Are you searching for a stowstopping cocktail to complete your Valentine’s Day menu? Well, my friends, you’ve come to the right place — because today I’m sharing the recipe for these gorgeous Blood Orange Creamsicle Mimosas! With just 3 ingredients (and a big wow factor), these elegant cocktails combine vibrant, freshly squeezed blood orange juice and Spanish Cava with a hit of creamy vanilla liqueur for an elevated, seasonal twist on the classic mimosa!
Whether you’re spending Valentine’s Day with that special someone, celebrating Galentine’s style with your favourite ladies or savouring some quality solo downtime, my Blood Orange Creamsicle Mimosas are the perfect love day elixir. Enjoy them over brunch, après dinner, during a candlelit bath or anytime you want to indulge in the beautiful flavour of blood oranges complimented by a healthy dose of bubbles. Simplicity really is the ultimate sophistication — cheers to love, friends and delicious sparkling cocktails!
BLOOD ORANGE CREAMSICLE MIMOSAS
Technically, this was the first recipe idea I came up with in 2017! If you keep up with my Instagram Stories (stop by for a peek into my day-to-day life and creative process!) you may faintly remember Cava bottles chilling in the snow on New Years Day (I know… so Canadian, right?!). We spent the day at my childhood home in rural Alberta with family and mimosas have become a recent tradition to usher in a fresh new year. Pop, fizz, clink!
As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m the resident mixologist at family get togethers. While I was mixing up our first cocktails of 2017, I noticed the leftover Galliano Vanilla Liqueur from one of the many batches of Vanilla Pomegranate Mulled Wine I made over the holidays. After my first mimosa, I wondered how a splash of vanilla liqueur would play in our New Years Day cocktails. I wasn’t sure if it was just the Cava talking, but felt compelled to investigate further — so I made the next round with my ‘secret ingredient’ and they were a total hit! The vanilla liqueur heightened our traditional mimosas beautifully and infused them with a soft, creamsicle like essence.
This recipe idea has been filed away in the back of my brain ever since. And while I’m pretty much done with winter at this point, one thing I can appreciate is the bountiful citrus varieties available to us at this time of year. I’ve been eating my body weight in blood oranges recently — and as I was devouring yet another blood orange earlier this week, the idea popped into my head to recreate my creamsicle mimosas using fresh blood orange juice. The results were as beautiful as they were delicious… and here we are!
I tend to favour complexity in my cocktails — but when something just works, it works! My Blood Orange Creamsicle Mimosas are definitely the simplest cocktail recipe I’ve ever published, containing just 3 ingredients. That said, when you’re using so few ingredients, the quality of each ingredient is key. So, I chose my favourite Cava of the moment, the Cava Anna de Codorníu Brut. It’s citrusy, tropical and creamy, while being extremely dry — which is just how I like my bubbles! If you’re not familar with Cava, it’s basically Spanish champagne (technically Spanish sparkling wine) — and it’s a lot easier on the wallet! There are many delicious champagne alternatives to choose from, but my favourites are Prosecco (Italy’s take on sparkling wine) and Cava.
One of the reasons I published this recipe in time for Valentine’s Day is because it’s peak blood orange season — at least in Canada. Maybe I’m just paying more attention to unique produce since I’ve started blogging, but lately I’ve noticed blood oranges popping up everywhere! My personal favourites are the Moro variety — their flesh can range in colour from pink, to red orange to purple. They’re also less acidic than most traditional orange varieties and have slight raspberry overtones. February’s blood oranges are absolutely delicious and packed full of vitamin C, anthocyanins and flavenoids, containing up to 40% more vitamin C that common orange varieties (I’ll take any opportunity to get a little extra nutrition in, even in my cocktails!). And yes — blood orange juice really is that vibrant shade of red! It naturally settles into the bottom of the glass, creating this gorgeous sunset ombre. If you make them at home and follow my instructions, I promise yours will be equally as pretty!
If you didn’t catch my rave review of Galliano Vanilla Liquer in my Vanilla Pomegranate Mulled Wine post, let me rehash: it’s a sweet, herbal liqueur with a huge dose of smooth vanilla goodness. It works especially well to add a luxurious, creamy flavour to these Blood Orange Creamsicle Mimosas without overpowering the Cava or the blood orange juice. Galliano isn’t expensive, but it’s a versatile, high quality ingredient that I totally recommend stocking in your bar — it plays well in so many beverages!
INGREDIENTS
Serves 1
• 1 oz freshly squeezed blood orange juice
FYI, 1 blood orange yields approximately 1 oz of juice!
• 0.5 oz Galliano Vanilla Liqueur
• 3 oz of your favourite dry Cava or Prosecco
I used Cava Anna de Codorníu Brut
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Halve a blood orange and juice the flesh. Add 1 oz of fresh blood orange juice to the bottom of a champagne flute.
2. Add 0.5 oz Galliano Vanilla Liqueur to champagne flute.
3. Top things off with 3 oz of chilled Cava or Prosecco.
4. Serve immediately and enjoy!
- 1 oz freshly squeezed blood orange juice (1 blood orange yields approximately 1 oz of juice)
- 0.5 oz Galliano Vanilla Liqueur
- 3 oz of your favourite dry Cava or Prosecco (I used Cava Anna de Codorníu Brut)
-
Halve a blood orange and juice the flesh. Add 1 oz of fresh blood orange juice to the bottom of a champagne flute.
-
Add 0.5 oz Galliano Vanilla Liqueur to champagne flute.
-
Top things off with 3 oz of chilled Cava or Prosecco.
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Serve immediately and enjoy!
MORE CREATIVE WINTER COCKTAILS & SANGRIAS
Vanilla Pomegranate Mulled Wine
Sparkling Pomegranate Cranberry Sangria
Classic Winter Citrus Red Sangria
Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s Day)? Have any fun plans? Whether you’re spending it with a loved one, your girlfriends or enjoying some solo downtime I hope you all have a wonderful day, fueled by a warm and fuzzy mimosa-induced buzz! Cheers, everyone.
Disclaimer: Thank you Rebecca Dawn Design for the beautiful ranunculus I used to style these photos. This post is not sponsored, and contains my genuine thoughts, ideas and recommendations. JustineCelina uses affiliate and referral links, which allow me to receive a small commission when you make a purchase through one of my links. Thank you for supporting the brands and businesses that support JustineCelina.com!
33 Comments
These are not only beautiful, but sound so delectable, too. I’m also loving the citrus bounty right now. Blood oranges are one of my faves, and I’m trying to think up a special occasion (do I need one?) as an excuse to make these lovely cocktails.
Thank you so much for stopping by, Colleen! Is Saturday morning considered a special occasion? Haha. Seriously though, these are ready in a snap and require so few ingredients they’re perfect for lazy weekends. 🙂 Cheers!
You are so creative and your pictures are beautiful. I am saving this one for a special week at a Lodge at the Nordik spa in April. I have never tried Galliano Vanilla Liqueur, looking forward it to.
Thanks for such a sweet comment, Sandra — it totally made my day! 🙂 Galliano is a fantastic, versatile mixer — just a splash adds a beautiful, creamy essence. Enjoy your spa retreat in April and please report back with your tasting notes. Have a great weekend!
Love that you’re the mixologist! And that cava sounds amazing. Sadly, I don’t think I can get it out here. My favourite bubbles are cava so that’s a bummer. Love the vanilla spiked mimosa! I have blood orange mimosa, but with tequila in it on my blog too and they’re perfect to winter those winter blues. Have a fabulous weekend!
Samantha, I bet you can totally find it in Vancouver and area! It’s a very modestly priced bottle and it’s readily available — at least here in Calgary. I know you’re a fan of the La Marca Processo (also a favourite of mine!) so I bet you’d love the Cava Anna de Codorníu Brut. And I can totally see how tequila would also be fantastic in a blood orange mimosa combo! Great minds. 🙂
Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!
Cava is my favourite sparkling, it’s higher quality than prosecco and so under appreciated.
I’ve only been on the Cava train for about a year, but I don’t plan on getting off anytime soon! It really is so delicious. 🙂 Cheers and thanks for stopping by, Ayngelina! I loved your Holi inspired post today.
These are beautiful, Justine! That shot of the oranges from above is just too pretty. Those flowers <3
Thank you so much, Alexandra. Blood oranges are just SO beautiful — working with them is such a delight! They’re really fun to photograph. 🙂 These are the same blooms are may currently be residing on your desktop (recycled from February’s edition of Digital Blooms!). Cheers and enjoy your weekend!
These are ridiculously pretty, but I was a little hesitant at first. I think the word creamsicle (accurate and evocative though it may be) had me thinking about realllllly sweet drinks. But this sounds pretty amazing! The Galliano seems like a really wonderful and unique way to put a spin on the citrus/bubbly combination. Honestly, it’s inspired. I really love the way the juice settles and gives that ombre that you mentioned. I might have to pick up a nice bottle of Cava sometime soon! 🙂 Cheers.
That was actually a huge consideration for me in the naming of this recipe Sean! The creamsicle essence is very soft (in the best way possible) and I didn’t want people to be deterred by the name. I figured readers familiar with my recipes will know that I despise overly sweet drinks (and sweet wines!) but I totally agree that the word ‘creamsicle’ conjures up images of overly sugary things. I was hoping that juxtaposed with blood orange and mimosas it would translate — they really do taste creamsicle-like (just more creamy than sweet!). 🙂
Thanks for stopping by to see what I’ve been up to lately and cheers, my friend!
Oh Justine! This IS a showstopping cocktail and you know I’m always on the lookout for one. And those GLASSES. Gorgeous. I’ll be saving for later, fo sho.
Thanks, Kristy! Admittedly, I stop into Anthropologie way too often to shop for decor, glassware and styling props. As soon as I spotted these, I knew they’d be perfect for these mimosas! Hope you’re enjoying your long weekend. 🙂
These are jaw-dropping, Justine! I love the ombre effect in those tall glasses. Really, they’re too pretty to drink (but we all know I’d drink them all in a snap, lol).
The best mimosa I’ve ever had was at this brunch joint just on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh. I think you’d love this place, but I *will* say, I have a feeling these mimosas would out-rival the ones I speak of.
I really need to spend more time here and comment more. I’ve been a bad friend! My blogging + freelance schedule has been strange the past few weeks. Hoping to be back to normalcy (whatever that is) soon.
Hey girl! Thanks for the sweet comment. I must admit I’ve been indulging a these mimosas probably more often then I should, but they’re just SO tasty! Hopefully one day we can share a Blood Orange Creamsicle Mimosa together IRL — add it to the menu of all the things we must eat and drink!
And no worries — life is busy and I’m happy to see your face around here whenever you do have the time! You’ve been cranking out some amazing content lately, I can tell you’re enjoying your new photography set up and it looks like you’re putting the Epic Blog planner to good use as well. Keep it up!
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Your blood orange mimosas are stunning! What a gorgeous beverage to enjoy over a delicious brunch.
Thank you so much, Julia! Cheers!
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