Here’s a little Cranberry, Aperol & Ginger Cocktail for those of us who will be manning the kitchen on Thanksgiving this Thursday. Well, those of us who get tipsy on their second glass of ‘juice’ and should no longer be trusted around an open flame 🙋🏻♀️😆.
One of my favorite summer tipples is an Aperol Spritz, but it doesn’t feel quite right to be drinking it when it’s NOT summer. I dunno, is there a rule for Aperol? Like the old rule of not wearing white pants between Labor Day and Memorial Day? Well, I sometimes wear white pants before Memorial Day🙊, so I’ll be drinking my Aperol in winter too!
I love to spend the big holidays tinkering in the kitchen, listening to a good playlist, with a glass of something delicious in hand, the family swanning through from time to time to taste test and check on progress. But it’s a fine line for me, one too many and I forget which timer was meant for which dish, and from there it all starts to snowball into a big disaster.
So here’s a cocktail which is on the lighter side. It’s delicious, refreshing and festive as is, but a little swoosh of gin or vodka wouldn’t go amiss if you’re not in charge! No judgement, remember?! xoxo Kirsty
Ingredients:
For the the Ginger Simple Syrup
Making simple syrup is so easy, and it's fun to experiment with different flavors! Keep whatever you didn't use for your cocktails in the fridge, it will keep for a few weeks and is always handy to have. You never know when you might need a cocktail!
1 cup (236ml) water
1 cup (190g) sugar
2-inch (5cm) piece fresh ginger, sliced
Add water, sugar and ginger to a saucepan. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. When cool, strain out the ginger slices and store leftovers in a jar in the fridge.
To assemble the cocktail (makes 2)
4 fl.oz. cranberry juice (no added sugar)
4 fl.oz. Aperol
4 tsp (20ml) ginger simple syrup
ginger flavored seltzer water, or Prosecco, to top up!
Pour the cranberry juice, Aperol and ginger simple syrup into a small jug. Give it a quick stir and pour into two glasses with ice. Top up with ginger seltzer or Prosecco for bubbles!
