by Amy Zavatto
45ml (1½fl oz) Cognac VS
8ml (¼fl oz) Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
8ml (¼fl oz) triple sec
15ml (½fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice (reserving the squeezed out lemon)
8ml (¼fl oz) Simple Syrup
2–3 dashes of fig bitters
30–60ml (1–2fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
granulated sugar, to rim the glass
a lemon twist, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the Cognac, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, triple sec, lemon juice, Simple Syrup and fig bitters in a shaker filled with ice and shake well. Rub the inside of the squeezed-out lemon around the rim of a coupe or cocktail glass. Sprinkle the sugar onto a flat plate and dip in the edges of the glass to coat the rim. Strain the contents of the shaker into the glass, top with Prosecco and garnish with the lemon twist.
ITALIAN 75
Why should Champagne have all the fun? An elegant staple of the Sunday morning set, the French 75’s origins are a bit murky (as many cocktail births are), but it seems to have had its pop-the-cork creation sometime during World War I. Another fogged up lens into the past obscures whether the drink should be made with gin or Cognac, a debate that continues to rage. What is clear is that the 75 is unequivocal proof that the notion of adding sparkling (like in our souped-up Negroni on page) to a standard isn’t a new idea, but a good one that’s been in use for quite some time. For all intents and purposes, this drink begins as a sour, just one that gets a little extra zip via, in this case, Prosecco.
INGREDIENTS
45ml (1½fl oz) Cognac
15ml (½fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
15ml (½fl oz) Simple Syrup
60ml (2fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
a lemon twist, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the Cognac, lemon juice and Simple Syrup into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Top with the Prosecco and garnish with the lemon twist.
CHEERS TO SAL
New York City is full of southern Italian immigrants and their descendants who came by the millions between the 19th and 20th centuries (my own grandfather, grandmother and aunts arrived in the 1920s, citizens already as my grandfather fought on the side of the Americans in World War I). My friend Tina’s dad arrived towards the end of the great move of southern Italians and Sicilians to New York. One of his favourite things to sip on before dinner was a little Amaro Averna and Prosecco: a lovely bitter-fruity combo if there ever was one. The story goes that credit for the creation of Averna’s liqueur is owed to Salvatore Averna, who was given the recipe by the monks of his local abbey in Caltanissetta, Sicily.
INGREDIENTS
45ml (1½fl oz) Amaro Averna liqueur
90ml (3fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the Averna into a flute and top with the Prosecco. Alternatively, you can also serve this over ice in a rocks glass.
SICILIAN SPRITZ
I took the previous drink and tweaked it a little, using the concept of the spritz and Champagne cocktail to come up with something that I love to offer friends and guests to whet their appetites before dinner. I like using a brut-style Prosecco here, but if you prefer to tip this drink more towards the sweeter side, go for a dry style.
INGREDIENTS
1 sugar cube
4–5 dashes of orange bitters
22ml (¾fl oz) Amaro Averna liqueur
60–90ml (2–3fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
a splash of soda water
a wide piece of orange peel, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Drop a sugar cube into a double rocks glass and splash it with the orange bitters. Crush with a muddler or a wooden spoon. Add the Amaro Averna, fill with ice and pour in the Prosecco. Give it a little stir, top with a splash of soda water and garnish with the orange peel.
CHERRY-OH
The inspiration for this drink came from the combo of kirsch (a brandy distilled from the fermented juice of morello cherries) and unsweetened black cherry juice – and how those two things seem to really sing when combined with a fruity Prosecco.
INGREDIENTS
60ml (2fl oz) gin
60ml (2fl oz) unsweetened black cherry juice
15ml (½fl oz) kirsch
15ml (½fl oz) Simple Syrup
1 drop of Peychaud’s Bitters
30ml (1fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
1 morello cherry, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the gin, cherry juice, kirsch, Simple Syrup and bitters. Shake well and strain into a coupe glass. Top with the Prosecco and garnish with a morello cherry.
GREEN EYES
The tart combination of citrusy-style gin, herbaceous Green Chartreuse and sprightly lemon juice gets a really fun bit of sparkle and sweetness from a fruity, dry-style Prosecco here. And is a great way to usher in spring (or, perhaps, try to hurry it along!).
INGREDIENTS
45ml (1½fl oz) gin
15ml (½fl oz) Green Chartreuse
8ml (¼fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
60ml (2fl oz) dry-style Prosecco
a thin slice of Granny Smith apple, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the gin, Chartreuse and lemon juice. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled double rocks glass. Top with the Prosecco and garnish with the apple slice.
SHIP TO SHORE
My friend Kevin Rice is an architect. He and his awesome architect wife, Tina Vultaggio, live about three doors down from me and are, quite often, the guinea pigs for liquidy libations I’m attempting to concoct. Kevin also happens to be a pretty good co-creator of cocktails. Sometimes, if I’m just missing something, he can come up with an element that brings the whole thing together. This is one of those cocktails. It sounds like a crazy combo of items, but beneath it all there’s this hum of rich ripe and dried fruits that get a boost from both the spicy habanero bitters and extra-dry Prosecco. The name? Rum, Cognac and port historically spent a whole lot of time on boats.
INGREDIENTS
15ml (½fl oz) Jamaican rum
15ml (½fl oz) Cognac
15ml (½fl oz) tawny port
22ml (¾fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bar spoon (1tsp) of orange curaçao
8ml (¼fl oz) Simple Syrup
1 dash of habanero bitters
30ml (1fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the rum, Cognac, port, lemon juice, curaçao, Simple Syrup and habanero bitters. Shake well and strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Top with the Prosecco.
SHINY NAIL
My Dad, Michael Zavatto, introduced me to the charms of this not very charmingly named cocktail (well, you know, unless you have a thing for rusty nails). But its name isn’t because it’s a tetanus-dispensing drink; it’s for the colour that Drambuie (a honey-and-Scotch liqueur) draws out in it, adding a pretty touch of browny-red to its hue. With this drink, I think it’s worth going for a DOCG-status Prosecco from the Valdobbiadene area, where the rocky, marine-deposit soils add a minerally, briny character that fits the drink nicely. I like using a blended Scotch that has a hint of salt and smoke with a fruity base, like Cutty Sark, Famous Grouse or Johnny Walker Red.
INGREDIENTS
75ml (2½fl oz) Scotch
8ml (¼fl oz) Drambuie
60ml (2fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
a wide piece of lemon peel, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a double rocks glass with ice. Pour in the Scotch and Drambuie. Give it a little stir. Top with Prosecco and garnish with the lemon peel.
FELICE’S FERRAGOSTO
A few years back, my husband and I went for a visit to my father-in-law’s region of Sicily, Agrigento, during the summer celebration there known as Ferragosto (the Roman Cath
olic celebration that basically kicks off the summer holidays in Italy). After a long day on the beach, the towns come alive at night with music, street fairs and throngs of vacationers strolling around, eating gelato and enjoying the time off from work and school. One of our favourite things to do was grab a seat at an outdoor café within earshot of some live music, spooning out a chilly, espresso-topped affogato, or simply sipping on a little amaretto over ice. This drink brings me right back there.
INGREDIENTS
30ml (1fl oz) amaretto liqueur
30ml (1fl oz) freshly squeezed orange juice
2 dashes of orange bitters
90ml (3fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
a wide piece of orange peel, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the amaretto, orange juice and bitters into an ice-filled double rocks glass and top with the Prosecco. Give it a little stir and garnish with the orange peel.
COME ON IN
I love the combination of fresh basil and pineapple. A gently fruit-forward, extra dry- or dry-style Prosecco boosts all that great sweet herby and tropical flavour even more. Mionetto makes a non-vintage DOCG version from Valdobbiadene from the town of Cartizze that has the perfect combo of notes (floral, herby and a touch of kiwi-tropical fruit) that goes so nicely with this drink. (The name? Pineapples are the symbol of welcome!)
INGREDIENTS
45ml (1½fl oz) London dry gin
8ml (¼fl oz) Basil Syrup (see page)
60ml (2fl oz) unsweetened pineapple juice
2 dashes of lemon bitters
90ml (3fl oz) extra dry- or dry-style Prosecco
a sprig of basil, to garnish
a pineapple wedge, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the gin, Basil Syrup, pineapple juice and lemon bitters into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a Collins glass. Top with the Prosecco, garnish with a sprig of basil and a pineapple wedge and pop in a straw.
POSITANO POP
Italy’s picturesque Amalfi Coast has earned its reputation as a vacation dream spot, with its dramatic cliffs jutting from the Sorrentine Peninsula, pretty little beaches – and, of course, ever-flowing bottles of potent, sweet-tart limoncello. This twist on a Champagne cocktail swaps out the Cognac with Positano’s popular digestif.
INGREDIENTS
1 sugar cube
4–5 drops of lemon bitters
22ml (¾fl oz) limoncello
90ml (3fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
a lemon twist, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Drop the sugar cube into a Champagne flute. Saturate with the lemon bitters and then break it up using a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon. Pour in the limoncello and top with the Prosecco. Garnish with the lemon twist.
BUBBLY JACK ROSE
Brandy and Prosecco are easy friends. You can riff on the two ingredients adding in other layers of flavour with little fear of failure. The Jack Rose is a great American cocktail that makes good use of something called Applejack – American apple brandy made popular during the colonial era. The gentle presence of residual sugar in an extra dry-level Prosecco works well here to put a bit of fruity sparkle on top of this classic cocktail – and if you really want to fine-tune the flavours, I’m a fan of working with an extra dry-style DOCG version from the Rive di Manzana in Conegliano (Frasinelli’s works great), with its rich mouthfeel and orchard-fruit notes. If you can’t find Applejack, substitute with Calvados, the famed apple brandy from Normandy.
INGREDIENTS
45ml (1½fl oz) Applejack or Calvados (apple brandy)
8ml (¼fl oz) Grenadine
15ml (½fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
60ml (2fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
a lemon twist, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the Applejack, Grenadine and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Top with the Prosecco and garnish with the lemon twist.
GARDEN WALK
Lemon verbena is one of my favourite potted herbs to grow because its aroma is absolutely irresistible and its fast, prolific growth is totally just-add-water rewarding. Its lemony-sweet smell kind of reminds me of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, and it makes the most delicious simple syrup in the world (see page for instructions on how to make simple syrups). Combine it with some gin, a brut-style Prosecco and some celery bitters and you won’t know what’s more pleasurable – sniffing its pretty aromatics or sipping this lovely refreshing combo. Okay, sipping.
INGREDIENTS
50ml (1¾fl oz) gin
15ml (½fl oz) lemon verbena syrup
15ml (½fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 dashes of celery bitters
90ml (3fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
a lemon slice or lemon verbena sprig, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the gin, lemon verbena syrup, lemon juice and celery bitters into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with the Prosecco. Garnish with a lemon slice or sprig of lemon verbena (or, heck, both!) and pop in a straw.
SEEDS OF CHANGE
The sweet-tart taste of pomegranate goes gorgeously with a dry, brut-style Prosecco (it’s also a great start to a sparkling punch if you need to throw one together in a jiffy!). Think of this as a revved-up Mimosa.
INGREDIENTS
a few pomegranate seeds
30ml (1fl oz) vodka
22ml (¾fl oz) pomegranate liqueur (I use PAMA)
22ml (¾fl oz) freshly squeezed orange juice
90ml (3fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
INSTRUCTIONS
Drop a few pomegranate seeds into a flute. Pour in the vodka, pomegranate liqueur and orange juice and top with the Prosecco.
DANCE PARTY
There are drinks that just go down so easy, they seem to have powers beyond simply tasting delicious. Like, say, one minute you’re sipping on this little rum-based Prosecco charmer and the next thing you know you and all your buds are dancing around your living room. This floral, fun, citrusy sparkler promises to do just that.
INGREDIENTS
45ml (1½fl oz) white rum
22ml (¾fl oz) elderflower liqueur
15ml (½fl oz) freshly squeezed lime juice
60ml (2fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
a wide piece of lime peel, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the rum, elderflower liqueur and lime juice. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled double rocks glass. Top with the Prosecco and garnish with the lime peel.
TIZIANO
Invented in Venice, this sparkling cocktail uses muddled black grapes to create its colour (the inspiration for its name, the 16th-century painter Tiziano Vecellio, was fond of the purplish-red hue that the cocktail’s main ingredient adds). Where I live, Concord grapes are prolific and easy to find in the late summer and early autumn, so I use them to make a syrup that adds a fun local twist to this Italian tipple (although any red or black grapes will do).
INGREDIENTS
30ml (1fl oz) Concord Grape Syrup
90–120ml (3–4fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the grape syrup into a flute. Top with the Prosecco.
GRAND AVENUE FROLIC
In the town I grew up in, there is an old hotel called the Chequit, that used to be the site of a great bar where lots and lots of merrymaking occurred on a nightly basis all summer long. It was the 80s. There was lots of neon, asymmetrical hair, Depeche Mode, dancing and drinking of bright, tropical, summery things, like the Madras – a particularly popular tipple among my friends and me. I abandoned it as years went on for less fruity, more ‘serious’ cocktails. But the thing is, who wants to be so serious when sipping cocktails? Especially bubbly ones. This souped-up Madras is even more delicious with a splash of extra-dry Prosecco. Viva la 80s.
INGR
EDIENTS
45ml (1½fl oz) vodka
22ml (¾fl oz) cranberry juice
22ml (¾fl oz) freshly squeezed orange juice
30ml (1fl oz) freshly squeezed lime juice
15ml (½fl oz) Cointreau
90ml (3fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
a wide piece of lime peel, to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the vodka, cranberry juice, orange and lime juices and Cointreau. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with the Prosecco, garnish with the lime peel and pop in a straw.
MIMOSA SUD
Perhaps one of the easiest cocktails to throw together is that classic brunch staple, the Mimosa. Orange juice, sparkling, boom! You’re done. But not only that, you’ve got something refreshing and festive that never fails to put a smile on everyone’s face. Taking a little extra effort, though, in the form of squeezing some fresh juice, makes a world of difference. Here, I like to add a little Italian twist with fresh blood orange juice, for both its flavour and gorgeous colour, along with an extra dry-style Prosecco to add a nice, round fruitiness to the sparkle and pop.
INGREDIENTS
60ml (2fl oz) freshly squeezed blood orange juice
90–120ml (3–4fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the blood orange juice into a flute. Top with the Prosecco.
RISE OF THE MOJITO
Adding a little Prosecco in place of the usual soda water in a Mojito makes this perennial fun favourite even more refreshing (and aromatic!). Definitely veer towards a drier-style Prosecco with a little more minerality (think DOCG Valdobbiadene), as it livens up and plays well with all that fresh, fragrant mint.
