California Citrus Martinis

There are times in life when nothing else will do but a really good martini. A celebratory dinner. Girls’ night out. A promising date. A reunion with a much-loved friend. The latter was the impetus for a recent exploration of martinis made with local ingredients, so just before my pal Karen came to visit from Maine, I made a batch of simple syrup, picked an armload of blood oranges from the tree in the garden, and put a bottle of vodka in the freezer.

Depending on what’s available, you can make martinis with any kind of citrus that is in season. I figure I’m in good shape because I can select from blood oranges, Valencia oranges, tangerines or Meyer lemons -- all of which are abundant where I live from early spring to summer. All I have to do is pick what's ripe.

Karen was enchanted with blood oranges so that’s what we used for our martinis, and after five or six nights of experimenting, we agreed that we’d perfected the recipe. After exchanging congratulatory toasts, down the hatch they went. We wanted to test our recipe on another discriminating palate, so we asked Sonia to join us one evening. While I squeezed, mixed and shook, Karen and Sonia arranged a platter of cheese and crackers. We raised our glasses, toasted our good fortune and Sonia declared the recipe a winner. Now we'd like to share it with you.

California Citrus Martini

¾ - 1 Cup of fresh squeezed citrus juice

2 Jiggers vodka (I prefer Grey Goose Citron)

1-2 Tablespoons simple syrup, depending on the sweetness or tartness of the citrus

Fill a martini shaker about half full with ice cubes. Pour the juice, the vodka and the simple syrup over the ice cubes. With the cap securely fitted on the shaker, shake a few times to blend the liquids (but not longer than about 30 seconds), and decant into chilled martini glasses. This recipe serves two, but my martini glasses are on the small side, so I usually have a little bit left over for topping off each glass after the first few sips.

If you decide to make a Lemon Drop Martini, remember that lemon juice can be too tart to drink unless you start with Meyer lemons which are milder. I like to add a half-ounce of triple sec along with the lemon juice and the syrup to the shaker, then rub the rim of the martini glass with a strip of lemon rind to moisten it and dip the glass in superfine sugar. It takes the sting out of a too-sour lemon.

All martini recipes can be fairly flexible, so experiment a bit to see what is the best combination for you. This gives you an excuse to whip up a batch of martinis night after night until you get it just right. That’s what Karen and I did.

Cheers!