I think I’m having the opposite of a Dry January (who decided to make that a thing – rude!). Mixing up a special cocktail has become part of our stay-at-home weekend rituals now. With more time hanging around the house, I’ve really been enjoying experimenting with new combinations. This drink has a flavorful simple syrup that was inspired by some beautiful blood oranges I found at Trader Joe’s last week. The blood oranges get simmered with a simple syrup mixture, and fresh rosemary sprigs and spiced cinnamon sticks. It’s a fragrant mixture that has all of my favorite cocktails notes — herbs, citrus, and a touch of spice. The syrup gets chilled and mixed with gin, then topped with bubbly prosecco or champagne — it makes for a festive bubbly drink! Get the recipe below: 
- 1 Cup of Water
- 1 Cup of Sugar
- 1 Rosemary Sprig, plus more for garnish
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Small Blood Oranges, plus more orange peels for garnish
- Gin
- Champagne
- Combine water, sugar, 1 rosemary sprig and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan; squeeze the juices of the blood oranges into the pan and add in the remaining orange peels.
- Simmer the mixture over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes, until it reduces by about one half.
- Strain the syrup into a glass container, and discard the rosemary sprig, cinnamon stick and orange peels. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour or until ready to use.
- Combine 1.5oz of the chilled simple syrup with 1.5 oz of gin in a cocktail glass, top with chilled champagne and garnish with a rosemary sprig and orange peel.
