it was tasty but with 2 tsp lemon juice for better balance.”
—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“If you really want to enjoy the tart taste of blood oranges while they’re in season, this is a tangy gin cocktail that’ll give you the chance to do just that. Once again, Broker’s London Dry Gin blends right in to this drink, making it more potent than you might realize. Try this cocktail at your next brunch in lieu of a Mimosa!”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Gin O’Clock: A Year of Ginspiration by Craft Cocktail Club.
Add gin, blood orange juice, triple sec, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with blood orange wedge.
Ingredients
Directions
Add gin, blood orange juice, triple sec, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with blood orange wedge.
Make It a Mocktail: Use MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin and Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
Shop Glassware & Tools
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More Citrus Cocktails
If you like this citrus-flavored cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Gin & Sin: A gin cocktail made with orange juice, lemon juice, grenadine, and an orange twist
Nucleus Mimosa: A sparkling wine cocktail made with orange juice, cranberry juice, and a lime slice
Garibaldi: A low-proof cocktail made with orange juice, Campari, and an orange slice
Gimlet: A gin cocktail made with lime juice, simple syrup, and a lime wedge
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