Cocktails feel festive and cheers to that!
Dehydrated Citrus Slices
Pick a time when you’ll be at home for around 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, convection if that’s an option. Next, thinly slice oranges, trying to be consistent.
Place a wire rack on a cookie sheet and arrange your orange slices on the rack, careful not to crowd too closely.
Flip the orange slices after about 90 minutes, then check them at the 3 hour mark. If they look dry and slightly darkened, they’re ready! If not, keep them in the oven and check again in 30 minutes.
Store your dehydrated citrus in an air tight container, it will last months! Garnish cocktails and desserts all season long.
Spritz Natale
- 1 oz. Italian Gin
- 1 oz. Aperol
- 4 oz. Prosecco
- Splash of cranberry juice
- Dehydrated citrus slice + fresh cranberries to garnish
Instructions
Paper Plane
This one looks and tastes like summer. Serve shaken, in a coupe glass, with a lemon rind and delight will abound. Looks especially lovely atop our Starbuck or Waller coasters. Cheers!
- ¾ ounce bourbon (I like to double this)
- ¾ ounce Aperol
- ¾ ounce Amaro Nonino
- ¾ ounce lemon juice
Add all ingredients to a cocktail mixer and shake with ice. Serve up!
Bourbon Sour
This whiskey sour, enjoyed around a firepit with neighbors carried us through last winter. The recipe below is adapted from High West in Park City Utah. I prefer mine with double bourbon!
- 2 oz. bourbon
- .75 oz. fresh lemon juice
- .5 oz. simple syrup
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Pour over ice and garnish with sprig of rosemary and/or luxardo maraschino cherry.
Margarita
Our longtime favorite should be called the Norfolk Rd margarita, as it certainly gets a lot of play here.
- 2 parts tequila
- 2 parts lime juice
- 1 part Cointreau
Shake with ice and serve on the rocks. Sometimes we replace half of the lime juice with fresh grapefruit juice or watermelon juice for a summery alternative. Garnish with fruit slice.
For those who like spice:
Muddle fresh jalapeno pepper with lime juice and add to taste. Salt rim with chili salt. My husband, Jon recommends Jacobsen Salt Co.’s Ghost Chili Pepper Salt.
Grapefruit Mack Mock
Don’t forget the kids! Our son, Anders, is the local mocktail mixologist. Here is his favorite blend.
- 1 ginger beer
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ lime, juiced
- ½ grapefruit, juice
- Pinch of salt
Coat rim of glasses with mixture of sugar and salt. Use remaining fruit halves, to cut slices for garnish. Spear any assortment of slices on decorative picks. Combine juices and ginger beers and stir to combine. Pour over ice, into glasses. Garnish with fruit skewers.
