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Cranberry Margarita

#1: Cranberry Margarita

This is a take on a classic margarita where the orange flavored liqueur (usually Cointreau or Triple Sec) is replaced with cranberry. It also includes my recipe for margarita salt– I mix the salt with a little sugar– and the trick I use to rim glasses perfectly every time.

For 2 drinks:
2 limes
5 oz good tequila (I like Don Julio)
1 oz Black Duck Cranberry Liqueur
1 Tbs fine sea salt or kosher salt
1 tsp evaporated cane juice or white sugar
Ice

Chill two cocktail glasses
Squeeze lime juice into shaker with ice. Reserve squeezed lime peels for rimming glasses.
Add tequila and liqueur, shake.
Remove ice from glasses, take squeezed lime peel and pinch it around the rim of a glass. Run it around the entire rim so there is a thin coating of lime juice on both sides of the glass.
Mix salt with sugar to make tangy margarita salt.
Pour margarita salt onto a plate, shake plate to crate an even coating.
Tip glass upside down and lay wet rim flat on plate. Turn around until rim is coated with salt, set glass upright.
Repeat with second glass.
Strain drink into glasses, serve.

Bloody Manhattan

#2: Bloody Manhattan

Manhattans are one of my favorite cocktails, and need no improvement. This Manhattan, however, uses blood orange and lime juice instead of sweet vermouth, and a little cherry juice, to give it a nice sour cherry citrus twist. If you like sour patch kids, you will love this.

For 2 drinks:
1 blood orange
1 lime
5 oz bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark)
6 Morello cherries plus 1 oz cherry juice from jar
4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Ice

Chill two cocktail glasses
Squeeze orange and lime into shaker
Add bourbon, cherry juice, and bitters. Shake.
Remove ice from glasses.
Pour drinks into glasses, garnish with 3 cherries apiece