Grand Raspberry Smash

COCKTAIL INGREDIENTS:
- 60 ml Grand Marnier
- 2 Lemon Wedges
- 3 or 5 Raspberries
- 4 or 6 Mint Leaves
- 2 Dashes Cacao Bitters

GARNISH:
- Skewered Raspberries
- Sprig of Thyme

INSTRUCTIONS:
• Muddle raspberries, lemon and mint in a cocktail shaker.
Tip: add mint first and cover it with lemon wedges and raspberries, then muddle; so you do not over muddle or shred the leaves.
• Add the remaining ingredients.
• Add ice.
• Shake until chilled.
• Double strain into a cocktail glass over fresh pebble ice.
• Garnish with skewered raspberries and a sprig of thyme.

Cocktail author: Recipe from an article by VinePair.

Raspberry Grand Smash is the last cocktail from VinePair’s list featuring Grand Marnier based drinks.

As the word “smash” suggest, this recipe, just like the previous ones, is built around pairing of Grand Marnier and muddled fruit. Some notes are quite familiar from the previous recipes, such as fragrance of mint and bitter-tartness of muddled lemon. Which we already know blends very well with the cognac-based orange liqueur and those burnt orange and oak notes it brings to the mix. A new addition is the handful of muddled raspberries with their delightful sweet and perhaps slightly acidic fruitiness helping to enrich the cocktail. A further dimension is added by a couple of dashes of cacao bitters helping to draw out further flavors and expand the complexity. Last, but not least, raspberry and deliciously fragrant thyme garnish provides that all important flourish as well as the esthetic element elevating the drinking experience.

Raspberry Grand Smash might be the last cocktail in this cocktail series, but it just whets my appetite for more delicious drinks with this particular ingredient.

Source material:
https://vinepair.com/articles/grand-marnier-smash/