At the holidays our Gourmet Dinner Club (GDC) breaks with tradition and goes out for a leisurely holiday brunch. Since it’s the only meal of the year that’s not dinner, we’re okay with sticking with our original name.

I like to use this opportunity to test out a new holiday cocktail on my foodie friends. We often go to BYOB restaurants – one of the few good things about the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s strict liquor laws is that we have quite a few of these – but this year we picked one with a liquor license. Fear not, I opted to bring the cocktail syrup with me and ordered a bottle of Prosecco when we arrived. A few spoonfuls of syrup mixed with Prosecco makes for a festive libation.

While the orange and honey are sweet, the rosemary provides a bit of savoriness so the end result isn’t too sweet. Here this syrup is served with sparkling wine, but Ed and I also tried it out with bourbon and the end result was quite tasty.  

This syrup is easy to make especially if you use store bought freshly squeezed orange juice. And, you can make it a few weeks in advance, so you’re ready to serve up something fun at any time during the holidays.

Bonus Recipe:  Add a 1-1/2 tablespoons of syrup to 2 ounces of bourbon and serve over a large ice cube in an old fashioned glass.

Orange-Rosemary-Honey Sparkler

 

Orange-Rosemary-Honey Sparkler
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Recipe type: Drink
Author:
Serves: 1-1/2 cups
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) freshly squeezed orange juice (~ 3 oranges)
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • Prosecco or sparkling wine (see Notes)
  • Garnish with small rosemary sprig
Instructions
  1. Add orange juice, honey and rosemary to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve honey. Let boil for about five minutes.
  2. Remove pan from heat and let cool. Refrigerate for a few hours or preferably overnight so the flavors may blend.
  3. Before serving strain the syrup to remove rosemary and pour into a serving container. it's okay if a few small pieces of rosemary remain.
  4. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of syrup to a Champagne flute and top with Prosecco or sparkling wine.
  5. Syrup keeps for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Notes
* This makes enough syrup for about 12 drinks. You’ll need ~ 1-1/2 bottles of Prosecco or sparkling wine.
* Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
* Look for freshly squeezed orange juice at your grocery store to make this drink even simpler to make.
* Syrup will keep frozen for a few months.
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