Last summer, OC got you Tipsy and Tan. Now, we're just getting you tipsy. Meet Fridays at Five, our cocktail series where mixologists at New York City’s white-hot new restaurants create OC-exclusive drinks for our readers. Drinking on the job? Don't mind if we do...
While lots of nights start at a dive bar and end… at a dive bar, some weekends, we need a little old-school glamour. On such nights, we grab a booking at Dear Irving, an unmarked lounge in Gramercy Park where curtains are made of crystals, Marie Antoinette quotes hang on the wall, and plush chairs are filled with the well-heeled.
For your similarly classy shindigs at home, bartender Meaghan Dorman created a dangerously drinkable concoction, combining the season’s ruby-hued blood oranges with gin, Aperol, and a hint of sweet lemon. Serve over crushed ice, pair with bling.
Name: Meaghan Dorman
If this drink had a soundtrack, what would it be? "“Shake it Off” by Florence and the Machine. It’s a great first cocktail to shake off the day.
Drink of choice: Dark ‘n Stormy at Attaboy
Hangover cure: A grilled cheese and Pepsi in a can
Best date advice: Be on time!
Worst pick-up: Once a guy was trying to pick up girls at the bar by buying them drinks while his fiancée was 20 feet away at a table. Awkward! Especially when she came up to catch him out.
What not to do to your bartender: Wave us down desperately for attention when it’s busy, and then ask everyone you’re with what they are having. Come prepared!
Exclusive Recipe: Crimson Fix
OC Alcohol Scale*: 5
“The gin gives it a nice backbone.”
3 slices blood orange
½ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. simple syrup
½ oz Aperol
1 ½ oz. London dry gin
Muddle blood orange slices, add all ingredients, and shake briefly with ice. Strain into an empty rocks glass and top with crushed ice. Garnish with a blood orange slice.
*OC's Alcohol Scale ranges from 1 ("like sippin' from a juice box") to 10 ("take me home—right now")![]()
The Crimson Fix. Photos by Jessica Chou![]()
Our ingredients.![]()
Mussle the blood orange slices.![]()
Add the booze.![]()
Strain over ice. Easy, right?
While lots of nights start at a dive bar and end… at a dive bar, some weekends, we need a little old-school glamour. On such nights, we grab a booking at Dear Irving, an unmarked lounge in Gramercy Park where curtains are made of crystals, Marie Antoinette quotes hang on the wall, and plush chairs are filled with the well-heeled.
For your similarly classy shindigs at home, bartender Meaghan Dorman created a dangerously drinkable concoction, combining the season’s ruby-hued blood oranges with gin, Aperol, and a hint of sweet lemon. Serve over crushed ice, pair with bling.
Name: Meaghan Dorman
If this drink had a soundtrack, what would it be? "“Shake it Off” by Florence and the Machine. It’s a great first cocktail to shake off the day.
Drink of choice: Dark ‘n Stormy at Attaboy
Hangover cure: A grilled cheese and Pepsi in a can
Best date advice: Be on time!
Worst pick-up: Once a guy was trying to pick up girls at the bar by buying them drinks while his fiancée was 20 feet away at a table. Awkward! Especially when she came up to catch him out.
What not to do to your bartender: Wave us down desperately for attention when it’s busy, and then ask everyone you’re with what they are having. Come prepared!
Exclusive Recipe: Crimson Fix
OC Alcohol Scale*: 5
“The gin gives it a nice backbone.”
3 slices blood orange
½ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. simple syrup
½ oz Aperol
1 ½ oz. London dry gin
Muddle blood orange slices, add all ingredients, and shake briefly with ice. Strain into an empty rocks glass and top with crushed ice. Garnish with a blood orange slice.
*OC's Alcohol Scale ranges from 1 ("like sippin' from a juice box") to 10 ("take me home—right now")
The Crimson Fix. Photos by Jessica Chou
Our ingredients.
Mussle the blood orange slices.
Add the booze.
Strain over ice. Easy, right?