Warm spices and winter citrus come together to make this punchy spiced blood orange shrub with a soft, festive hue. You probably won’t even miss the alcohol, but if you do, spike each drink with about 1½ oz. vodka or whiskey. And if you can’t get your hands on blood oranges, use orange zest and blood orange juice or a mix of 3 oranges and 1 lemon to mimic the sweet and slightly tangy flavor of blood oranges.
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What you’ll need
Vegetable Peeler
$12 $11 At Amazon
Paring Knife
$14 At Amazon
Mesh Sieve
$16 $15 At Amazon
Glass Measuring Cup
$26 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
8 Servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Remove zest from blood oranges in wide strips with a vegetable peeler, leaving as much pith behind as possible. Set half of zest aside for serving. Slice oranges in half; squeeze juice through a fine-mesh sieve set over a measuring glass or small bowl (you should have about 1 cup juice). Discard pulp and seeds; set juice aside.
Step 2
Bring ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, sugar, remaining blood orange zest, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then strain syrup through a clean fine-mesh sieve into a clean measuring glass; discard solids.
Step 3
Stir vinegar and reserved blood orange juice into syrup. Taste shrub—it should be a well-balanced sweet-and-sour flavor; add more vinegar by the tablespoon if needed.
Step 4
To serve, pour 3 Tbsp. shrub into each of 8 ice-filled glasses. Top off each with 4–5 oz. club soda and stir gently to combine. Garnish with reserved zest.
Do ahead: Shrub can be made 6 weeks ahead. Pour into a 1-pint glass jar; cover and chill.
