Thursday is Almost Friday! And a cocktail recipe!

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.

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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)

DSCN3587 DSCN3589 DSCN3590I 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.

DSCN3592 DSCN3593 DSCN3594This 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!DSCN3595DSCN3597

(do you not love my thick socks and crocs!?  I am the most stylin’ date ever).

Sunshine Martini
Author: 
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Substitute tequila for the gin, if you please!
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Juice all of the citrus, and lightly strain to remove any seeds. You should have 1 overfull jigger of citrus.
  2. Measure out liqueurs
  3. 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.
  4. Prepare 2 martini glasses by rubbing a lime slice over the rim, and then dipping/rolling into sugar.
  5. Strain the martini into the glasses, dividing evenly.

 

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4 Responses to Thursday is Almost Friday! And a cocktail recipe!

  1. Kate says:

    Don’t worry what people think of the crocks. Their story of procurement is the best.

  2. Looks delicious, I will definitely try it out!

  3. Linda B says:

    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.

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