Way Of The Sumo (Original Recipe)

 

I've been playing around with mandarin oranges after having leftovers from making my Mandarine Napoleon knockoff liqueur. I picked up one sumo mandarin orange just in case I didn't have enough of the regular small ones. Just for reference, I want to show the difference in size between a sumo mandarin and a regular one. The sumo version is truly a plus-sized fruit, much like the husky Japanese wrestlers.

So sumo mandarin juice tastes the same as ordinary mandarin juice. I used this with some lemon to increase the acid and paired it with Manzanilla fino sherry because it also has musty fruit notes. Old Tom gin also keeps things spicy when paired with ginger brandy, and again, Mandarine Napoleon backs up and sweetens all of these flavors. 

Finally, the peel of the sumo mandarin comes off neatly and can be used to emphasize the largeness of the fruit when placed in an oversized wine glass. 

• juice of 1/2 sumo mandarin orange
• 1 1/2 oz. Old Tom gin (Vitae used)
• 1 oz. Mandarine Napoleon (homemade used)
• 1/2 oz. ginger brandy (homemade used
• 1 oz. Manzanilla sherry
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• club soda
• 1/3 peel of a mandarin orange 

Place the orange peel in an oversized red wine glass (stemless used) and fill it with ice. Combine all liquid ingredients except soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into the glass and top with soda.