Earlier in December my cousin Beth sent me an email that had two recipes attached. One written by my grandmother and the other from my uncle. I learned two things in that moment, my Grandmother had beautiful handwriting and that my uncle enjoyed festive cocktails. The recipe from my grandmother was for a Caramel Pecan Cake and the other a drink recipe from my uncle. His recipe took about 5 weeks to brew. I had to come up with a more timely solution to enjoy this family favorite during the holiday season.
INGREDIENTS
Cranberry Simple Syrup
2 and 1/4 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Rind of an orange
Cocktail
2 ounces vodka, Castle and Key is my preference, its Kentucky made
2 ounces cranberry syrup
Orange twist
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium saucepan, bring cranberries, sugar, and water and orange rind to a simmer over medium heat, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until cranberries are tender but haven't burst, 10 minutes. Let cool, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard cranberries.
- Fill cocktail shaker with ice, pour in cranberry simple syrup and vodka, shake until chilled, pour cocktail into ice filled glass, garnish with an orange twist and a festive stirrer. Cheers!
Yields: 1 Serving
Enjoy this festive family cocktail with my Grandmothers . Serve with a a big bowl of Very Vegetarian Dip and cut up vegetables dipping. Cheers!