Cooking Lesson #1095: Tangerine Sidecar Cocktail

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

ow you doin’? Last week was a rainy week here in the Las Vegas valley. That’s pretty strange for this time of year, but when I reviewed the weather map, I saw that we have been between two major storms coming up from Baja. The unforgiving rain turned our roads into rivers and the dark clouds shut out the sun for about 3 days. And the lightning—what a great show!
 
All of our live plants are living it up with the extra precipitation. And our trees love all this water. After the rains, all the plants seem to get a huge growth spurt and new flowers start to appear. Rainwater is like crack for them, not to mention a much needed shower.
 
My Mandarin tangerine tree is starting to go into false bloom and explode with color. During the fall, all the green fruit is dotting practically every inch of the branches camouflaged amongst all the leaves. But recently after all the rains and a few moments of bright sunshine, the fruit is quickly turning color to a fantastic orange hue. It’s time for this tangerine sidecar cocktail recipe.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
We usually make this with ginger simple syrup (slices of fresh ginger infused into the batch of simple syrup) but it is quite good with a regular simple syrup. Adjust the simple syrup quantity to taste and by the sweetness of the tangerines.
 
Ingredients 
3 ounces fresh tangerine juice
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 ounces American Bourbon
3/4 ounce ginger simple syrup or regular simple syrup. See ChefSecret below.
Superfine sugar for coating the rim
 
Directions

1. Rub the rim of a chilled cocktail glass with a tangerine wedge and coat the rim with sugar.  Set your coated glass aside.
2. Put the tangerine juice, lemon juice, bourbon and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice.
3. Then shake it like you mean it; 15-20 seconds. 
4. Strain into your cocktail glass. 
5. Garnish, if desired, tangerine peel.

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ChefSecret:  Let me refresh your memory, a basic simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of sugar dissolved in water over the stovetop. (Example—1 cup of sugar dissolved in one cup of water). Allow to cool and use as needed. We usually make larger batches and keep on hand in the refrigerator. For the ginger variation, add several slices of fresh ginger into the sugar/water mix when dissolving. Remove the ginger before using.
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Quip of the Day:  "Ok Jimmy", said Ms. Par, " I have something behind my back that is round, orange and is a piece of fruit, what is it?"
"That's easy" says Jimmy, "It’s an orange!"
"Nope, it’s a tangerine, but it shows you're thinking."
Jimmy holds up his hand and says, " Ok Ms. Par, I have one for you." The kid reaches into his front pocket and says, "In my hand is something stiff, with a red tip and is about one inch long. What is it?"
"JIMMY!!!!!" exclaims the teacher.
The kid smiles, takes his hand out of his pocket and says, "Nope, it’s a match.... But it shows you’re thinking!"
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Cocktail #TangerineSidecarCocktail #Tangerine #Bourbon #Lemons #HappyHour2025 #Cheers #Recipes2025 #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #SamaritansPurse #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
 
                                                               ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2025

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