Cocktail Friday: Cranberry Gin Fizz

WHAT IS HAPPENING. Two recipes in one week that have been reviewed by members of the Set the Table community?? Yep. It is happening.

This Cranberry Gin Fizz is a new favorite for me. It is more of a weekend, special-event kind of cocktail as it has a few steps. But if you’re looking for a little simplification, just make the simple syrup during the week so it is at the ready for your weekend cocktail hour.

This pretty in pink drink is perfectly delicious. A couple things to note: the type of gin you use will make a difference. Bombay is what I used and it can seem quite strong to anyone who isn’t already a gin fan. Prairie gin is a touch milder and if you just can’t do gin, go for vodka!

Things I love about this cocktail: the color! the flavor! the frothy egg white top! Honestly, it is just a fun and festive drink that makes you want to stick your pinky out when you drink it (even if you’re wearing your finest 2020 sweats).

A couple notes from testers:

-If you want a strong cinnamon flavor, add another stick to the syrup recipe

-Seems like a lot of steps for a weeknight cocktail but 100% would make it again as a special event cocktail

-YUM!

I mean, how can you say no?

Here is the recipe, friends. Cheers to another weekend!

Cranberry Gin Fizz

Makes 2 cocktails

• 4 oz gin (I used Bombay Sapphire) 

• 2 oz cranberry simple syrup (recipe below)

• 1/2 oz lemon juice 

• 1 oz clementine juice

• 1 egg white

• Club soda

Cranberry simple syrup:

• 1 cup fresh cranberries

• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh

• 1 cinnamon stick (add another cinnamon stick or use some ground if you want a stronger flavor)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 cup water

1. Make the cranberry simple syrup by combining all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. The cranberries will burst as the heat of the syrup rises, so covering the saucepan with a lid offset may be a good idea to avoid splatters. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the syrup is a deep pink color and has thickened slightly. Strain into a glass jar and allow to cool completely before using.

2. To make the cocktail, combine all ingredients except the club soda in a shaker WITHOUT ice. (This is call dry shaking.) Dry shake for 20-30 seconds or until the egg white is frothy. Add a couple ice cubes to the shaker and shake until well chilled.

3. Strain into two cocktail glasses and top with club soda. Enjoy!

*Alternative if you don’t have a shaker or want to make a larger batch: combine all cocktail ingredients except the club soda in a blender. Blend for about 5 seconds until frothy. Transfer to a glass measuring cup with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into cocktail glass(es) and top with club soda. Cheers! 

Cocktail Friday: Basil Gin Fizz

I feel it is important that you all know something about me: I drive a minivan. Really, it's true. This time last year, it was all Tokyo trains and taxis and bicycles and walking. Now it's a minivan. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have a vehicle to drive since public transportation is not really a thing 'round these parts. But a minivan? Yep.

I drove my minivan from Denver to Boulder on Wednesday and met Jen from Use Real Butter for lunch. It was great to sit and chat about blogs, food, black labs, and life in general. We ate at a great restaurant called The Kitchen, which I'm pretty much in love with after just one visit. The food was delicious (I had a Colorado lamb burger that was perfectly cooked) and the atmosphere is pretty much exactly what I would want my own restaurant to look like. Rustic sophistication might be the best way to describe it. When we were done with our lunch, I was planning to head to a coffee shop somewhere to do some blog work, since the rug rat was spending the day with Grandpa. So, I walked to my mini-van, hopped in to get some of my things together, and decided it would be easiest to take it all out from the passenger side of the car. I jumped out of the van, closed my door, went to the other side and...

Oh no...

Locked.

Please tell me I didn't just lock all the doors.

Yep. The driver's side was also locked. I could see my keys perfectly on the other side of the glass, sitting next to my laptop and purse on the passenger seat.

It's official. I'm locked out. Or my keys are locked in. Or whatever.

I called Brad and he, by some miracle, was able to make the 45 minute drive from Denver to Boulder to let me in so we didn't have to spend a bazillion dollars on a locksmith. Hallelujah!

But wait...there's more.  As I sat waiting for Brad to unlock the minivan, a guy walked up to the front of my car and stands there for a moment.

What is that guy doing standing in front of my minivan, you might ask? Um, he's giving me a parking ticket because my receipt is expired. I explained that my keys are locked in the car along with my purse and if I had my wallet I would happily buy another 2 hours of parking time. I'm not sure that he cared.

I'll be checking the mail obsessively for a parking ticket over the next few weeks.

But I guess that's cheaper than a locksmith, right? Hopefully...

Needless to say, the rest of my day did not go as planned. By the time Brad got to Boulder, it was time for me to head to another meeting, so I was able to blog for exactly zero minutes when I had anticipated almost 2 hours of free work time.

I'm going to go ahead and say that if I had this cocktail with me while I stood outside under a strangely cloudy Colorado sky, shivering and trying to look on the bright side of this situation, my wait would have been much more pleasant. I could have imagined that it was summer and I was spending all this time outdoors for a good reason. Not because I did something super flaky.

Did you have a rough week? Or perhaps you just want to welcome Friday evening with something sparkly and vaguely reminiscent of summer. Maybe Spring is making itself sparse even though it claims to have begun already? Regardless of where you find yourself this weekend, this fast, easy cocktail is sure to please. The bright basil with the piney gin and sparkling soda water is a match made in heaven. Just a little step up from the traditional gin fizz and perfectly appropriate for this time of year.

You can use almost any herb for this- mint, thyme, rosemary...I wouldn't even rule out cilantro. A Gin Fizz is like a blank pallet of sorts, so if you're looking to experiment with your own cocktail inventions, this is a great place to start.

So cheers to minivans, husbands who save the day, and the weekend.

Basil Gin Fizz

Adapted from Cookie + Kate's Rosemary Gin Fizz recipe

Makes 1 cocktail

3 or 4 basil leaves, torn

Juice from 1/2 a small lemon

1/2 teaspoon honey

1 1/2 oz gin

3 oz club soda

In the bottom of a Collins glass, muddle the basil with the honey and lemon juice. Fill the glass to the top with ice, then add the gin. Stir with a stir stick to fully incorporate the honey into the gin. Top with the club soda. Serve with a stir stick and garnish with basil leaves and/or lemon wedge.