The smooth, peaty taste of whiskey against the bitter citrus of blood orange and woodsy rosemary balanced by the deep sweetness of maraschino cherries is what makes this blood orange whiskey smash a great cocktail. The flavors of my take on the blood orange whiskey smash works equally well to set the mood on a rainy summer evening or at a winter celebration. The flavor will vary a bit depending on what type of whiskey you use. If you don’t have rosemary simple syrup it’s really simple to make. In fact, I had to make a fresh batch for this recipe. In a sauté pan add equal parts water and sugar—1/2 a cup of each will be more than enough for a few cocktails, so plan according to how many people you are serving. Place on low heat and add the leaves of one sprig of rosemary. Allow to cook at a low simmer for 2-3 minutes. The syrup should turn a nice light green color.

Some notes for serving the perfect blood orange whiskey smash: I find that the color of the peel of the blood orange is really attractive so I use a long strip of peel as garnish on the glass. For sweetner I use a combination of simple syrup and maraschino cherry juice. Remember, the tonic water has some sugar too. If you want to reduce the sweetness use soda water instead of tonic.

Blood Orange Whiskey Smash Ingredients

• 2 Ounces of Whiskey

• 1 ounce fresh squeezed blood orange juice

• 1 Tablespoon Maraschino Cherry Juice

• 1/2 ounce rosemary simple syrup (simply add a sprig of fresh rosemary to simple syrup and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes)

• 2 ounces tonic or soda water

• 1 maraschino cherry for garnish

• 1 sprig of rosemary for garnish

• ice

Blood Orange Whiskey Smash Instructions

• Fill cocktail shaker 1/3 with ice

• Add whiskey, blood orange juice, rosemary simple syrup, and maraschino cherry juice.

• Close shaker and shake all cocktail ingredients together

• In a glass, add one sprig of rosemary and a maraschino cherry. Pour cocktail into glass and top with tonic or soda water