To be more specific, this Thanksgiving you should have ‘Sex on the Private Beach’! That’s right, the rather dismal disco ‘Sex on the Beach’ gets a delicious Candra Thanksgiving cocktail recipe makeover.
We took inspiration from one of the most discussed ingredients around Thanksgiving, cranberry sauce or jelly. Wether its store bought or homemade, chunky or smooth, an old family recipe or a new recipe hack you found on tiktok. Whichever version you prefer, we’ll show you how to put it to good use. Instead of using it in a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich, put it to work in this recipe, that’s as if a Breakfast Martini drank a Sex on the Beach cocktail.
Back to cocktail chat, the most obvious way to make any recipe at it’s best, is to use great quality ingredients. However, even the best ingredients in the world can’t save a recipe that’s out of balance. The Vodka can be great quality, there are some excellent peach liqueurs out there, orange juice can of course be freshly squeezed, and cranberry juice is a perfectly good ingredient.
Nevertheless, these ingredients combined together in the ‘traditional’ ratio don’t really balance very well. Too much orange juice, along with sweet peach liqueur, creates a drink with no backbone, no structure. It’s all a little soft and flabby. So, in the case of the Sex on the Beach, just buying the best ingredients won’t solve the problem, you need to go a little further.
Firstly, we decided to make the drink punchier, more booze forward, allowing the Vodka to help dry out the recipe, give it a little bite and bring the drink into balance. A recipe that’s closer in style to a Cosmopolitan or Breakfast Martini than it’s long, sugary and juice heavy original. All the flavours are there, they’re just more intense and in balance.
Secondly, the use of cranberry delivers some much needed acidity and dryness. Even though cranberry sauce or jelly requires a lot of sugar to make it edible, good ones still have a sharpness to them.
Depending on the Cranberry sauce or jelly you use, there may be a difference in its sweetness. If so, you may need to adjust the recipe with a dash of sugar or a splash of fresh lemon juice to ensure the drink is in perfect balance. As always, make sure to taste test your drinks before straining into your glass, and adjust if necessary.
Thirdly, quality quality quality. Good quality peach liquor that delivers the actual flavour of peach, not just sugar and artificial flavours. Freshly squeezed orange juice, and of course a Vodka that you would sip in a Martini. Yes, you will notice poor quality Vodka in here, if in doubt of what to buy, head to our Vodka guide.
Never again throw out leftover cranberry sauce, nor leave it at the back of the fridge…until you find it next year with an advanced ecosystem living on it. Spoon it into your shaker, make Thanksgiving cocktails and dream of days on the beach!
How to make this Thanksgiving Cocktail recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Oz VODKA (1 1/2 parts)
- 1 Oz PEACH LIQUEUR (1 part)
- 1 Oz FRESH ORANGE JUICE (1 part)
- 1/4 Oz CRANBERRY SAUCE or JELLY (1/4 part)
- Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker.
- Use a spoon to dissolve the cranberry sauce into the liquids before adding ice.
- Fill shaker with ice.
- Shake hard and fine strain into a cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a twist of orange and serve.
Looking for large format cocktail for stress free hosting this Thanksgiving? You’ll find some delicious recipes on ‘Tis the season for entertaining with ease‘.
As always, don’t forget to show us hat you made by tagging us!
@Candra_Drinks #MakeBetterDrinks #CandraDrinks
