Mandarin Orange Tequila Smash

This mandarin orange tequila smash is made with fresh mandarins, silver tequila, and ginger liqueur and topped with club soda and a splash of tropical juice. Serve it straight up or on the rocks. Drinker's choice!

It's Friday, Friyay!

Did you have an awesome week? Or maybe your week was meh and you're ridiculously glad the weekend is here? Either way, I got what you need, my friend, and you're looking at it.

I was supposed to bake a cake today. I didn't have a plan for today's blog post until I was in bed on Wednesday night and the thought randomly came to me: "I'm gonna bake a mother f*cking cake! YAS."

I knew exactly which cake I wanted to go with too, so I got up yesterday morning to work on my responsible adult things (i.e. look for a job that will pay me monies) and ran a couple of errands, including picking up some cold medicine for Jason because the new theme in this house the last couple of months is EVERYBODY GET SICK. 

Then I came home and started gathering my cake ingredients when I realized we barely had sugar in the house. I looked at the time and did an imaginary one of these (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ because I knew I only had so much time for some prime sunlight in the dining room where I do a lot of my photography. The cake would have to wait.

So then I looked at the pantry, the fridge, the freezer - basically everywhere for thoughts on what I can blog about with the ingredients on hand that has been tested and approved by the OMGfood taste-testing club (i.e. friends, family, random people off the street, etc).

The weather the last couple of days has been warm and gorgeous, so my mind went to fruit for something light and refreshing. Turns out I have some seriously sad grapes hanging out in my fridge and they need to be eaten asap.

I noticed we had a few tangerines left from a big box we purchased recently for morning smoothies, so a part of me thought I could post a new smoothie recipe! Then, the other part of me was like, "or you could post that tequila drink."

Tequila always wins.

I made this orange tequila smash a short while after purchasing a few bar tools to make cocktails at home and I had a weird obsession with muddling things.

Like, seriously. I wanted to muddle all of the fruit and make all of the drinks.

The first "smashy" drink I posted on the blog was the blueberry bourbon basil smash and if you're a bourbon fan, I highly recommend it. A short time after posting that, I experimented with making a different smash by using some oranges and some Milagro silver tequila. The only cocktail I'd usually make with tequila is a margarita, so it was fun to experiment with something else. I wasted a bit of booze that day trying to come up with something that was tasty, but once I added ginger liqueur to the mix (I use Domaine De Canton), I had a feeling I was onto something and after testing a few different ratios, I was getting someplace.

How to make a mandarin orange tequila smash

You start out by grabbing your cocktail shaker, jigger, and muddler. Cut a mandarin in half and take off the peel. Add the mandarin pieces to the shaker. Then, muddle it! Muddle until the juices are released and the fruit is nice and smashed. Be careful not to squirt any juice into your eye or on your shirt. I've been guilty of both. Muddle gently, folks!

After this, you have an option. If you prefer to have your drink on the rocks, proceed by adding the tequila, ginger liqueur, and some ice to shake it all together. If you'd rather have your drink straight up, first add the muddled orange to your martini glass, then proceed with adding the booze and ice to the shaker. After shaking, pour/strain the drink into your glass.

After that, top it with some club soda and a splash of tropical juice of your choice! I keep a carton of a juice blend I get from my local Greek market because I love my Greek goods, but really, any juice should do, especially if it's a tropical blend. /swoon

So maybe you're the type who likes their cocktails on the rocks.

Or maybe you're more of a "straight up now tell me do you really wanna love me forever? Oh, oh, oh!" My bad. Got sidetracked. Great song, though.

Anyway, this drink is a good choice for the warm weather that's finally arriving. It's not too strong. It's light, refreshing, and delicious. Straight up, on the rocks, who cares? Just drink and enjoy! (But do it responsibly.)

And don't forget that orange twist!

Bar Tools Used:

• OXO SteeL Double Jigger
• Oggi Marilyn Tall and Slim Cocktail Shaker
• 10" Cocktail Muddler (comes in a set with stirring spoon)

📖 Recipe

Mandarin Orange Tequila Smash

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Course: Cocktail

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 cocktail

Author: Marissa

Ingredients

• ½ of a mandarin orange, peeled
• 1 ounce silver tequila
• 1 ½ ounces Domaine De Canton, or ginger liqueur of your choice
• club soda
• splash of tropical juice
• handful of ice cubes
• mandarin orange twist for garnish, optional

Instructions

Straight Up

• Add the peeled mandarin orange to a cocktail shaker and use a muddler to smash and release its juices.
• Pour the muddled fruit into a martini glass.
• Add tequila, ginger liqueur, and ice to the shaker and shake, shake, shake!
• Strain into the martini glass and top with club soda and a splash of tropical juice.
• Garnish with an orange twist, if desired.
  

On The Rocks

• Add the peeled mandarin orange to a cocktail shaker and use a muddler to smash and release its juices.
• Add tequila, ginger liqueur, and ice to the shaker and shake it up!
• Pour everything into a cocktail glass and top with club soda and a splash of tropical juice.
• Garnish with an orange twist, if desired.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @omgfoodblog and hashtag it #omgfoodblog!

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