- December 7, 2018
- "Book" Club
The Princess Brandy: The Cranberry Pisco Sour
A holiday friendly cocktail featuring pisco brandy, fresh cranberry juice and syrup, topped with a classic egg white foam.
“Book cwub. Book cwub is what bwings us togeva today.” If you know, you know.
Well this cocktail was inspired by the classic book (and probably more notable, the movie) The Princess Bride. So, I’ve dubbed this drink, The Princess Brandy.
If you’re new around here (welcome), then you may not know what Bon Appeteach Book Club is. It’s a cocktail “club” where we never actually read the books, just make cocktails named after them. See all the cocktails in “book club” under the tab here.
All that being said, this drink is really a fun riff on a classic Pisco sour. Instead of traditional lime juice, I’ve recreated this drink using real cranberry juice and cranberry simple syrup for a fun festive holiday drink.
Grab all the details for how to mix up this perfect pisco sour with cranberries below and dive on in!
The Cranberry Pisco Sour:
- 2 oz. Pisco
- 1 oz. Real Cranberry Juice
- 1/2 oz. Cranberry Simple Syrup (regular simple or keto simple syrup can be used too)
- 1 Fresh Egg White
- Angostura Bitters
- Sugar Coated Cranberries (optional garnish)
How to make cranberry simple syrup:
In order to make an authentic tasting cranberry based cocktail, you have to start with REAL cranberry juice (not cranberry cocktail). You need a base that doesn’t have added sugar or water for the best results.
I like to buy the concentrated, real cranberry juice from Trader Joe’s but you can also find this often at your local grocery store of places like Whole Foods etc.
A traditional simple syrup is equal parts sugar to water. This is often the way I make syrups or even my homemade keto simple syrup (using allulose however, which could also be used here as well).
Because this real juice is super concentrated and has zero additives I actually prefer to do a 2:1 ratio instead. To make the syrup I used 1/2 cup of real cranberry juice to 1 cup sugar.
Add the two ingredients into a pot and bring to a slow boil and cook for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and let it fully cool before using.
How to prepare your cocktail:
Once your syrup is made, you can gather all your ingredients (including your egg white). Egg whites in cocktails may sound bizarre, but it’s actually a fairly common ingredient in several classic and craft based cocktail recipes.
It’s used to create a foam or a froth (seen in the top of the drink) and gives the drink a smooth and velvety mouthfeel. It doesn’t leave an after taste and I don’t usually stress about the fact that it’s raw (but you can use pasteurized eggs if you’re concerned about food borne illnesses).
To get the foam, you will need to follow the steps correctly for the best results. Start by adding you Pisco brandy, cranberry juice, cranberry syrup and the egg white into the based of your cocktail shaker.
You will DRY shake your cocktail (aka shaking it first without ice). Shake it for about 10 seconds and remove the cup to see a nice foam forming before adding ice and shaking again to chill.
Serve this drink into a coupe class and double strain it (gives the foam the best look and removes any ice shards). Add a few dashes of angostura bitters over the top for a nice aromatic.
How to make sugar coated cranberries for a cocktail garnish:
I sometimes get asked about the garnishes I use. To make sugar coated cranberries, I take a 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries and simmer them for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water.
Strain out the cranberries and let them rest on foil for about an hour or so to dry and get a bit tacky. Roll them in sugar and place them on a toothpick or skewer for the cocktail.
The remaining syrup can be saved and used as a cranberry simple syrup for the drink as well.
The Cranberry Pisco Sour
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Pisco
- 1 oz. Real Cranberry Juice
- 1/2 oz. Cranberry Simple Syrup regular simple or keto simple syrup can be used too
- 1 Fresh Egg White
- Angostura Bitters
- Sugar Coated Cranberries optional garnish
Instructions
- Prepare a cocktail glass and shaker with ice. Add in the pisco, cranberry juice, and cranberry simple syrup (can use regular simple syrup or low carb simple syrup too)
- Add in the fresh egg white and shake well.
- Pour into a glass and you should get that signature separation with a foam on top. The bitters is simply meant to be aromatic in this drink. Drop a few dashes right on the foam itself (not into the cocktail). Add the sugar coated cranberries to the top on a toothpick for a festive holiday touch.
Nutrition
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