Drinks Cocktails Clementines and Mezcal Team Up in This Sweet, Tart, and Smoky Punch Be the first to rate & review! Move over tangerine, it’s clementine’s time to shine. By M. Carrie Allan M. Carrie Allan M. Carrie Allan is an award-winning freelance cocktail and spirits writer and columnist for The Washington Post. Her byline has appeared in such publications as Imbibe, The Independent, Food & Wine, Seattle Times, Miami Herald, and Houston Chronicle, among others. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on December 1, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Total Time: 10 mins Yield: 20 drinks Clementine juice gets a smoky finish from mezcal and sweet fizz from orange soda in this fruity punch. This drink is all about sweet and sour — elderflower liqueur is balanced with tart clementine juice and bittersweet Italian orange soda, and the entire punch gets dotted with aromatic bitters for another layer of flavor. This vibrant orange punch is a celebration of citrus and spice perfect for Halloween gatherings, great around the holidays, and a joy to serve any time of year. Frequently asked questions How should you store leftover punch? While we trust this punch will be gobbled up quickly, leftovers are often inevitable when making a big batch of just about anything. The shelf life of a leftover cocktail really depends on its ingredients. Wine-based drinks can lose freshness within a few days of serving — much like an open bottle of wine itself, white wine-based drinks will lose flavor more quickly compared to heartier red wine-based cocktails. Any drink featuring fruit juice, especially citrus, can lose freshness after 2-3 days of storage. Any ultra high-proof drink like a martini can even go in the freezer as long as it doesn’t contain ingredients with high water content like juice. For best results, store cocktails in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy them within five days. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen This punch proves that clementines have a distinctly different flavor compared to traditional oranges. While small, easy-to-peel clementines are a go-to snack, their sweet juice is a wonderful cocktail ingredient. Clementines are much more sweet than oranges or tangerines and have very little bitterness. While there are bitter ingredients to balance the sweetness of clementines in this punch, swapping in tangerine juice for clementine will yield a less-sweet punch. Make ahead The punch base, without orange soda or club soda, can be made up to 1 day in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Add the sodas just before serving. Ingredients 8 cups clementine juice 4 cups (32 ounces) mezcal (such as Del Maguey Vida) 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) elderflower liqueur (such St-Germain) 2 cups Italian orange soda (such as San Pellegrino Aranciata) 4 cups club soda, chilled Peychaud’s bitters Ice ring, for serving Sliced tangerines, fresh kumquats, whole cloves, whole star anise, and fresh sage leaves, for garnish Directions Stir together clementine juice, mezcal, and elderflower liqueur in a large punch bowl. Add orange soda and club soda; liberally dash bitters over surface. Stir well to combine. Serve with ice ring and garnishes. Originally appeared in Food & Wine magazine, December 2023 / January 2024 Rate It Print