Cranberry Ginger Negroni

Bees Knees Week is 9/23-10/2

It is “Bees Knees” Week and as I was pondering a new honey gin cocktail to create I couldn’t seem to pull myself away from the idea of some kind of modified Negroni. Gin is hands down my favorite spirit and the Negroni is one of my favorite gin cocktails. Last winter I played with the herbal characters of Green and Yellow Chartreuse and the refined floral flavors of Elderflower to come up with a White Negroni since there are many liquors that define a White Negroni that we cannot get in the state of NH. Today, I decided to play with the fruit and acid components of the ingredients without undermining the beautiful honey tones of the gin. I think it worked. I’d love to hear what you think.

There are many choices for bitters right now but if you cannot find cranberry bitters use 100% cranberry juice and the acid and bitters in that will take the place bitters in the cocktail.

Ingredients:

1 oz Tamworth Distilling Apiary Gin or Barr Hill Gin

1 oz Aperol

1/2 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquor

1/2 oz cranberry juice

2-3 dashes of cranberry bitters

Juice of 1/4 of lime

Add all ingredients to a glass filled with ice and stir briskly with a cocktail spoon or an iced tea spoon. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube. Garnish with a lime twist.

This cocktail will be just as good with a London Dry Gin. I wouldn’t use an herbal gin, unless you want to substitute lemon juice for the lime juice and garnish with a rosemary sprig.