Upgraded Blood Orange Screwdriver Recipe

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Anyone can mix together vodka and orange juice: This summer, give your mixologist routine a twist and reach for the blood oranges to create our truly elevated blood orange Screwdriver recipe. It's a pretty, juicy take on an old favorite, and we're loving its bright, bittersweet flavor.

If you're dreaming of afternoons spent driving with the rooftop open along the Amalfi coast, only to settle down for a long afternoon of cocktails in the middle of an Italian piazza, then this take on the Screwdriver is for you. It combines sharp, bitter Aperol liqueur and takes it from its customary utilization in a spritz to use as a pleasantly acrid building block in our updated Screwdriver recipe. We start with a simple, vibrant, and zesty homemade blood orange syrup — which might be something you'll want to call on for other cocktails throughout the summer — and build on the bright, fresh flavor with citrus-infused vodka and hand-squeezed blood orange juice.

Say goodbye to bland cocktails and hello to possibly the most refreshing sip of the summer. When blood orange meets vodka, you know things are about to get spicy in here. 

For the blood orange syrup that forms the flavor of this drink, you'll need freshly squeezed blood orange juice, cane sugar, blood orange zest, and salt. For the cocktail itself, you'll need citrus-infused vodka, Aperol, blood orange syrup, more fresh-pressed blood orange juice, large ice cubes, and a blood orange twist, for garnish. For extra flavor, you can make your own citrus-infused vodka.

To prepare the blood orange syrup, combine the juice with the sugar, zest, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Cook the syrup until it coats the back of your spoon.

Cool, strain, and bottle the syrup.

Combine the vodka, Aperol, syrup, and juice in a shaker or mixing glass.

Stir with ice for 15 seconds until properly diluted and chilled.

Strain the drink over large ice cubes in an old-fashioned glass.

Express the oils from the orange twist over the surface of the drink, garnish with the twist, and serve.

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By now, you probably know what blood oranges are, but if you're not a fan of their flavor or you can't find them in your part of town at this time of the year, you can still enjoy all the flavors of this updated Screwdriver cocktail. First off, the easiest substitution to the homemade blood orange syrup and blood orange juice is to get a can of San Pellegrino aranciata rossa, the Italian brand's blood orange flavor, which now even comes in a light variation. You can use a store-bought blood orange syrup in place of the homemade one, and you're good to go on making this deep-flavored sipper.

If you'd rather go with another citrus, then we love this cocktail with Cara Cara oranges, Sumo oranges, or even regular navel oranges. Cara Cara oranges have a unique pinkish-red flesh that looks similar to a blood orange hue, but they tend to be sweeter and less tart. Because of their natural sweetness, you might want to reduce the amount of cane sugar in the syrup to avoid overpowering the drink. Pricy Sumo oranges are known for their juicy, sweet, and mild flavor with low acidity. They'll give you a very sweet and mellow cocktail, so you'll definitely want to go light on the syrup, or omit it altogether. And in the case of regular navel oranges, you can keep the same proportions as in the blood orange variation, but your overall cocktail will be a lot less nuanced. 

The Screwdriver is one of the most well-known cocktails across the United States, yet its origin is clouded in mystery — or at least, a fair amount of debate. For starters, historians can't seem to agree whether the drink was actually invented in the U.S. or if it originated elsewhere in the world. Despite this, most accounts agree that it rose to prominence somewhere around the time of the Second World War, reflecting vodka's rising popularity. In the United States, vodka was only introduced to the public when Smirnoff was sold to an American distiller in the 1920s, and it took another 20 years to truly become a commonly ordered alcohol. 

From there, the story gets murkier. Some claim the drink was invented by the Marines, while others suggest it was actually America's Air Force fighters who gave the drink its identity. Still other sources debate if the drink owes its nascence to Turkish or other Middle Eastern regions, where American soldiers allegedly mixed their vodka-orange juice with a Screwdriver. Whatever the drink's true origin, one thing remains true — it is as popular today as it was 80 years ago. 

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