Blood oranges are in season and I’m making the most of them this year with this special Blood Orange Whiskey Sour. The beautifully sweet and tangy flavor of moro blood oranges really shine when paired with bourbon whiskey, and I’ve taken it to a whole new level with a Cherry Blossom Honey syrup.
Want more blood orange cocktails? Try my Blood Orange & Turmeric Collins!
If you’ve only ever had basic clover honey, let me be the first to tell you you’re missing out! Last year I was introduced to Bee Seasonal when they gifted me sampler of their exquisite honeys, and I am now completely obsessed. The Cherry Blossom Honey is an organic creamy honey from Germany with fruity and almond-like flavors (think marzipan and amaretto). Let’s just say it’s phenomenal and absolute perfection paired with whiskey!
Some of the other incredible Bee Seasonal varietals I’ve had the pleasure of trying recently are their Linden Honey, which is surprisingly minty, fresh, with a melon-like sweetness, and their Silver Fir Honey, a dark and earthy “honeydew” with a rich, malty flavor. Learn more about rare honeydew honeys here. If you’re into using honeys in cocktails, I definitely recommend checking out Bee Seasonal.
If you couldn’t tell, the Cherry Blossom honey is pretty special to me, so I made just enough honey syrup for this cocktail by combining about 1 tbsp of the honey with 1 tbsp water. If using a different honey, or if you want to make enough syrup for multiple cocktails, simply combine equal parts honey and water in a jar and stir until the honey has dissolved. No need to add heat, and you can store the honey in the same jar (covered) in the refrigerator.
Whiskey Sours are perfect in the winter, and blood orange juice and honey syrup liven up this basic whiskey cocktail with bright fruity flavors. Whiskey Sours can be made with egg white to create a rich foam and smooth out sharp flavors. The blood orange juice adds enough dilution and softness here that I chose omit the foam. But feel free to add an egg white (or aquafaba!) to this recipe if you prefer your sours with foam.
Find more fresh winter citrus cocktail recipes here!
Blood Orange Whiskey Sour with Cherry Blossom Honey
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz whiskey (I used Koval Bourbon)
- 1 oz freshly squeezed blood orange juice
- 3/4 oz Bee Seasonal Cherry Blossom Honey syrup
- 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- To create the honey syrup, combine equal parts honey and water in a jar and stir until the honey has dissolved (about a minute). I use this special Cherry Blossom Honey sparingly, so I used 1 tbsp honey and 1 tbsp water to produce only what I needed for this cocktail (3/4 ounce). Store any leftover syrup in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill 3/4 with ice.
- Shake until chilled, about 12 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a slice of blood orange.
