Blood Orange & Vanilla Whisky Sour

Some weeks are vodka weeks - straightforward & easy.  For some, complex but comfortable gin is more fitting.  And then there are those formidable weeks, packed with obscurities and paradoxes.  Those are best capped off with a good, old-fashioned whiskey cocktail.  And this week was definitely a "whiskey week."  It wasn't a bad week, just complicated, filled with interruptions, with contractors flooding the house, insurance adjustors descending on the roof, an enormous work project that filled every available nook and cranny and a kid home sick with the flu all week.   Luckily this "whiskey week" happened to fall during blood orange season.  That makes things less complicated.


This is my blood orange & vanilla whiskey sour.  Slightly sweet.  Mostly sour.  A splash of vanilla that's more naughty than nice.  Smooth with a bite and a satisfying finish.  A paradox in and of itself - intrinsically complicated in flavour and also in its simplicity.  With only five ingredients it's a snap to make and even easier to drink!  It reminds me a little of an orange creamsicle, or rather Orange Creamsicle's older, bad-boy cousin.  The one with the greaser's hair and the cigarette between his lips.  And that's exactly why this is the perfect way to conclude a "whiskey week."  Cheers!

Blood Orange & Vanilla Whiskey Sour

2 oz whiskey
1.5 oz fresh pressed blood orange juice
1 tsp vanilla sugar (more or less to taste)
1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
 orange zest (from the blood orange)

With a  sharp knife, cut a large strip of peel from the blood orange before juicing.  Juice the orange and strain.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice add the whiskey, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and bitters.  Shake until the outside of the shaker is ice cold.  Strain into an old fashioned glass and top with more ice.  Garnish with a twist made from the orange zest.  (serves 1)


Check out these other cocktails...