With the arrival of September, summer begins to draw to a close, slowly giving way to autumn: on these last warm days, by the sea or in the city, there is nothing better than toasting with a fresh, elegant cocktail with a fruity and botanical twist that captures and releases the essence of summer.
From reinterpretations of great classics to new recipes and mixes, here are 7 cocktails perfect for this time of year, to be enjoyed not only as an aperitif but also with dinner.
Bee Yourself
A simple yet vibrant cocktail that elegantly enhances the quality of its ingredients, including Visionair, an ethical, artisan Tuscan gin whose botanicals are selected from among ‘bee-friendly flowers’.
A natural gin sour, smooth and citrusy, with a roundness and sweetness that caress the palate without ever overpowering it, in a perfect balance between the floral notes of chamomile, acacia and bergamot in the gin and the acidity of fresh lemon juice.
Recipe:
50 ml Visionair Gin
25 ml fresh lemon juice
20 ml flower honey
10 ml Whistler’s Storm Earl Grey
Fill a small glass with ice, chill and empty the glass completely. Pour all ingredients into a shaker and stir with a spoon. At this point, add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously until the drink is sufficiently cold and diluted. Double strain into the previously chilled glass, then assemble all ingredients directly in a highball glass and serve.
l'Illuminista
An elegant and structured twist on the classic Negroni, where Caribbean spices meet the soul of Turin and the Piedmontese botanicals of Amaro, White Vermouth and Doragrossa Bergamot Liqueur, all with a refined citrus touch. An ‘exotic Negroni’ that is also ideal as an aperitif.
Recipe:
30 ml Jamaica Rum
30 ml Doragrossa White Vermouth
30 ml Doragrossa Amaro di Torino
7.5 ml Doragrossa Bergamot Liqueur
Chill a lowball glass with ice, then empty the excess water. Next, pour in all the ingredients and stir with a rotating motion (stir) to dilute and cool the mixture. Once the desired dilution is achieved, add ice to fill the glass.
Palonauta
A contemporary cocktail that combines the bitter charm of Amaronauta (produced in the province of Alessandria by Liquori Bureau using botanicals from all over the world enriched with local roots reinterpreted in a contemporary key) with the smoky soul of Mezcal, in a surprising balance between intensity, freshness and minerality. A revisited Paloma with an all-Italian twist.
Recipe:
40 ml Amaronauta
20 ml Mezcal
15 ml fresh lime juice
10 ml agave syrup
Top: grapefruit soda and a pinch of salt
Fill a highball glass with ice, chill and drain. Pour the ingredients into the glass and stir to combine. At this point, fill the highball glass with ice and top up with grapefruit soda. Stir gently with a spoon to preserve as much effervescence as possible. Next, pour in all the ingredients and stir with a rotating motion (stir) to dilute and cool the mixture. Once the desired dilution is achieved, add ice to fill the glass.
Sapling Collins
Fresh, clean, thirst-quenching and surprising, it blends the classicism of a gin fizz with a salty, contemporary touch. An elegant long drink with a Mediterranean twist, featuring herbaceous notes and hints of rosemary that characterise Sapling's London Dry gin. Sapling is a climate-positive, B Corp-certified British company that uses only local, regenerative organic grain to produce its gin.
Recipe:
50ml Sapling London Dry Gin
10ml lemon juice
10ml sugar syrup
Add soda water and olives to garnish
Fill a highball glass with ice, chill and drain off any excess water. Then pour in the ingredients, top up with soda water and stir gently with a spoon to preserve as much effervescence as possible. Finally, garnish with olives.
Sapling Raspberry Mule
Sparkling and fragrant, this cocktail is perfect not only for these last warm days of September but also for a refined aperitif throughout the rest of the year. A fresh, flavoured mule, in which the tart notes of lime and ginger combine with hibiscus and the sweetness of raspberries, which Sapling enhances by selecting imperfect fruit (rejected by supermarkets) for its vodka, but tasty to reduce food waste.
Recipe:
50ml Sapling Raspberry + Hibiscus Vodka
15ml lime juice
Top: Ginger beer
Fill a highball glass with ice, chill and drain off any excess water. Then pour in the ingredients, top up with ginger beer and stir gently with a spoon to preserve as much effervescence as possible.
Isla Rosa
A fresh and balanced cocktail, where the liveliness of lime and the delicate bitterness of grapefruit blend with the lightness of white rum (and carbon negative) from Two Drifters, a distillery in Devon, UK. Perfect for those who love clean and thirst-quenching flavours, with an exotic, vegetal and refined touch.
Recipe:
50 ml Two Drifters White Rum
20 ml Lime
35 ml fresh grapefruit juice
15 ml simple syrup
Garnish: maraschino cherry
Vato Margarita
One of the most famous and popular cocktails in the world, the Margarita is a timeless drink, with its balanced mix of savoury and sweet flavours, enriched by the sweet herbaceous aromas and delicious salty notes of Buen Vato white tequila. A flavourful tequila that significantly reduces its environmental impact with its bottle-shaped cardboard container.
Recipe:
6 cl Buen Vato Blanco Tequila
1.5 cl Triple sec
5 cl freshly squeezed lime juice
0.5 – 1 cl Beso De Agave agave syrup
