Photo by ASHISH SHARMA on Pexels.com 
Photo by Irita Antonevica on Pexels.com 
Our American readers have been known to complain-“LSS is a bit Anglo Centric, there’s a lot more to the world than one part of one small island in the Eastern Atlantic!” True, very true, and point taken. So as the United States of America (and certain other countries) have their Thanksgiving Dinners coming up soon, we mark the occasion with a cocktail homage to the humble cranberry.
Why the cranberry? Well, on 25th November many Americans will be complementing their traditional turkeys made from the juice of this humble but exceedingly worthy red berry. Many readers of LSS will know that the American-deployed cranberry will most likely be Vaccinium macrocarpyn as opposed to the more British V. oxycoccus. But let’s not be cranberry purists! The juice of the little red fruit is packed with any number of vitamins and minerals, especially manganese, so moderate amounts will do you good. So without further ado, let’s look at three possibilities from Hamlyn’s Ultimate Cocktail Book which bring out the cranberry to its best.
Sea Breeze Put one measure of vodka, 1.5 measures of grapefruit juice, and 1.5 measures of cranberry juice into a hurricane glass. Crush 5 ice cubes and stir but don’t spill. Decorate with lemon and lime slices and serve with a straw. Dead simple, and a perfect opener for party guests, we say.
Sex on the Beach To be honest neither sex nor beaches seem to rank especially high on anyone’s agenda in freezing November, but this one’s got cranberries, so it makes the cut. Take a cocktail shaker and add 1/2 measure vodka, 1/2 measure peach schnapps, 1 measure cranberry juice, 1 measure fresh orange juice, and one of pineapple juice. Add 4-5 ice cubes and shake ’til they break. Pour to a tall glass, decorate with a cherry or two and serve with an environmentally-friendly straw Perhaps certain staid Puritan circles may disapprove of the name-but, hell, even Puritans have to come from somewhere, same as the rest of us.
,This one’s non alcoholic for the drivers. Put 600ml of cranberry juice and 600ml of fresh orange juice in a saucepan together with 150ml of pure water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice. Bring gently to boil and add sugar to taste. Simmer for about 8 minutes and serve to punch cups. Hamlyn recommend decorating with cherries mint sprigs, kumquats and a few cranberries. If you live some where near a fully stocked supermarket that is!
Well, there’s a few curtain raisers for any cranberry-themed dinner party. We hope you enjoy your day, whenever that is, and look forward to weekly round up tomorrow, where we have some great ideas for you
#cranberry #thanksgiving #USA #turkey
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