This blood orange cocktail combines the tangy flavor and beautiful color of blood oranges with bourbon, bitters, and a homemade rosemary simple syrup.
I don’t know about y’all, but one thing I’m always longing for in the cold winter months are the bright, vibrant colors and flavors of the fruits and veggies of summer. Luckily for all of us, citrus fruits are winter crops!
There are certainly some lovely colors in lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits, but there are none so unique as those colors in blood oranges. We’ve captured that vibrancy in this recipe for a blood orange cocktail.
In this day and age, we have most fruits and veggies available to use year-round in the supermarkets, but blood oranges are a special case. In the Unites States, blood oranges are grown almost exclusively in Texas and California and the season for both starts in December and ends in mid to late spring.
Outside of those months, your only other way of getting this beautiful color and the distinctive flavor of these beautiful fruits is to order blood orange juice online.
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Blood Orange Cocktails are sweetened up with rosemary syrup
To balance with tartness of the oranges, I made a rosemary simple syrup. Rosemary is lovely with any citrus fruits and making your own flavored simple syrup is so… well, simple!
All that goes into traditional simple syrup is equal parts sugar and water. Bring it to a boil while the sugar dissolves, then add a few sprigs of rosemary for a couple minutes before taking it off the heat. Let it cool to room temperature and strain out the rosemary and voila! Rosemary simple syrup.
Does that still sound like a lot of work? You can buy it on Amazon here. I won’t tell anyone.

Tips, tricks and adjustments
For my blood orange cocktails, I used Jefferson’s bourbon, but you can use any bourbon that you like. Keep in mind that the amount below are how I made my drink, but it all depends on how strong you like your drinks and how tart or sweet you want it to be.
The oranges available to you will make a difference, too, because mine were a bit on the tart side. If yours are sweeter you may not want to use as much simple syrup.
Citrus and bourbon are traditional southern ingredients. Read about more here.
For a guide that includes everything you need to make traditional bourbon cocktails like Manhattans, click over here.

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How about a cool treat with the flavors of a classic bourbon cocktail? Click over here for Mint Julep Ice Cream with Bourbon Sauce!
Let us know what you think and don’t forget to follow us and tag us on Instagram if you try it!


Blood Orange Bourbon Cocktail
Ingredients
- 12 oz blood orange juice
- 4 oz bourbon
- 2 oz rosemary simple syrup
- 2 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, adjusting for taste. Pour in high ball glass over ice.
Tayler Ross says
What a gorgeous cocktail! This would be perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Pam says
That’s what we were thinking too. Thanks, Tayler!
Jillian says
These pictures are beautiful! Any suggestions on how to make this as a ‘mocktail’?
Pam says
Thank you so much, Jillian. The flavors would still be complex and interesting if you just leave out the bourbon.
Kellie Anderson says
I make rosemary syrup for using in a triple citrus and pomegranate margarita, but this sounds much simpler and just as good
Pam says
Thanks, Kellie…. and yum, your margarita sounds awesome too!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Blood oranges are my favorite and I love using them in the winter. They make the best cocktails but I have never added rosemary to one. Great flavor combo. Looks like the perfect house cocktail for wine night in my neighborhood!
Pam says
Thanks, Karen. Wouldn’t it be fun to greet guests at the door with one of these cocktails?
Kelly Anthony says
Loving the colors of this blood orange bourbon cocktail! I also love anything with rosemary so this drink is making me double excited!
Pam says
It’s an awesome flavor combination, Kelly. Thank you!
Ginny McMeans says
Wow! I’ve already seen this on the internet and I thought about how much I wanted to make it. Now you’ve reminded me so thanks so much!
Pam says
Happy to remind you, Ginny! However, we believe you will only find this unique combination of flavors at Biscuits and Burlap. We developed the recipe to have some fun twists, unlike any others.