Something tells me that this year your Thanksgiving gathering may need a bit more booze than years past. That’s why I’m here with this sure-to-please recipe that will dull the senses and help you enjoy your holiday. This drink isn’t low-maintenance, but I promise that it is worth all of the time + attention that goes into it. You’ll want to dehydrate the oranges in advance (super simple but takes 3 hours in the oven), or opt for a slice of fresh orange instead.

Recipe yields two cocktails (or one really big one if your Thanksgiving really sucks).

INGREDIENTS

10 drops Orange Bitters (order them on Amazon Prime)
4 oz Irish whiskey
4 oz 100% cranberry juice
2.5 oz honey simple syrup (recipe below)
1 egg white
10 fresh cranberries
2 slices dehydrated oranges (directions below)

The day before (hey, I warned you that these were a labor of love!) you’ll need to prep a few ingredients in advance. Both travel well, so feel free to prepare them before the holiday and take them with you if you’ve got a long drive.

Honey Simple Syrup: Simply combine equal parts warm water and 100% pure honey in a sauce pan (I do 1 cup/1 cup), heat on medium and stir until heated through and combined. No need to bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool, then pour into a glass container (mason jars work great!) and store in the fridge for up to 2 months.

Dehydrated Orange Slices: simply slice an orange 4-5 thin slices. Place wire racks over a cookie sheet and then organize the orange slices onto the wire rack. Cooking them flat on a baking sheet will not work, as you need the air to circulate around them. You can also place the orange slices directly onto your oven rack and put a baking sheet or piece of tinfoil on the rack below them. Heat your oven to 120 degrees, or whatever the lowest temperature is that it will go to (mine only goes down to 170 degrees). Cook the oranges at this low temperature for 2.5 hours and then check on them. You may want to flip them over, or rotate the pan, and then bake, checking every 30 minutes for progress (cook time will vary on the oven, temperature, and thickness of the slices). Mine took about 3.5 hours total. Remove them from the oven and let them cool, then store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place (fridge is great).

DIRECTIONS
(yields 2 cocktails)

Place 10 drops of Orange Bitters into the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add 3 oz Irish whiskey, 2 oz 100% cranberry juice, 2 oz honey simple syrup and shake gently to combine. Add 5-10 ice cubes to the cocktail shaker and top with 1 egg white. Shake vigorously for 60 seconds. Strain into 2 glasses. The egg white should be well incorporated and should leave a thick white foam at the top of the drink.  Top this cocktail with a dehydrated orange slice that you have burnt slightly with a lighter or cooking torch and a skewer of fresh cranberries.

You can substitute the dehydrated orange slice for a fresh orange slice or wedge.

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