The cocktail of this week is an Aperol Collins. Somewhere in between an Aperol Spritz and an Aperol Sour, this cocktail is a light refreshing summery drink, that would be recommended to anyone who likes either as an alternative.

When I created this version of the cocktail, I am sure there are more out there, I chose what flavour I want, the Aperol, and then began to think how to balance it. My first thought was that Aperol is a weak spirit at only 11 % ABV, I thought if I wanted to make a Collins I would need some strength to the cocktail to balance out the sugar and acid that is present in a normal Collins. To increase the alcohol content, I decided on gin because the I think the flavour goes really well together with the bitterness of the Aperol, and they complement each other. Then the acid comes from the lemon, quite unsurprisingly. The sweetness comes in part from the Aperol. but I wanted a little more balance from sugar, since I think the Aperol is quite bitter and the sugar in the Aperol would not balance both the acid and bitterness. In the end I found a balance I though worked quite well, though as it is not a cocktail that I would make many times for myself I end my experimentation where at this cocktail I post and invite others to experiment on their own and come up with alterations and adaptions.

My Recipe:

• 1.5 oz (4.5 cl) Gin
• 1 oz (3 cl) Aperol
• 1 oz (3 cl) Lemon Juice
• 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Simple Syrup
• 2 oz (6 cl) Soda Water

Add the gin, Aperol, lemon juice and simple yrup to the shaker, shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass with ice. Top with 2 oz of soda water. The best garnish would be a piece of clear ice, and perhaps an orange wheel.