So, what’s with the name? Well, as you may have guessed, this cocktail is a twist on the OG Mexican Cantarito. But instead of orange and grapefruit, Kayla’s mixed through Imperial mandarins, giving the cocktail an interesting and nuanced zesty flavour. “The mandarins are little packages, but so full of flavour,” explains Kayla. “And because they are only available half of the year, you need to snap them up – especially in winter when they’re the tastiest.”
Ingredients: Imperial mandarin juice
6-10 Imperial mandarins
White sugar (see method below for amount)
Equipment: centrifuge or normal juicer, kitchen scales, strainer
Ingredients: Imperial Cantarito
45mL Blanco tequila or agave spirit
30mL Imperial mandarin juice
Lime soda to top (or plain soda water with a squeeze of lime)
Glassware: Jarritos clay vessel or highball
Garnish: lime and Kosho salt for the glass rim
Method: Imperial mandarin juice
Peel the mandarins and set the peels aside
Juice the mandarin flesh and soak the peels in their juice for 15-30 minutes
Strain the juice through a fine-mesh strainer
Weigh the strained juice then add half as much sugar (for example, for 500g juice, add 250g sugar)
Stir to combine and store in the fridge
Method: Imperial Cantarito
Run a lime wedge around the rim of your glass and dip it in salt
Add all ingredients to your prepared glass and top with ice
Garnish with a wedge or wheel of lime
Though the assembly of this drink is pretty darn easy – just build everything in a highball or clay vessel – getting the mandarin juice in order will take a bit of time. When it comes to cocktails with any kind of juice in them, fresh is always best, so Kayla urges peeps to have a go at making your mandy juice at home. If that’s a no-go on the old juicer, opt for a store-bought mandarin juice or, at a pinch, a fresh store-bought orange juice (though this will change the flavour).
The mandarin juice recipe calls for a sciencey centrifuge, but we know not everyone has access to that kind of equipment, so any kind of juicer will work – so long as you allow the mandy skin time to diffuse in the juice for fuller flavour and oil extraction. This will give the juice a wonderful depth and complexity, really drawing out all those lovely zesty citrus flavours.
According to Kayla, all that’s left is to throw on some TLC, specifically ‘No Scrubs’ and enjoy your Imperial Cantarito next to some snacky ceviche or similar.