A summery cocktail with drawing upon the elements of the Aperol Spritz. And drawing upon the Corpse Reviver no. 2. This cocktail has some characteristics from all of the mentioned cocktails. A gin cocktail or an Aperol cocktail. Wine and Aperol makes an Aperol Spritz, the Corpse Reviver use Cocchi, gin, orange liqueur and lemon. Both have elements working well together. Both cocktails work well in the summer. Both cocktails are refreshing. Then the question comes if elements of both would be combined to one how that would work as a cocktail. In this case it is not similar to either when it comes to taste. It is actually a rather unique a cocktail and it has a flavour profile that I did not expect. The cocktail has a strong orange character. As someone who doesn’t eat oranges very often, I cannot say which type of orange it reminds me of however, for me this cocktail has the flavour of the oranges I personally prefer. In all this is a wonderful summery cocktail that I would highly recommend.

Thinking about the flavour of the cocktail after imbibing it, it is quite clear why it gets that flavour profile. To begin with there is an orange liqueur in the cocktail, contributing with sweet orange flavour, with Grand Marnier bringing a lot more richness than the crisper Cointreau. Secondly, the use of gin, which I always say adds some citrus elements, it is a spirit that works absolutely brilliantly with citrus such as lemon or orange. Lemon obviously adds citrus qualities and works well with orange. Cocchi also uses bitter orange peels as flavouring among other things, also making it balance well with all other citrusy ingredients. Lastly Aperol is rather bitter but very orangey in flavour. Together these cocktails make for a cocktail that tastes like a juicy slightly sweet, slightly fruity and slightly bitter orange.

My Recipe:

  • 0.75 oz (2.25 cl) Gin
  • 0.75 oz (2.25 cl) Aperol
  • 0.75 oz (2.25 cl) Cocchi Americano
  • 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Grand Marnier
  • 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Lemon Juice

Add the ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.