Puccini

Steps

1. 1

   Cut a couple of mandarins in half and squeeze them until you have at least 30ml of juice. Pour the juice through a fine strainer into your jigger to catch any pulp, seeds, or stringy bits — you want it smooth.

   !Leaving pulp in the juice makes the drink cloudy and gives it a chunky texture that fights the bubbles.

2. 2

   Pour the 30ml of strained mandarin juice into the bottom of your chilled champagne flute. Tilt the glass slightly as you pour — this helps later when you add the Prosecco.

   !Pouring juice into an unchilled glass warms everything up and the drink goes flat faster.

3. 3

   Open your chilled Prosecco and slowly pour about 90ml into the flute, pouring it down the inside of the tilted glass rather than straight down the middle. This keeps the bubbles lively instead of making them foam up and overflow.

   !Pouring too fast or straight down the center creates a foam volcano and you lose half the glass.

4. 4

   Take your bar spoon and give the drink one slow, gentle stir from the bottom — just enough to mix the juice into the Prosecco without stirring out the fizz. You'll see the pale orange color spread evenly through the glass, and that's your cue to stop.

   ~5s

   !Stirring too vigorously beats the gas out of the Prosecco and leaves you with a flat drink.

5. 5

   Take a thin strip of mandarin peel and twist it over the surface of the drink so the citrus oils spray across the top, then drop it in. Serve right away while it's still cold and bubbly.

   !Squeezing the peel too hard drops bitter white-pith oil into the drink instead of the fragrant outer oils.