Here in Orange County, we take our “oranges” very seriously.  Really,  we live off the LarryLand each year.

By that I mean that we have various citrus trees here at the house.  When our lemons came in, we decided that cocktails were required (See If Life gives you Lemons, Mix Drinks!)  Now we have both lemons and oranges, and all the orange blossoms that come with it.

This drink was inspired by my friend and co-volunteer Heidi.  She brought in a bunch of blood oranges. However, regular oranges work just as well.

You’ll see that this calls for home-made grenadine.  There’s nothing hard about this – you take a cup of pomegranate juice, a cup of sugar (which you can borrow from your neighbors) and make a simple syrup by warming them until the sugar dissolves.  Given that the stuff in the market is no more than colored water – try this!

So, without further adieu, here’s what you need for 1 drink. I actually measured these, but in reality I just go with the (half a fruit) part as it’s close enough. HOWEVER…  since this uses half a fruit, make 2 and share!

Ingredients:

• A few mint leaves
• ¾ oz Grenadine
• 1 oz Blood Orange or Orange Juice  (half an orange)
• 1 oz. Lemon Juice (half an orange)
• ¾ oz Lime Juice (1 lime)
• 2 oz white rum
• 2 dashes orange bitters (optional, but fun).

Recipe:

In a Boston shaker, muddle the lime leaves in the grenadine.  Pour in the rest of the ingredients. Shake and strain.

Whew – writing this worked up a thirst….. Time for Cocktails!