Blood Orange Sidecar

We a lucky enough to be gifted annually with a box of blood oranges from our good friend, Mahin.   Mahin knows of my long standing blood orange passion so when her tree overfloweth with them each year she graciously parts with its offerings in our direction causing much celebration.

This has made exploring ways to infect various recipes with their electric beauty and vibrant, tangy flavor an annual challenge.

And while I cannot argue that the blood orange brings a certain panache to sweet treats (such as last year’s Blood Orange Cardamom Cake and Candied Blood Orange Peel, (both of which were born of Mahin’s generosity), lets just be honest with one another and admit that the true joy of having blood oranges on hand is experienced when you take your place behind the bar to mix a cocktail.

Any drink that relies on citrus can get a colorful refresh with very little effort when a blood orange is on hand.   Screwdrivers, mimosas, margaritas…. you get the idea?

Blood Orange Sidecar

I certainly can’t lay claim to being the first to dream up using blood oranges in a classic Sidecar cocktail but I offer up my makeshift recipe here as after a week of trials and fine tuning it turned out with a nice balance of flavors and balance is what a good cocktail is about.

Well, that and the chance to toast to a good friend, like Mahin Joon.   Salamati!

(Note: Yes, that is an Instragram photo.  Is that allowed?  I wouldn’t usually do that but it is all I could muster during this bleak time of severe writer’s block.  I’m having photo block too.  But I did like the way it unnecessarily enhanced the color of this fine drink. )