The Orange Martini
Later on, post-food coma, Maciek and I decided it was time to begin crafting a suitable beverage. After discovering a recipe for one “Orange Martini” (original here: http://sweetpaprika.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/orange-martini), we decided it sounded simply too delicious to pass up! The original called for Valencia Oranges–still don’t really know what those are–so we decided to add our own twist to it and bought a couple blood oranges and mandarins.
Next, we needed to procure a vodka on a student budget but without sacrificing too much quality. At $11 a bottle and a taste that beats outs the likes of much more expensive Stolichnaya, Sobieski, a Vodka produced in Maciek’s homeland of Poland, was our clear winner (pictured below with a Willard “toothpick holder”).
As for triple sec, we go with Dekruper’s Triple Sec because it was cheap (no buying Grand Marnier or Cointreau) and we decided to skip the Orange Bitters altogether.
J&M Orange Martini Recipe
- Juice from 1 blood orange + 1 mandarin orange
- 2 oz. Sobieski Vodka
- 0.5 oz. Triple Sec
- 1 cup ice
- 1 cocktail shaker
We squeezed the juice from the oranges into the shaker with ice–to our dismay, what we thought were blood oranges appeared to be your run-of-the-mill oranges! Damn you Whole Foods! Oh well, we then continued to add the vodka + triple sec, shook vigorously for several seconds, and served in a martini glass. Oh, and for presentation’s sake, Maciek painstakingly made a knot out the orange peel. And ta-da!
We present the Orange Martini. Cold and refreshing, it was an excellent end to a long week.
Woohoo! Now back to studying–more posts next weekend!
Jerry
J&M's Herbal Kitchen 
Thanks for your link to my blog. Glad you enjoyed your orange martinis. Although Orange Bitters was not in my martini either, Orange Bitters, should you buy a bottle, will last for months and months, maybe even years, as you use just a couple of drops in a drink. Actually, I prefer Angostura Bitters. Great photo!