Berserkers,
Yet another Cocktail Chronicle, this time courtesy of Eataly. Yes, the mega Italian food hall franchise where I occasionally have lunch introduced me to a popular cocktail I’ve never had before, the Limoncello Spritz.
Everyone is familiar with the Aperol Spritz, the orange tinged bitters based spritz drink. I personally find an Aperol Spritz to be weak sauce but using a much stronger Italian red bitter such as Campari might be way too much for some people. So I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced one lunch at Eataly to the Limoncello Spritz. It’s exactly the same idea as the Aperol Spritz, just sub out the Aperol for the famous Italian Limoncello liqueur and you’ve got yourself a new drink.
But of course I had to just add my own personal touch. So I subbed out half the limoncello for Chartreuse and came up with a new spritz drink. Both are below:
LIMONCELLO SPRITZ
SPIRITS: None
LIQUEURS: 2 parts Limoncello
SWEETS: None
SOURS: 1 lemon slice or wedge, lightly squeezed
BITTERS: None
ADDITIONAL: 3 parts sparkling wine of your choice (Prosecco, sparkling wine or Champagne); 2 parts soda water
Pour all liquid ingredients into a large glass. Add a generous amount of ice and stir very lightly. Add in a lemon slice or wedge, ever so slightly squeezed to release both the juice and peel oils into the glass. Enjoy.
LIMONCELLO CHATREUSE SPRITZ
SPIRITS: None
LIQUEURS: 1 part Limoncello; 1 part Chartreuse (any type)
SWEETS: None
SOURS: 1 lemon slice or wedge, lightly squeezed
BITTERS: None
ADDITIONAL: 3 parts sparkling wine of your choice (Prosecco, sparkling wine or Champagne); 2 parts soda water
Pour all liquid ingredients into a large glass. Add a generous amount of ice and stir very lightly. Add in a lemon slice or wedge, ever so slightly squeezed to release both the juice and peel oils into the glass. Enjoy.
NOTES: Chartreuse, the famous French herbal liqueur produced by Carthusian monks, has become a rare commodity with the monks deciding to limit production in 2019 to 1.6 million bottles per year, citing the environmental impacts of production, and their desire to focus on solitude and prayer. The recipe famously contains 130 different herbs and is 100% natural.
What the monks didn’t count on is the progress of modern technology, specifically Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, that would enable other distillers to get an idea of what exactly goes into the vaunted liqueur. Sensing an opportunity, many distillers around the world have been producing their own versions of a “green herbal” liqueur in a clear attempt to capitalize on the shortage. They might not be 100% exact but they’re going to be a lot closer than you would expect.
While I currently have no need to invest in any of these alternatives yet – I own three bottles of original green Chartreuse as well as a bottle of yellow Chartreuse and a bottle of Chartreuse 9th Centenaire – I am very interested in trying out the alternatives. Give them a try if you don’t have any Chartreuse. Or just do the limoncello spritz.