This blood orange and prosecco cocktail is quite the lovely way to commence a romantic dinner for two, promises author Anne Stiles Quatrano. The drink, which she dubbed “My Bloody Valentine,” is a simple concoction of blood orange nectar, prosecco, and St. Germain elderflower liqueur. As she explains, the acidity of the blood orange nectar contrasts spectacularly with the sweet elderflower liqueur, so that the resulting drink “has a slight floral taste, but no cloying sweetness.” She tends to serve this in an old-fashioned Champagne coupe, also known as a Marie Antoinette glass—legend has it the vessel was designed after the shape of the ill-fated French queen’s bosom.–Renee Schettler
Blood Orange and Prosecco Cocktail FAQs
You may initially find yourself aghast at just how much blood orange nectar this recipe makes. That is to say, it makes a heck of a lot more than you’ll need for just 2 cocktails. But before you pass judgment on the soundness of our logic in not scaling down the nectar recipe, take a taste of this elixir and imagine all the ways you can use it. More cocktails, for sure. But it also mixes beautifully into sparkling water for a fancy mocktail.
Made from hand-harvested elderflowers, this luxe liqueur from France has delicate floral hints with tropical fruit, citrus, and pear. Expect a light liqueur with a hint of honeysuckle sweetness that gives a little je ne sais quoi to this stunning cocktail.
Blood Orange and Prosecco Cocktail
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker
Ingredients
For the blood orange nectar
- 2 cups fresh blood orange juice, (from 8 blood oranges)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups cold water
For the cocktail
- 2 ounces blood orange nectar
- 1 to 2 ounces St. Germain, (elderflower liqueur)
- 4 ounces prosecco
Instructions
Make the blood orange nectar
- Stir together the orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Let the nectar cool slightly, then strain it through a fine-mesh strainer into a 1-quart glass jar or another container with a lid. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours and up to 2 weeks.
Make the cocktail
- Combine the blood orange nectar, St. Germain, and prosecco in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into 2 chilled coupe glasses or flutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This blood orange and Prosecco cocktail was fun to make, pretty, and festive to serve. I didn’t find blood oranges, so I made the nectar from pink-fleshed Cava Cava oranges. My tasters loved the flavors of the cocktail but thought it was a tad on the sweet side, so for our second glass, we halved the nectar and liqueur. I will make this again for a special brunch.
Stunner of a cocktail! The sweet yet slightly bitter flavor from the blood orange nectar perfectly complemented the dry prosecco in this cocktail. The blood orange nectar was easy enough to make, although I only made half the recipe. I served this in Champagne flutes on New Year’s Eve and it was a hit. I love anything with St. Germain, so I knew this recipe would be a keeper. Cheers!
I always have a few bottles of sparkling wine open for New Year’s Eve. I love sparkling wine by itself or with food, but I also try to include some kind of mixer for variation. This blood orange and prosecco cocktail recipe didn’t disappoint. The blood orange nectar is utterly delicious and looks “bloody” gorgeous. It’s sweet enough and has a good bit of tartness in there to round things out. It is also easy to make, but be careful of a boilover!
I had to make it twice, using half a recipe each time. The nectar is versatile and can be used with sparkling water to make a nice soda. I also cannot wait to try some nectar in a margarita. The only change, for my taste, would be to reduce the St. Germain in the cocktails to 1 ounce. That gave me enough floral aroma and did not overly sweeten the drink or mask the citrus flavors.
Another cocktail I made that night was a bitter version using the blood orange nectar, Prosecco, much less St. Germain, and 1 ounce Campari. Lovely stuff.
This blood orange and Prosecco cocktail was a perfect combination of floral, sweet, and bubbly. Since blood oranges weren’t yet in season when I made this, I used blood orange juice from my local market. I was concerned that adding sugar to an already sweet juice might be too much, but the lemon cut the sweetness and the sugar bulked it up, which helped boost the flavor.
It was so easy to make and my testers enjoyed the drink quite a bit. I might, in the future, combine it with another fruit juice, but the cocktail was perfect the way it was.
Usually, we have several mixers for our parties. At this gathering, I set up the bar with this blood orange and Prosecco cocktail mixer and wine and beer for the set-in-their-ways folk. The young partygoers (all of legal age, thank you) were the more adventurous. It was a hit with our crowd, and the color is the perfect shade for Cupid.
I used 7 oranges, but I used a handheld citrus juicer which gets all the juice and our oranges were on the big side. A note for using the leftover nectar: It comes in handy when you don’t want to imbibe or wish to offer a nonalcoholic drink. I used our soda maker and created a carbonated drink with the leftovers. Soda water could also be used.
Wondering if you might be able to provide a source to purchase the beautiful glass shown in the picture? Thanks!
They are stunning, Susie. I’m not certain of the exact glass that the photographer used for the photo, but this set of glasses on Amazon is pretty close.
Thank you so much, Angie!
You’re welcome, Susie.