What do you love about your city?

Sacramento is a great place to live! We have a vibrant culinary scene, a great cocktail scene, plenty of sports, and a flourishing music scene as well. Home of the American River Bike Trail, we also have rivers, a lake, and plenty of gorgeous spaces for outdoor activities year-round. An abundance of local farms provides some of the best produce in the world. And with its proximity to Napa, San Francisco, and Lake Tahoe, it's one of the best places to call home.

Cocktail Inspiration:

This cocktail is a beautiful winter drink inspired by local mandarins and Meyer lemons that grow rampantly in this area during winter. Just like tomatoes in the summertime, these fruits are falling off the vine (or branch) in Sacramento! Paired with citrus, the lovely spices of Jägermeister are brightened and become livelier! Add a little Benedictine for an extra layer of herbaceous spiciness, and this cocktail hits all the notes. The Citrus + Spice is everything I want in a glass in Winter, it drinks like a sour and has so many layers of flavor that say YES on your palate.

Cocktail Name: Citrus + Spice = Everything Nice

Name: Teresa Loughner

Recipe:

• 1 ¼ parts Jägermeister
• ¼ part Benedictine
• ½ part Fresh Meyer Lemon juice
• ½ part Fresh Mandarin Juice
• ¾ part Citrus and Pepper Simple Syrup
• 2 dashes Grapefruit Bitters

Glass: Old Fashioned

Garnish: Dehydrated Myer Lemon

Method: Shake and double strain all ingredients into a bucket glass with one clear cube. Garnish with a dehydrated Meyer lemon.

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Citrus Peppercorn Simple recipe:

• 2 whole mandarins and 2 whole Meyer lemons washed and sliced (leave the skin on).
• 20 Black peppercorns lightly macerated.
• 2 c sugar, 2 c cold water.

Method: Place ingredients into a pot and bring to a medium boil over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until citrus rinds are beginning to look wilted and candied. Pull from heat, let cool, and store in the fridge overnight. Strain before use.

Tips & Tricks: This cocktail can be served over ice in a Collins glass with a splash of ginger beer for a lighter feel, garnished with fresh Meyer lemon and a bit of cracked peppercorn. It can also be served up in a Coupe glass for a fancy-feeling iteration. The key is using the freshest, most local citrus you can find in the wintertime. Juice the fruit (whatever is currently hanging on a neighbor's tree!) and strain out the pulp. The citrus and the Jägermeister are like best friends with totally different tastes that perfectly complement each other, together. If you live in Florida and have orange or grapefruit, this will work too! Just make sure some lemon comes into play, and make sure it's freshly juiced and not pasteurized.