Ginger Blood Orange Cocktail

I have a thing for ginger beer. I usually use it in cocktails (see here), and in fairly large quantities.

But for this cocktail right hurr, I prefer just a splash. There is some delicious citrus action going on, and it would be a shame to hide it.

Now, I feel I should warn you: this cocktail is really easy to drink.

Plus, it looks festive and celebrates the arrival of the best part of winter: citrus!

Sounds like a great way to kick off a New Year’s Eve party to me…

Or a Saturday afternoon. Whichever.

This cocktail is like a winter margarita, if that’s a thing. You’ve got your tequila, your citrus… but it’s all fancied up and seasonally appropriate.

Speaking of which, let’s have a quick conversation about tequila. There’s a lesson that I learned well into my love/hate relationship with it: make sure the bottle you’re buying says “100% blue agave” on it. Otherwise your awesome night might lead into a decidedly less awesome morning.

You may see cheaper varieties that say something like “made with blue agave” – no percentage. Stay away! Translation: hangover.

Ok, now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s make some cocktails!

If you want to make these for a large party (or just make life easier), you could scale up the proportions of blood orange juice, tequila and lime juice, combine them in a pitcher, and stir well. Pour 1/2 cup of this mixture into a prepared glass and top off with a splash of ginger beer.

Cheers to 2013!