Vampire Blood Orange Italian Soda: Homemade Citrus Syrup with Sparkling Water and Cream

Make the syrup: combine the blood orange juice, sugar and orange peel in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves; do not boil or the fresh citrus flavor will cook away.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh blood orange juice (from about 4 blood oranges)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 small strip of blood orange peel, white pith removed
• 3 cups chilled sparkling water or club soda
• Ice cubes
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• 4 thin blood orange wheels, for garnish
• A few drops of grenadine, for a dramatic red 'drip' (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the syrup: combine the blood orange juice, sugar and orange peel in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves; do not boil or the fresh citrus flavor will cook away.
2. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and let cool completely. Discard the peel. The syrup keeps in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
3. Fill four tall glasses with ice.
4. Pour 3 tablespoons of blood orange syrup into each glass.
5. Slowly top each glass with about 3/4 cup of sparkling water, pouring down the inside of the glass so it stays fizzy. Stir gently once to blend.
6. Float 1 tablespoon of cream over the top of each soda; it will swirl down through the deep red drink in pale ribbons.
7. For a Halloween effect, trail a few drops of grenadine down the inside rim of the glass so it bleeds into the soda, and hang a blood orange wheel on the edge.
8. Serve immediately with straws, before the fizz fades.
9. The Italian soda is actually an American invention, created in San Francisco's North Beach in 1925 by the Italian immigrant Torre family, who mixed their homemade syrups with soda water for the neighborhood. Blood oranges, grown on the volcanic slopes of Sicily's Mount Etna, get their crimson flesh from cold nights and are at their best from late autumn into winter, which makes them the natural choice for a drink that needs to look sinister on Halloween night without a drop of anything stronger.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 190 kcal
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 6g
• Carbohydrates: 36g
• Fiber: 0g
• Sugar: 34g
• Sodium: 25mg