Reminiscent of sangria, this claret cobbler is a slightly sweetened red wine fortified with citrus juice and served over ice.
I found this recipe in the Playboy Bartender’s Guide by Thomas Mario. I’ve referenced this book several times over the years. It was first published in the 1970’s.
When researching this recipe, there were so many different variations of this drink that it started to get confusing. So then I looked up the origin of a claret cobbler and I found an interesting post from a blog called cool adventures. In the post it references and article about the drinks origins which dates back to around 1845. It says it’s an “American invention” which doesn’t require much skill in making. The recipe back then was basically wine and simple syrup over ice.
As I mentioned earlier I used the recipe from the Playboy Bartender’s guide which is dry red wine, lemon juice, orange juice, maraschino liqueur and garnished with a lime slice and orange slice. When I first made this drink, I didn’t fully read the recipe which says fill a 12oz glass with ice. So when I tasted it, I thought hmmm, this could really use some ice. So I added some and it tasted a lot better. Needless to say , that after double checking the recipe, I saw my mistake. But then I had to make the drink again and reshoot all my photos. Awww, poor me, I have to drink another one again. HA!
Claret cobbler
(serves 1)
4 ounces dry red wine
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce orange juice
1 ounce maraschino cherry liquid
1/2 slice orange
1/2 slice lime
1 maraschino cherry
* I slightly adapted the recipe. It calls for 1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur. I didn’t have any on hand so I substituted maraschino cherry syrup or liquid from a jar of maraschino cherries. I also added a cherry to the garnish.
Fill a 12 ounce glass with finely cracked ice. Add wine, lemon juice, orange juice and maraschino liquid (or liqueur). Stir well. Add more ice to the rim. garnish with lime slice, orange slice and maraschino cherry.
Enjoy!