Mandarin Vodka Cocktail

My kids LOVE clementines. We look forward to them all year long, and I make sure to keep a stash in the fridge throughout the winter months. But I always figured . . . a clementine’s a clementine, right?

NOT SO!

Halos mandarins (did you know that a clementine is actually a variety of Mandarin orange?) are incredibly sweet, delicious, seedless and easy to peel. They’re slightly bigger than the typical clementine and so yummy that I had to go out and buy another bag for this post because my kids ate the first bag before I could experiment with drink recipes! I love it when I discover a fabulous new brand through a sponsored post.

Mandarin oranges just scream winter to me so when I was send a bag of Halos Mandarins to try, my first thought was what a fun wintry cocktail these could make!

So I went to the liquor store, and would you believe they make Clementine Vodka? (Upon further investigation, they also make Mandrin Vodka, but I saw the Clementine and picked it up instead. I’m sure they are practically interchangeable in a recipe, though.)

I also picked up several kinds of juices to experiment with, and I came up with a few fun cocktails (it’s a tough job, y’all!!) This Mandarin Vodka Cocktail is my favorite.

All you need is vodka (clementine, Mandrin or Citron vodka will do — and actually, plain vodka probably works just as well), grapefruit juice, a Mandarin orange and some ice. Easy peasy!

You first muddle half a Mandarin orange with a muddler such as this OXO Steel Muddler.

Then you add 3 ounces (2 jiggers) mandarin vodka. (I’m sure regular vodka would be fine too, but I thought this was fun!) Then 1.5 ounces (1 jigger) grapefruit juice.

Yeah, it packs a punch! Pour it into a pretty glass, and garnish with a slice of mandarin orange!

This festive, refreshing drink is perfect for holiday parties and get togethers. In fact, I’ll be taking it with me tonight! Here’s the recipe.

 I created this post in partnership with Halos.