SMOKY BOURBON CRANBERRY COCKTAIL

Smoky bourbon cranberry cocktail is a simple but elegant drink for holiday celebrations during the colder months.

For those of you who love bourbon, we’ve got a special cocktail for the sampling.  This is a rather festive drink containing cranberry.  We add an additional layer of flavor by cold smoking the cranberry cocktail syrup for a unique blend of sweet, tart, and smoky.  Let’s get started on how it’s done.

Making Cranberry Syrup

Our smoked bourbon cranberry cocktail starts with the ingredients for a cocktail syrup.   Similar to traditional simple syrup, this one has a bit more acid in the form of white wine vinegar. You’ll need to gather together:

• 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup of white wine vinegar
• Sugar- 1 cup

You also need a saucepan and heat tolerant spoon.

Start by placing a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the white wine vinegar and the cup of sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Next in, one cup of cranberries, fresh or frozen, though I’m using fresh as they are available at the time of this recipe.  Bring the mixture to a boil stirring constantly.  Once the sugar is dissolved and the cranberries have reduced, remove from the heat and allow to cool in the saucepan.  While the mixture is cooling, let’s prepare the handheld smoker for the smoke vapor infusion.

Cold Smoking is in Your Hand

It’s never been so easy to produce smoked ingredients with the development of the handheld food smoker.  It all began with The Smoking Gun™ which is the unit I will be using today, but know there are many options available to you.   I set up my handheld food smoker with Sugar Maple Minuto® Wood Chips.

Bringing the cooled saucepan to a table, I have a piece of press and seal at the ready, but you can use plastic wrap, a food storage bag, or vacuum bag, anything that will provide a seal.  I seal around the saucepan leaving a small opening to insert the tubing of the food smoker.  Turning the unit’s fan on, I light the wood chips and allow the smoke vapor to fill the saucepan.  Once filled, I release the tubing from the pan and seal the pan completely with the wrap, allowing the smoke to penetrate the cranberry syrup.  The longer the pan stays wrapped, the more smoke flavor the syrup will take on.  Once infused, remove the wrap and prepare to make the cocktail.

Building a Smoky Cocktail

To make the cocktail, place ice in a rock glass.  Add ¼ cup plus a splash of your favorite bourbon.  Add two tablespoons of seltzer and two tablespoons of the cranberry syrup.  Stir and add a tablespoon of fresh cranberries.  It’s now ready to serve!  Smoky Bourbon Cranberry Cocktail – a unique drink for all those bourbon lovers you know.