These cocktails let this tasty Italian liqueur shine in all its citrusy glory.
It’s the lemony liqueur that lands on the table after you've devoured your primi, secondi, and dessert. Hailing from Southern Italy (Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, and Capri – AKA heaven), limoncello is traditionally served ice cold at the end of an Italian feast to aid digestion. If you’ve ever enjoyed it in Italy, you know a nonna will often appear from the kitchen with a bottle of her best homemade recipe and encourage you to have several glasses. While it’s great as a digestive, limoncello really slaps in cocktails, adding a burst of citrusy sweetness to everything from Spritzes to Margaritas.
So, if you have a bottle of limoncello in your freezer and friends are on their way over, give one of the following recipes a go.
A Sangria that isn’t red? Hear us out. This is a lighter version that swaps out brandy for, you guessed it, limoncello to add some acidity and zing. As for the wine, we recommend a rich chardy (or chenin blanc) as the base for its bigger, riper, more tropical fruit flavours. In terms of fruits and herbs that’ll really make this cocktail sing, it’s all about what will complement the wine’s base flavour. Dried apple pieces, mandarin segments, bunches of sage, lemon thyme and half a vanilla pod pick up and exaggerate all those delightful flavours of your rich white wine of choice making for a fresh, zesty, herbaceous mix.
Another cute, pink and damn tasty cocktail from comedian and writer, Lucinda Price, AKA Froomes. We can’t get enough of this floral, slightly sweet, slightly sour take on the very traditional, jelly-esque Turkish Delight. It’s definitely less sweet than the original you’d pluck out of a Favourites box, but it still manages to carefully balance that perfect line between playful and sophisticated. All you need is rose water, pomegranate juice, a London dry gin and limoncello. It’s a cinch to make and looks a treat in a fancy coupe glass with desiccated coconut as the garnish. Take a leaf out of Froomes’ book and enjoy it as an after-dinner treat alongside some creamy cheese or in place of dessert.
