5 from 6 reviews

The Bloody Rose is what we are calling this Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini which is a delicious fall cocktail drink made with vodka, blood orange liqueur, lime juice, rosewater, and a cranberry jam called Cranberry Relish with Grand Marnier. However, you can use any gourmet cranberry preserve or compote. Read on to learn more about blood orange and two other flavors I “pooh-poohed” and then had to take back my words once I tasted the recipe.

Vodka-Blood-Orange-Cranberry-Martini-Spoonabilities — *Recipe post may have affiliate links; read our* *disclosure policy*. *Photographs ©Carlos Leo, Spoonabilities*

Hello my friends. Geoffrey here. Yes, I know you are used to hearing from Carlos, but this week I’m helping him with this new fall cocktail. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that he comes to me for help with the alcoholic drinks. He knows I was a (unsuccessful) bartender in the past. He also knows that for me to write about a drink, I need to sample it again and again to make sure it’s just right ;) Poor us for having to do recipe tasting over, and over, and over again. Sometimes I lie and tell Carlos something needs tweaking just so he'll make the dish again... but don't tell him that!

Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini, aka the Bloody Rose Martini in a retro cocktail glass in a pedestal. Decorated with orange fall leave, pine cone & acorn. In the left side a small bowl with fresh cranberry. Spoonabilities.com

I am originally from up north in the Philadelphia region. I’ve been here in Miami for 19 years now so I have to call myself a Floridian. But I do miss the autumn months up north, when the leaves turn red and orange, and the weather gets cool. Jackets are a must, and it’s time to break out the warming cocktails and drinks with apple cider, and caramel, hot chocolates, and café mochas. Well this Blood Orange Cranberry Martini is cold to the touch, but it will certainly warm your belly. It’s also got some fall flavors like blood orange, which I think is a warming, autumn taste and color, as well as cranberries and wine.

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Blood Orange & Cranberry – Perfect Autumn Flavors

We all know that cranberry season is in the autumn months. Why else would cranberry sauce be on everyone’s Thanksgiving table, whether it’s eaten or not. But besides cranberry sauce, cranberries are great in drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike. Besides the most popular Cosmopolitan and Vodka Cranberry, if you google ‘drinks with cranberry juice’ you get 98 million results. Cosmos were my favorite and go-to drink when I lived in Philly, and... well, that’s a whole other story. I digress. For this special fall martini, instead of cranberry juice, we use Cranberry Relish with Grand Marnier. It is a delicious thick cranberry “jam” which we just tasted, tested, and made this cocktail as its first appearance in the Spoonabilities recipe book.

Blood orange is another fall flavor that Carlos and I have discovered in the past year, and love it both in its natural form of juice squeezed from the blood oranges themselves, and also blood orange liqueur.

Video: What is a Blood Orange?

For a quick look at what a blood orange is and what it tastes like, check out this very short video:

When are Blood Oranges in Season?

Technically blood oranges are in season from December through April or May, but with their “bloody” name and deep, dark color, I think of them more in the Halloween to post-Thanksgiving season, and of course now that we found the liqueur, in my opinion they are a year-around flavor. If you haven’t tried blood oranges, you must taste them. They have a maroon-red-orange color inside, and often there is some reddening on the outside. But sometimes the reddening is not there yet and they can be confused for ‘regular’ oranges so make sure you are getting the right ones. We started to make some recipes with blood oranges and so far we have Cherry Pumpkin Scones with Blood Orange Maple Syrup Glaze, and a Blood Orange Vodka Soda Cocktail which we just published. We love blood oranges, so why not subscribe to our Foodletter, and you’ll be the first to know when we publish the next one.

Video with a deeper look at Blood Oranges

For a more in-depth look at blood oranges, here’s more information:

Yucky flavors that had me bite my tongue

Carlos loves to experiment with flavors – the sign of a great chef. He comes up with some pretty funky ingredients which I sometimes “pooh-pooh” at first. I don’t even want to try them. But then once I taste them, have to bite my tongue, take my comments back, and say I’m sorry. Blood orange is one of those flavors that I didn't want to try and now love it. Another was making a cocktail with vinegar. But lo and behold, when we made the Gin Prosecco Cocktail that has White Balsamic Vinegar in it, I was amazed how much I love it. Well, rosewater is another one of those “bite my tongue and try it before you say anything” flavors. Rosewater is used in baklava which I love, so I’m not sure why I was skeptical about putting it in this Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini, but it definitely brings about a wonderful accentuation.

How to make a Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini

If you read this far, you’re probably saying “finally he’s getting to the cocktail.” Sorry about that. I got a little carried away with the autumn flavors that we discovered this year. Anyway, what you need for this delicious autumn cocktail is vodka, blood orange liqueur, lime juice, rosewater, and some Cranberry Relish, however you can use any gourmet cranberry preserve or compote. Making the drink is fairly simple. Squeeze the juice of one lime in a shaker and combine with jam and rosewater. Stir until well combined and the jam is fully dissolved. Then add ice to the shaker, and pour in the vodka and blood orange liqueur. Shake vigorously, and double strain into chilled martini glasses. As you can see in the photos, we garnished with some eatable red rose buds, but you can use a slice of blood orange if you have it, or a regular orange, orange peel, or even a lime slice.

Rosewater cranberry martini in a vintage glass coupe. spoonabilities.com

We hope you enjoy this Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini. We had a hard time coming up with its name. Some of the other names we thought of were Bloody Rose Martini (which seems to be the favorite of our Instagram followers), Bloody CranJam Martini (because it has Cranberry Jam in it), and Bloody Cranberry Jam Martini. If you like any of these names better, or have a better idea, let us know. We would love to hear it.

Keep an eye on our drink recipes because we have about 12 lined up to release in the upcoming months. Are we borderline alcoholics? That’s for you to decide. As I said, this cocktail is easy to make, so do give it a try, and if you love blood oranges, try our newest Blood Orange Cocktail with Ginger Beer. Let us know what you think, and share some pictures with us. If you like our drink recipes, let us know and why not follow our drink board on Pinterest.

Until next time, wishing you Tasty Happenings,

Geoffrey & Carlos

Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini in a vintage coupe glass with fall decor in the background. Photo by Spoonabilities.com

Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini – the Bloody Rose Martini

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 6 reviews

Author: Carlos Leo
Total Time: 5
Yield: 2 1x

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Description

The Bloody Rose is what we are calling this Vodka Blood Orange Cranberry Martini which is a delicious fall cocktail drink made with vodka, blood orange liqueur, lime juice, rosewater, and a cranberry “jam” called Cranberry Relish with Grand Marnier. We thought of naming this drink Bloody Rose Martini, Bloody Cranjam Martini (because it has Cranberry Jam in it), and Bloody Cranberry Jam Martini. What name do you like best?

Ingredients

Units Scale

5 oz. vodka
4 oz. blood orange liqueur
1+½ oz. lime juice (juice from one fresh lime)
4 teaspoons of Cranberry Relish or Jam
1+½ teaspoons rosewater
Garnish with eatable red rose buds

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Instructions

Squeeze the juice of one lime and in a shaker combine with jam and rosewater.
Stir until well combined and the jam is fully dissolved.
Add ice to the shaker, and pour in vodka and blood orange liqueur.
Shake vigorously, and double strain into chilled martini glasses.
Garnish with eatable red rose buds