St. Patrick’s Day Cocktail: Pot Oro’ Gold (recipe).

When I was a little girl, I totally bought into the whole “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” myth. I actually would chase rainbows anywhere I could find one and I since I was the second fastest runner in my grade, I would run for a long time until I finally gave up. At that point, I couldn’t even hear the voices of my parents yelling at me anymore – I was that far away. Well, decades have passed and now I’m all grown up. I no longer run after fading rainbows, but since I’m over the age of 21, I got a little creative and created a cocktail that gives me the pot of gold whenever I want. Take that, sneaky leprechaun!

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here and since there are already so many Irish whiskey-based drinks out there, I thought I’d switch things up a bit with my new Pot Oro’ Gold cocktail made with gin and Champagne – oh, it’s super classy. Of course if you don’t have Champagne, sparkling wine will do just fine. Why do I call it Pot Oro’ Gold? First of all, the color of the drink and the coupe glass makes it resemble a liquid pot of gold and secondly, the juice used in this drink is made from Oroblanco grapefruits, which translates to “white gold” grapefruits.

If you don’t have yuzu bitters (I received it as a gift), no worries, the drink will still be great. The bitters just adds an extra depth of flavor to the cocktail. Also, if you can’t find Oroblanco grapefruits, then just use a regular grapefruit, but I definitely recommend using fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. I strained out the grapefruit pulp for a smoother texture, by the way. I bought a new gin called Junipero, and I really loved it in this drink. If the days of binge drinking green beer and whisky shots have come to an end for you, then it’s time to make a St. Patrick’s Day drink with some serious sophistication and superb flavors. Impress your guests with my new Pot Oro’ Gold cocktail on March 17th and then let me know what you think. The Champagne floater (or sparkling wine) balances this beauty out and it will leave a pop and the end of your pot o’ gold goodness.

Pot Oro' Gold Cocktail

(makes 1 cocktail)

Ingredients:

*(makes simple syrup for up to 8 cocktails)

*Grapefruit-Ginger Simple Syrup Ingredients:

*Make the simple syrup: Boil all ingredients in a small pot over the stove until dissolved. Let sit for 10 minutes and then strain out solid ingredients.

Directions:

Add gin, grapefruit juice, sage leaves, yuzu bitters and simple syrup to a shaker tin with fresh ice. Shake for 10 seconds and then strain into a coupe or Champagne glass. Top with Champagne and garnish with sage and grapefruit twists. Garnish: roll grapefruit peels and sage leaves up like you would a sleeping bag. Poke 2 of each through on a toothpick or cocktail pick (alternate). Enjoy!