Grapefruit Ginger Cava Brunch Cocktails

July 28, 2016  •  Beverages,

comosa-from-comidaI’m not much of a cocktail girl, preferring usually any kind of sparkling wine – and I do mean any kind as I enjoy prosecco, cava, champagne, sparkling, franciacorta, and more with equal pleasure. And although I might have been a fan of mimosas once in my life, I find the orange juice too cloying, and have steered away from that at most brunches. But when I ate at Comida at The Source recently, I was tempted by and fell in love with what they call a Comosa – as in Comida’s version of a Mimosa.grapefruit-slices-still-lifeThe waitress was kind enough to get the recipe from the bartender, but it took a bit of work testing out ratios – although I must say I didn’t see my friends objecting to trying a few versions after exercise one Friday morning!grapefruit-juiceYou can use any grapefruit, but I think ruby red gives you the prettiest result. Juice them and don’t worry about straining out the pulp – you’ll do that later.ginger1You’ll also need a pretty large quantity of fresh, peeled ginger – about a 1-inch cube for each cup of juice you are using, plus more for steeping later.grapefruit-ginger-comosaAfter making the simple syrup you strain out all of the solids, and store it in a jar in the refrigerator (or freezer – see note below). My first taste test was 4 parts cava to 1 part of the grapefruit-ginger simple syrup. While that makes a very pretty drink, I found this just a little too sweet, although you might love it like this! I ended up juicing more grapefruits, and kept all of the pulp with the second batch of juice, and in the final cocktails I served, I mixed 4 parts cava with 1 part grapefruit-ginger syrup and 1 part grapefruit juice (with the pulp). Fabulously refreshing, and a great hit at the bridal shower brunch where I served them!

Note: If you want to have this concoction on hand for any time you want to make the drink, combine equal parts grapefruit ginger syrup and grapefruit juice, mix well, and pour into ice cube trays to freeze. A single cube should be just right for a flute of sparkling wine, and you can easy thaw it quickly in the microwave.

Grapefruit Ginger Cava Brunch Cocktails
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Serves: 2 quarts of simple syrup
Ingredients
  • 4 cups freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice (5-6 grapefruit)
  • 4 1-inch cubes of peeled fresh ginger, sliced
  • 4 cups sugar
  • Ginger, to taste (I used about 8 ounces more)
  • Cava or other sparking wine
  • Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Instructions
  1. Combine the 4 cups of juice with the sliced ginger and sugar and bring to a boil; reduce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour into a covered container and refrigerate overnight.
  2. Strain out and discard the solids. Transfer the simple syrup to covered jars and add more chopped fresh ginger (I had two jars and put about 4 ounces of chopped ginger into each jar). Refrigerate for a couple of days to infuse the ginger flavor into the syrup, then strain and discard the ginger. Return the syrup to the jars and store in the refrigerator.
  3. To make the cocktails, combine 4 ounce of sparkling wine (I used cava) with 1 ounce of the grapefruit-ginger syrup and 1 ounce of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, or adjust ratio to your personal tastes.
  4. To store in the freezer for future cocktails, combine equal parts of the grapefruit-ginger syrup and grapefruit juice, pour into ice cube trays, and freeze. Pop out of the trays and store in a bag in the freezer, and thaw one cube per cocktail you wish to make.

 

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  1. Carole from Carole's Chatter says:

    Hi Michele, this is great. I hope you bring it over to Food on Friday: Free For All. Cheers from Carole’s Chatter

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