Two Mojitos: Tangerine and Blood Orange

As far as I'm concerned both of these mojitos are for the ages. At left is a tangerine mojito, at right a blood orange mojito. They were inspired by a basic tangerine mojito recipe that I copied from the Web a few months ago at an independent site that gave the credit to the Martha Stewart Living Magazine. More recent searches, however, which included the Diva's web sites, failed to locate it. What had most intrigued me was that unlike most mojitos, this was apparently one to be enjoyed straight up. In order for the tangerine mojito to be an original, I substituted a splash of Mrs. Yi's kumquat liqueur for the splash of "orange liqueur" the original recipe called for. Later, seeing that we were out of tangerines, I devised the blood orange mojito on my own. It proved to be stupendous. Here are the formulas for both:

TANGERINE MOJITO

1 tangerine, seeded and sliced
8 mint leaves, torn into pieces.
2 ounceds light rum
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Splash of Mrs. Yi's kumquat liqueur (needless to say, Cointreaux, Grand Marnier, or curacao would work---I think next time, I might try applejack.
Ounce of soda water
Mint sprig for garnish

Muddle the tangerine with mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add rum, lime juice, sugar, and ice. Shake well. Strain into cocktail glass. Top with whatever you choose to splash over the top side of a spoon and then the club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig.

JAKE SLAGLE'S BLOOD ORANGE MOJITO

2 ounces fresh blood orange juice
8 mint leaves torn into pieces
2 ounces light rum
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
splash of 151 proof rum
1 ounce of soda water
mint sprig for garnish

Muddle the mint leaves, lime juice, and powdered sugar with a mortar and pestle. Add the rum and lime juice and muddle just a bit more. Pour into a cocktail shaker. Add crushed ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass. Over the backside of a spoon add a dash of 151 proof rum, then top with soda water and garnish with a mint sprig.