Today I bring you a refreshing citrus cocktail to warm your toes and have you springing forward! If you know me, you know that cocktails are not my usual thang (I am much more of a wine/beer person)- however sometimes you have a giant pile of citrus and a vaguely tropical dinner going (enchiladas mole!)- which just begs for that hit of sunshine in a martini glass.
This is reminiscent of a cocktail called the White Lady- an elegant cocktail made exclusively of lemon juice, triple sec and gin. It is a strong drink. I wanted to make something similar, but more refreshing. Let’s call this the the Sunshine Martini.
This drink is sweet-ish. Certainly not oversweet- there is no simple syrup or sugar muddled into it- the sweetness comes entirely from the orange liqueur and the clementine juice.
We had meyer lemons in the house- and I highly recommend finding some for this (and many other purposes!) since they are sweeter and bring more flavor than just citric acid to the party. I also used the juice of only 1/2 the lime, but juice of an entire clementine. (for 2 drinks)
I strained the juice using the tines of a fork- so that a lot of pulp was kept, but no seeds. If you detest pulp, go ahead and strain it out entirely. You need 1 jigger (1.5 ounces) of juice.
For the orange liqueur, I am partial to the Patron Citronage. You can substitute cointreau or an equivalent orange liqueur that you have on hand; the only thing I am not a huge fan of is triple sec. It is super sugary and doesn’t bring a lot of flavor to the party (in my humble opinion). You will need 2 jiggers of orange liqueur.
Gin: I like mild, herbaceous gins and will seek out local products where I can. This gin is OK. You want a grassy, refreshing flavor. Hendricks Gin would probably also work. Tequila would definitely work as a no-gin alternative.
This cocktail is shaken vigorously over ice until the metal shaker frosts over!
Next- make your glasses pretty! I used yellow sanding sugar to accent the color of the cocktail. I think that any color of fine sugar would be lovely (including regular!). I’ll bet if you had lemon or lime sugar hanging around (you DO zest a lime or two into a tupperware of sugar every now and again, right??) that would be delicious
Rim the glass with a lime, then dip/roll into the sugar. Tada!
(do you not love my thick socks and crocs!? I am the most stylin’ date ever).
- 1 Meyer Lemon
- 1 Clementine
- ½ Lime
- 3 ounces Orange Liqueur (such as Patron Citronage)
- 1.5 ounces Gin (something light and herbaceous- or tequila)
- Sanding sugar and lime wedges, for garnish
- Juice all of the citrus, and lightly strain to remove any seeds. You should have 1 overfull jigger of citrus.
- Measure out liqueurs
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice; pour 1.5 ounces of juice, and the liqueur over ice and shake vigorously until the shaker has frosted.
- Prepare 2 martini glasses by rubbing a lime slice over the rim, and then dipping/rolling into sugar.
- Strain the martini into the glasses, dividing evenly.
Don’t worry what people think of the crocks. Their story of procurement is the best.
Looks delicious, I will definitely try it out!
What a great recipe to read while having my morning tea! This is just what I need as an antidote to this never-ending winter.
Look delicious!!