Last week at the annual Spirits of Ravenswood event, we featured a great cocktail for fall. The Cranberry Collins is a real crowd pleaser – the ginger plays beautifully with our botanically complex Distiller’s Gin No. 6 and the cocktail is gorgeous to look at. The secret pleasure, though, is hearing the cranberries pop as you make the syrup the day before. It’s a feast for the senses!
Cranberry Collins
1½ oz Distiller’s Gin No. 6
¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
½ oz Cranberry Ginger Syrup (see below)
Club Soda
Combine gin, lemon juice, and syrup in a tin and shake with ice. Strain over fresh ice and top with soda. Garnish with a skewer of fresh cranberries or a lemon twist.
CRANBERRY GINGER SYRUP
1½ cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 cup of fresh cranberries
2-3″ fresh ginger root, roughly peeled and sliced
Combine ingredients in a saucepan, stir well. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Simmer for 5-7 minutes, mashing cranberries with a potato masher occasionally. Remove from heat, and mash once more. Cool completely, then mash again and strain out the solids. Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
