White Russian Recipe with Homemade Tangerine Vodka

Citrus in a creamy drink might sound a little bit curdly, but this tangerine White Russian uses homemade tangerine vodka to get that orange-and-coffee goodness without affecting the milk.

More infused cocktails: The Tipsy Earl, Plum-Basil Margarita, Peach-Basil Lemon Drop

This recipe had a sort of odd inspiration. It happened when I was taking out the compost. I know. Stay with me.

Darrol Henry has been obsessed with tangerines lately. He eats two or three a day right now. And I’ve been eating one every day too. The point here is that we go through a lot of tangerines. Our compost bin is probably half made up of tangerine peels at the moment.

Dave and I also drink a lot of coffee. Like one to two pots per day. So the other half of our compost is basically all coffee grounds. And you guys. Tangerine peels and coffee grounds kind of smell amazing together. So when you think “Tangerine White Russian,” you should think “compost.”

Wait. Don’t do that.

But definitely make this drink. It’s seriously good. It’s also a lot stronger than my usual Friday Cocktail, so sip with care. A White Russian is basically all booze.

Making the tangerine vodka for this White Russian recipe.

The tangerine vodka that I used in this recipe was homemade. If you’re wanting to make this recipe without waiting five days for vodka to infuse, I’d recommend using Absolut Mandarin. It’s a vegan vodka that has a similar tangerine flavor. But if you have time to infuse your own, it’s so much better.

If you’re feeling skeptical about coffee and orange, I hope you’ll put your feelings aside. Chocolate and orange is such a great combo, and coffee has a lot of the same qualities that make chocolate pair so well with citrus. That dark bitterness plus just a little bit of bright tangerine is such a nice combination.