The Bullseye Cocktail.
If you detect a trend in our weekly cocktails toward citrus and spice combinations, you win a gold star. 😉 To our tastes, few flavor combinations work better for the holiday season. And one of our favorite flavor combos is ginger and orange. Many holiday orange/spice recipes go heavy on the allspice and cloves, and that is great (particularly in Tiki drinks, which work for any season), but ginger is a brighter, lighter spice that works well in cocktails and doesn’t hit you over the head. And the Bullseye is a very tasty example of a ginger/citrus cocktail. .
The Bullseye combines dry gin, ginger liqueur, orange juice and lemon juice. You get a light, bright and spicy sip that is very refreshing but still tastes like a cocktail for the fall or winter. You can also serve this drink as a cocktail or a “long” drink on the rocks, it works either way. The orange and lemon juice balance the sweet and sour, the gin adds herbal notes and the ginger adds a touch of zing, but also cleans the palate. A true “cocktail” in the sense that it tastes better than the sum of its parts.
But, to be fair, there is very little wrong with the “parts”. There is never anything “wrong” with fresh orange or lemon juice (other than not having enough). And any good juniper-forward gin will work well here, as the juniper plays very well with the ginger. As for the ginger liqueur, the best choice these days is Domaine de Canton. Domaine de Canton combines ginger and other spices with quality brandy and a touch of vanilla and honey. It is sweet and spicy with well-integrated ginger flavor. You can substitute Domaine de Canton for part or all of the Curaçao or sugars in many traditional cocktails for added spice and a change of pace. Domaine de Canton isn’t cheap, about $35 dollars a bottle, but a little goes a long, long way. And if you want to try more “modern” riffs on traditional cocktails Domaine de Canton, along with St. Germain, gives you all sorts of room to play around.
The Bullseye also works as a long drink.
So where did we find the Bullseye? It comes from the Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, a British cocktail book from the 1930’s. We were working on a guest cocktail post for Claire at Promenade Plantings and found this recipe. The Bullseye did not make it into that post (you will see what did next week), but we tried it and then kept “trying” it until we decided to make the Bullseye a weekly cocktail. We immediately took to the citrus and ginger spice and thought the Bullseye would be a delicious holiday cocktail. We expect to serve this one a lot over the next few months.
The Bullseye Cocktail:
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. dry gin
- 1 oz. ginger liqueur (Domaine de Canton)
- 1/2 oz. fresh orange juice
- 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
Assemble:
- Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly and pour into a chilled cocktail glass, coupé or flute. Or pour into a highball glass with a few ice cubes. Serve.
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Putney Farm 
I can’t wait to try this. Sounds lovely!
It’s a very tasty cocktail…easy to like..
That sounds really nice, but I can’t get ginger liqueur. I might try and make some. What do you think? Ginger, obviously, on a cognac base. Orange? What spices?
Ginger, honey, vanilla on a cognac base seems the be the recipe…I bet if you make a ginger syrup and mix with the cognac you get pretty close…
loooks delish! 😀
Thanks!
Ginger liqueur sounds awesome. I’ve never really looked for it in stores. I will keep an eye out now though!
Worth getting…improves a lot of classics like Pegu Clubs or Margarita…also adds punch to Ginger ale/beer cocktails…
Very nice. Sounds perfect this time of year. – Rene
Many Thanks!
Hmm… and I have to head to the liquor store for some gluten free beer….
Is there such a thing?
Thankfully, yes,… yes there is. After being diagnosed with Celiac a couple months ago, that was one of the first things I looked for. 😛
Good call! I bet rum is gluten free as well… 😉
Beautiful looking cocktail! I’ve been putting off by the Canton, but that holdout may need to end.
We really like it and use it to play with some classics. We sub 1/4 oz. of Canton for some of the Curacao in Pegu Clubs and it adds a lot…
I WANT ONE. I totally agree with you on the citrus/spice combinations, and ginger and orange… mmm. I am about to try infusing my own ginger liqueur, and you can bet this is going to be one of the first cocktails I try with it!
That would probably be even better- please le us know how it turns out!
I bought Domaine de Canton last Holiday season to make a special drink for a party and haven’t used it since. Now I have a reason to pull it out of the liquor cabinet! This sounds really good! I have been wanting to try a gin cocktail (I’m mostly a tequila girl) and this one sounds perfect! Thanks for the post!
Thanks for the comment! BTW- we like to add some of the Canton to margaritas…works pretty well…
Finally made the Bullseye last night for Friday night cocktail hour. I used Hendrick’s Gin and it was delicious! My husband loved it too. What a great fall/Holiday cocktail. It will be in the rotation for a while!
Awesome- glad you enjoyed it!
I always smile when I see the bright glow of a lovely cocktail in your coupe glass. Looks gorgeous and sounds even better. I’ve been a bit lax in cocktail recipes for a while, and you are giving me some great inspirations!
Thanks! We need to make a few more syrups and infusions…but too busy “developing” cocktails…;-)
Ginger liqueur, genius!
Worth a try (or making your own), great cocktail ingredient!
loving these photographs!
Thanks…fun for us to take cocktail photos…plenty of colors, light and glasses to play worth..
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Love the sound of ginger liqueur – have to see if the Swedish government has got that in store. They have monopoly on the buzz in our country. Yes, they have .. 700ml bottle for $77.05 – I think I pass this one. *smile
Wow…cheaper to get your own bees! Ginger liqueur a great addition to many cocktails…
Never heard about it before .. but for that price .. I drink Gin and Tonic instead. *smile