Ginger Thyme Blood Orange Sparkler

I have been cutting back recently to give my body a much needed break. It’s not always easy in my line of work as, as you can imagine, and living in a city like San Francisco that has some of the world’s best bars just steps away doesn’t help! But I still like to indulge at home occasionally so I turn to choices that are a little better for me with antioxidants, such as red wine or mixing cocktails with Bai. And that’s how the Ginger Thyme Blood Orange Sparkler came about!

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If you are not familiar with Bai, they are a line of antioxidant drinks using the coffee fruit (surrounds the coffee bean thats used to make a cup of joe) and sweetened with stevia. Head to their site for more details on the benefits of sipping on them! I feel a little better adding them into some of my cocktails. Detoxing while I am retoxing, ha! They recently added a line of bubbly antioxidant drinks which make them all the easier to incorporate into tipples. I love their Blood Orange and Watermelon Lime! I played around with the Blood Orange the other day and found a mix of ginger, thyme and gin were great together and didn’t make me feel like I was drinking a “healthy” cocktail.

This combo is also great for this time of year as summer fruits fade away and fall/winter fruits have not yet begun to show up at the farmer’s market. I like to rely on herbs, spices, liqueurs and healthy juice mixers to carry through me the in-between seasons. Speaking of, one of my tips for extending the life of fruits past their season is through shrubs (drinking vinegars) and dehydrating! I used dehydrated blood oranges for the garnish for this Ginger Thyme Blood Orange Sparkler. I did this earlier this year when they were in season, but you can use a fresh orange slice on the rim if you aren’t as obsessed with blood oranges as I am!

Ginger Thyme Blood Orange Sparkler

tools: shaker, hawthorn strainer

glass: stemmed glass or highball

• 3 oz Bai Bubbles Jamaica Blood Orange
• 1 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz ginger liqueur
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• dash aromatic bitters
• 1/4 oz honey syrup (2:1 parts honey to water) this is optional if you want to cut back on sugars, but adds a nice depth
• garnish: thyme sprig, orange slice or dehydrated orange

Directions

Add all liquid ingredients except for Bai Blood Orange into a shaker with ice and shake. Shake and strain into a glass with ice. Top with Bai and stir. Garnish with thyme and orange slice.