Blood and Fire

Add the Blood Orange Juice, Vodka, Sweet and Sour mix, and Grenadine to a mixing glass. Stir until well incorporated. Fill your tumbler with ice and double strain the contents of the mixing glass into the tumbler. Garnish with a wheel of blood orange. Now for everyone’s favorite: fire! There is a plethora of cocktails out there that utilize spicy ingredients, and really any of them could work for this. However, I found one that I particularly liked, with some modifications of my own. The base cocktail that I found over at the Drunken Moogle is called Chandra Ablaze.   I decided to substitute the orangecello for Blood Orange, because: A) I like Blood Orange better and B) Blood Orange was what I had on hand   Notes on brands I opted to use my own personal Sweet and Sour mix instead of a store bought brand. It’s super easy to make, and you can make a ton of it and keep it in the fridge for other cocktails (it goes great in a whisky sour, for example.) I’ll include the recipe below. However, if you’ve not the time or desire to make your own, you can use your favorite mix and it’ll be fine.   For the blood orange juice, I suggest that you freshly squeeze your own. The few cartons of blood orange juice I’ve found usually have this odd bitter note that I fear would ruin the cocktail. If you are worried about the pulp, we’ll be double straining the drink to prevent any pulp from getting in the finished product.   It’s also worth mentioning a note on the grenadine. I call out Barsmith’s brand because it is fairly readily available, it’s good, and most importantly it’s not Rose’s. Please, if you have any sort of love for your drink, don’t use Rose’s. Just… trust me. Buy yourself some Barsmith’s and have a side-by-side comparison if you must.   The Drink (and Presentation) For the drink itself, start with chilling your tumbler. In your mixing glass, add the juice, vodka, sweet and sour mix, grenadine, and habenero bitters. Add some ice to the tumbler, and double strain the contents of the mixing glass into the tumbler.   Be mindful with the habenero bitters. A little goes a LONG way. Feel free to experiment, but know that they can quickly elevate the heat of the drink to an uncomfortable level.   Garnish with a wheel of blood orange, and you are ready to serve!