Love a fancy cocktail? Savory rosemary and sweet blood orange come together to make one sophisticated gin and tonic. At the same time, this blood orange-rosemary gin and tonic is approachable and simple to make for even novice mixologists.

A blood orange gin and tonic on a wooden tray with fabric and fresh rosemary sprigs to the left against a dark background.

Something about fresh herb cocktails makes me feel extra fancy. Maybe it's the pretty garnish. Or perhaps it's the modern twist fresh herbs give to classic cocktail recipes. Whatever it is, I'm on board.

I also love how the blood orange gives this drink such a dainty shade of pink. I'm a sucker for all things blush pink, and my cocktails are no exception. Plus, that pretty pink adds to that sophisticated vibe as far as I'm concerned.

And who doesn't love serving company the prettiest of pretty cocktails? To me, a good-looking cocktail always adds to the evening.

Ingredients

Before we start, let's make sure we have all ingredients on hand. Here's what you need to make this blood orange gin and tonic.

Sugar
Water
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Gin
Lime
Freshly squeezed blood orange juice
Tonic water

Step-by-Step Instructions

This fresh herb cocktail starts with a rosemary simple syrup. New to making simple syrup? No problem. They call it simple for a reason. Simmer equal parts water and sugar, throw in a few rosemary sprigs and keep stirring to dissolve the sugar. Within minutes, you're on your way to a tasty drink.

If you have time to make the syrup ahead, I definitely recommend it. I like to give my flavored simple syrups time to steep for an extra boost of flavor, but sometimes you need a cocktail ASAP. Believe me --- I've been there.

I took a sip of the rosemary simple syrup within a few minutes of steeping, and it's plenty delicious. You can always take what you need for this round of drinks and allow the syrup to continue to steep if you're in a time crunch.

Once the rosemary simple syrup is ready, the rest of our mixing couldn't be easier. We simply add the rosemary simple syrup to a glass with the freshly squeezed blood orange juice, gin, lime juice and ice. Now we give it a stir and then top with our sparkling tonic water.

Just like that, our blood orange gin and tonic is ready for our sipping pleasure.

Perfect Pairing

This blood orange gin and tonic is made for a salmon dish. Halibut is great if you're feeling high class. Oh, and imagine how the citrus and would liven up some roast chicken. If you have a sweet tooth, it pairs well with vanilla pudding or panna cotta. The carbonation from the tonic cuts through the heavy cream, and the blood orange and lime meld nicely with the vanilla.

When you need an extra fancy cocktail, I hope you try this blood orange gin and tonic. With one sip, I'm sure you'll instantly fall in love.

Cheers!

An aerial view of the blood orange gin and tonic on a wooden tray with a fresh rosemary sprig coming out of the glass.

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