Chocolate Orange Cocktail – Revive the mystery of the orange with this simple, yet elegant cocktail that marries the traditional holiday flavors of chocolate and orange with yuletide éclat.
In an age before the days of commercial farming and fast, global shipping, an orange was a very special treat – especially on a winter’s day in the northeastern United States where I live. For the lucky recipient, it was a juicy, golden ball of sunshine from a faraway land of warmth and welcome. In those days, the fruit was truly celebrated.
In 19th century America, oranges were most commonly given as a gift at Christmastime, filling the toes of stockings hung by the fireplace with care. They were most often accompanied by walnuts, almonds, and other shelled nuts, which would have been viewed as a special treat at the time. Many still carry on this tradition today.
Alas, as the amaranthine drumbeat of time marches on, we’ve come to take the widespread availability of winter treats such as oranges and clementines for granted. With that in mind, this holiday season I present to you a simple cocktail that celebrates the orange along with another traditional holiday flavor – dark chocolate.
This cocktail is very similar to the White Lady but ditches the lemon juice in favor of orange bitters. The dusting of chocolate shavings not only provides a festive appearance but also creates a unique and delightful drinking experience as well. The chocolate will remain firm while sitting on the surface of the drink, but instantly melts in your mouth as you take a sip – and this is most definitely a “sipping” type of drink. To enhance this effect, use a microplaner to create your chocolate shavings.
For this fragrant libation, be sure to use quality dark chocolate that’s at least 60% cacao. It also helps to use a top shelf orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Hopefully you still have some left after making Rachel’s chocolate-dipped orange shortbread cookies.
As you’re enjoying this seasonal treat, give a nod to the now-humble orange and remember that they were once not so easy to acquire. Consider the mystery that surrounded such a gift in the past, when it was impossible to just go out to the corner store and buy one. Imagine those far-away places where the tropical sun shines brightly on the orange groves…
Happy Holidays from Simple Seasonal! Revive the mystery of the orange with this simple, yet elegant cocktail that marries the traditional holiday flavors of chocolate and orange with yuletide éclat.
Chocolate Orange Cocktail
Ingredients
Instructions
Merry Christmas, Rachel:
In addition to the fabulous photography and inspired cocktail idea, I want to comment that you are an excellent writer. In particular, in your introduction to yourself, you used the word “healthful” rather than the ubiquitous “healthy” to describe the recipes and ingredients you prefer. “Healthful” promotes “healthy.” Thanks for the inspiration and good read.
Thanks for the Christmas well wishes Lizzie! Sorry it took a few days for me to reply to your lovely comment. For a few days I managed to disconnect from my daily cyber existence for some Christmas family fun time. Thanks for commenting on the quality of writing on Simple Seasonal. My husband Dan, who did such a good job writing this post, and myself are always striving to make the content on this blog high quality and better over time. We are always trying to avoid mindless dribble about our otherwise normal lives, and instead want to bring something useful and entertaining to our readers! Let us know if there is anything you would like to see from Simple Seasonal in 2016!
Chocolate orange in a cocktail? I need to try these! Beautiful photography! 🙂
Thanks Marsha! It really is a fantastic flavor combo, so it obviously needs to be drowned in liquor. 😉 Thanks for the compliment – Rachel did a great job with the photos.
Chocolate/orange is by far one of my most loved flavour pairings! This drink would most certainly make my tastebuds dance.
Thanks Jacquee! The best part is when the chocolate melts in your mouth when you take a sip!
Love your photos! I still get a chocolate orange in my stocking every year… good memories 🙂
Thanks Natasha – I always used to get one of those when I was a kid, too. Rachel’s photos are great, aren’t they? Watching her stage one of my cocktails for a photo shoot never ceases to amaze me. She has a way of capturing the exact mood I pictured in my mind without me ever explaining it. 🙂
I love this flavor combination!! I would love it if you would link it up to Tipsy Tuesday at Grey is the New Black!
Thanks Pam – this reply is coming a bit late, so thanks for allowing us to participate in Tipsy Tuesday. Love it!
I’d never thought to sprinkle chocolate on top of the drink but I love the idea, so creative!
Thanks Teresa! The microplaner really makes the difference with the chocolate. If the shavings are too big, it doesn’t have the same effect.
This is really gorgeous and a really unique idea, I am pinning for later! I love the idea of chocolate being in a drink recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Sara! There’s always a place for chocolate, right? 😉
This looks like so wonderful and yet so easy to make. Very unique too! Your photos are wonderful, by the way! Thanks for sharing this…I’ve Pinned this one!
–G
Thanks Ginger! Yep, there is beauty in simplicity. Thanks for pinning!
Congratulations! This post is going to be featured over at Diana Rambles tomorrow and has been pinned in the Featured at Diana Rambles board at Pinterest, Tweeted, and Yummed. Please grab a featured button off my button page or via the post guidelines graphic. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
Awesome Diana! Thanks for featuring our recipe. I’ll be sure to promote your post on my social media. 🙂