Gently peel a wide circle of skin from your orange – or cut a third of the orange and scrape out the flesh and some pith. Leave a bit more pith than usual, for stability. Use a cookie cutter to outline the shape – because stars are definitely much harder than they look. Make a small incision for the star to sit on your glass.
Using a vegetable peeler, sharp paring knife, or a zester, peel a strip of orange peel from your orange. It doesn’t need to be too long – about 10cm is fine.
Try to get just the zest – avoid the white pith. My first attempt was so bad I ended up shaving the excess pith off with a knife, and then cutting the strip with scissors to get a nice neat edge.
Twist the zest over the drink to squeeze a few drops of orange oil in, and rub it around the rim of the glass.
For a large twist, simply wind the twist around your finger. For a tighter spiral, wind it around a skewer and pull tightly, without breaking.
Then simply place on the side of your glass.
This version is ready-to-serve – no need to add soda water.
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Cranberry and citrus are fantastic together. There’s always a supply of cranberry, cranberry-raspberry or pink grapefuit juice in my cupboard.
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