Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger
/If I had a list of my top ten favorite bottle caps, Fentimans would be near the top. Perhaps it’s my love of dogs, but the image of this great wolf like canine on the cap brings a smile to my face every time I see it. What this hound is guarding is a bottle of Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger. Now most of us are somewhat familiar with the taste of a mandarin orange. If you’ve ever had a clementine or tangerine, those are both examples of the mandarin family. Now I actually had to look up what a Seville orange was. The Seville orange, or bitter orange, is known for its tart taste and has its oil used in perfumes and the like.
Two oranges entered this bottle and they’ll both emerge, but hopefully I will be the victor. Cane sugar also entered this bottle, along with fermented ginger root extracts and of course carbonated water. I’m a little nervous on how “bitter” this might taste, but I suppose there’s only one way to find out.
After upending this bottle it dawned on me how much the liquid inside looks like egg yolk. The aroma, on the other hand, is very much that of orange juice. Ok, so two of your ingredients are oranges, it’d be terrifying if it didn’t smell like orange juice. Let’s see if I’m about to have a midday breakfast beverage.
Twist has eaten all varieties of orange.
While the initial flavor is not completely of my liking, I can definitely see folks enjoying this. Four or five air bubbles rush to the back of the bottle each time I put it to my lips, creating a sound that can only be described as “blorb”. In simple terms, Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger tastes like a somewhat fermented, somewhat bitter orange juice. Even though I feel it can be hastily described as I have just done, each sip though is complex enough that I want take another and try to figure out all aspects of the drink. There are hints of ginger throughout and the flavor doesn’t stay the same for any amount of time, it’s constantly changing from the first bitter bite to the eventual sweet orange sensation that sort of rests on my tongue. Low carbonation allows for all of these changes to occur unhindered by potential raucous bubbles. It’s such a great beverage, but I just don’t like the taste.
We’ve reached a point where I’m going to have to explain myself and the rating I’m about to give Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger. This is a wonderful beverage that I think everyone should try. The folks at Fentimans have my respect for creating it and all of the amazing changes that occur when you consume it. All natural ingredients, a wonderful bottle, and of course one of my favorite caps of all times should make for a great score, but it doesn’t. This is one of the times that I honestly think my opinion of this beverage is too low, but I can’t change how it tastes in my mouth so the score will also be lower than I think it deserves. With that said, give it a shot. Perhaps your taste buds will appreciate what mine could not.
~A
