Orange Crush Cocktail
It's been called!
by Erin Henderson
Drink media are obsessed with crowning a drink for the season.
Somewhere around May, long before summer has really even gotten off the ground, the headlines start, "We're Calling It XXX is the Drink of Summer." That one's my fave. I love when outlets "call it." Very serious stuff indeed.
Well this year, Anno Domini 2025, the Orange Crush cocktail is the one that has been called. You would be forgiven if you missed the white smoke.
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And just like the ones that have gone before it – Dirty Shirley, Aperol Spritz, Lemon Drop – riffs and twists are bound to abound.
Traditionally the orange crush is made with vodka, but it works well with most other spirits as well. Tequila, bourbon, rum... they all work with orange flavours, so you can mix and match to your tastes and whimsy.
Orange Crush
The original recipe calls for lemon-lime soda, such as Sprite, but I like the depth Italian lemonata brings to the drink as it somehow tastes less artifical to me.
I also find that the flavoured soda, no matter which is used, combined with the orange flavoured liqueur makes the drink too cloyingly sweet for my tastes, so I like to cut the soda with sparkling water for a lighter, brighter drink.
Makes: 1 cocktail
Bartender level: easy
Ingredients:
- 1½ oz vodka
- ½ oz orange flavoured liqueur, such as Cointreau
- 1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice (about half a juicy orange)
- 2 oz lemon soda
- 2 oz sparkling water
How to Make It:
- Into a shaker filled with ice, add the vodka, liqueur, and orange juice. Shake well for a good 20-30 seconds to chill.
- Strain into an ice filled glass (high balls are standard, but I like rocks glasses), and top with sods and sparkling water.
- Add a wedge of orange and serve.