Name: Virgin Hibiscus Cosmo
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients: 5 cups sugar; 4 cups water; 4 cups hibiscus flowers; 1/4 fresh cut lime; 2 parts Hibiscus Syrup; 2 parts fresh-squeezed orange juice; 2 parts cranberry juice; 1 part fresh lime juice; ice; frozen cranberries for garnish

Directions

Special equipment:

shaker chilled martini glass

SYRUP: Heat sugar and water in a large saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add flowers and bring to the boil. Lower heat and simmer gently until the volume of liquid is reduced by a third. Remove from heat and strain. Chill until cold before proceeding.
COSMO: Fill shaker with ice and muddle it with the fresh lime. Vigorously shake syrup, orange juice, cranberry juice and lime together until ice cold. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Drop one or two frozen cranberries in for garnish and service, or float a hibiscus petal on top.

Cook’s Note

This refreshing and pretty sip came about when Heather Mader of Black Radish Personal Chef in Portland, Ore. inherited a bag of dried hibiscus flowers. "I had no idea what to do with them!" she says. "I initially just made the syrup and found that it's good on almost anything . . . ice cream, pancakes! Experimenting, I tried using it in a Cosmo in place of the normal sugar syrup and it was lovely. You could also make this drink with a shot of vodka if you like."