From Cypress Blood
Blood & Crown
Crown Royal and chilled mulled cranberry meet over ice in a tart, spiced cocktail inspired by the darker half of the Cypress Run Quartet.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 2 hrs 25 min
- Makes
- 1 cocktail, with mulled cranberry base for roughly 6 servings
- Course
- Cocktail
- Cuisine
- Holiday
This is the cocktail that made me decide I needed themed drinks for all four books.
Cypress Blood and Cypress Crown were coming out in October and December, respectively, so while talking about books and release dates, I kept saying “Blood and Crown” together.
And when you say “Blood and Crown” too many times, eventually you start wondering what that would taste like with Crown Royal.
How can you not?
And because fall was coming up, it had to be a fall drink. From there, it practically built itself: Crown Royal shaken with chilled mulled cranberry juice, warm holiday spices, orange, and just enough sour cherry to lean into the “Blood” side of the equation.
The result is dark, tart, warming despite being served cold, and just a little dramatic.
Which, come to think of it, also describes the second half of the Cypress Run Quartet pretty well.
Ingredients
- Mulled Cranberry Base:
- 4 cups 100% cranberry juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 whole cloves
- 1 orange
- 2 – 4 Tbsp brown sugar
Per Cocktail:
- 4 oz chilled mulled cranberry
- 2 oz Crown Royal
Garnish
- Orange Peel
- Sour-cherries in syrup
Directions
- Wash the orange and stud it evenly with the cloves by pressing them directly into the skin.
- Add the orange, cinnamon stick, and brown sugar to the cranberry juice. Gently simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, then strain and transfer to a heat resistant container that can be put in the refrigerator to chill.
- Add 4 oz of chilled cranberry base, 2 oz Crown Royal, 1 barspoon of sour-cherry syrup, and ice to a cocktail shaker. Shake until cold, then strain over one large fresh ice cube.
- Garnish: Express an orange peel over the top and drop it in along with 1 sour cherry.