If you’d told me a few years ago that soon I’d be a regular visitor to the L.A. area, I would have thought you were crazy. I never could have envisioned myself driving around those interstates at all, let alone 3 times in the past 3 months.
These short road trips have been for both business and recreation. I’m getting to know the area better each time and one sign that always catches my attention is the exit for Ojai.
Maybe it was the unique name that first drew me to it, but I’ve since learned that this California town happens to be a very special place. It’s a pretty big deal in the world of citrus.
It’s the home of the Ojai Pixie Tangerine and April is prime time for the fruit.
Melissa’s Produce sent me a few to try. Trust me, these tangerines are as good as everyone says. They definitely deserve their own month.
I ate a few as snacks. The rest I reserved for a cocktail. Not just any cocktail. One of my very favorites – rum punch.
The Pixie juice is perfect for the drink. These tangerines are sweet, but I wouldn’t consider them sugary sweet. This is a good thing. They have a unique balance that doesn’t belong to all citrus fruits.
I mixed the juice with our two favorite rums. You should know that the only rum that I feel exists is Jamaican rum. It is by far my favorite and we’ve tried rum from many different regions. I used Appleton Special, which you can likely find at your local spirits store.
Unfortunately the other may be harder to find. We bring back Appleton Genesis white rum from Jamaica, too, and I have yet to see the Genesis in the States. If you’ve seen it, let me know. I’ve seen white, but not the Genesis. It has a unique vanilla flavor for a white rum.
Any combo of rums will work for this drink so use any of your favorites — dark, light, white, gold. It’s really the Pixie juice that sends this drink over the top.
Pixie Rum Punch
Makes: 2 cocktails
Ingredients
6 oz. Ojai Pixie Tangerine juice (about 4 tangerines)
1 oz. fresh lime juice
2 oz. Appleton Genesis white rum
2 oz. Appleton Special gold rum
3 dashes orange bitters
Crushed ice
Pixie slices and cherries for garnish
Preparation
Place the tangerine juice, lime juice and rums in a small pitcher or large cocktail shaker. Add the bitters. Stir.
Add a handful of crushed ice. Stir about 20 seconds, until well chilled.
Fill 2 cocktail glasses with crushed ice (I used 2 stemless red wine glasses for this shoot). Strain an equal amount of rum punch into each glass. Garnish with a tangerine slice and cherry before serving.
Disclosure: The tangerines used in this post were provided by Melissa’s Produce. I was not required to post about them and received no compensation for doing so. I simply felt inspired. And thirsty for a rum punch cocktail.
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I’ve made several trips to Los Angeles but never to Ojai. It looks so beautiful from all the photos I have seen and I hope to visit this magical location one day. . .but you know. . .so many places to see. . .so little time. Until then there is this drink. I can’t help but smile looking at its vibrant punch of orange. And the flavors. . .what could be more divine than rum (straight from Jamaica no less) and citrus?
Thanks, Lynn! I hope to make it there soon. I hear that the blossom season is a great time to go, but I’d also love to go now to see all the Pixie’s on the trees!