This Aperol Cocktail is Perfect for Spring!

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The Aperature – a cocktail made from Aperol, gin, and blood oranges – helps usher in spring while saying goodbye to citrus season.

In my early twenties, I lived in Florence for a year on a street called Via degli Artisti with a wonderful painter named Fiorella, a sandy blonde with a scratchy voice and a deep affection for card games, rum, and cigars. We were a 10-minute ride on our rusty bicycles from the heart of city, and a brisk five-minute walk from the main market near Santa Maria Novella. The first warm sunny days of spring always remind me of Fiorella and how she would wake up each morning, fling open the kitchen doors, and step onto our tiny terrazza to water the scented geraniums on the railing. She’d come back into the kitchen and fresh squeeze two glasses of blood orange juice by hand, one for each of us.

The fruits Fiorella juiced were called Moro oranges. Grown in Sicily, they tasted more like fresh raspberries than any kind of orange I had ever tasted, with flesh ranging from deep orange to dark burgundy. I lived for these oranges and those mornings when Fiorella made me sit down with her for breakfast.

As I wait here at home for the flora of the season to pop, I scan my imagination for ways to conjure spring. I keep a keen eye on the oily green rhubarb leaves peeking out of the soil in my raised bed. I visit the micro clusters of lemon balm daily – but it’s still too soon to pick it. And the asparagus nowhere in sight. And so I find solace in fresh oranges at this time of year – so sweet and so abundant – though I know that the harvest must be on its last legs. Clementines and minneolas will slowly but surely trickle out of season, soon to be replaced with the awe of artichokes, fiddleheads, and fresh nettles.


One of my favorite epiphanies from my time in Florence came in the form of a cocktail. I call it the Aperture, as it’s proverbial widening of the lens, if you will. It’s a marriage of two of my favorite classic drinks, the Aperol spritz (a quaffable mix of the bitter aperitif, prosecco, and soda water) and the Negroni (equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth). Every café in Florence serves their own version of a Negroni during aperitivo (cocktail hour), complemented by a bowl of olives or nuts, or sometimes a bigger spread of cured meats, cheese, and crostini topped with anything from fresh seafood to tiny slices of hotdog. (During aperitivo, anything is possible.)3-blood-orange..jpg

The Aperture’s soft, fruity notes come from the blood orange juice, which adds a lush texture and depth to the spritz, mellowing any sharp edges from the gin and fortifying the citrusy notes of the Aperol….

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The Aperture Recipe

<3 Little Bitte

For Fiorella, my Italian queen.

Spring Cocktail Workshop

March 16th | Floral Necklaces + Cocktail Workshop

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The Local Bouquet Studio

Thurs. March 16, 2017 | 6:00-8:00 PM | $75.00

Floral Necklaces + Cocktail Workshop

Join Willa Van Nostrand from Little Bitte & Mary Kate Kinnane from The Local Bouquet for a evening filled with spring blooms + botanical craft cocktails.

Learn how to design a floral necklace filled with locally grown flowers, foliage and plants, the perfect accessory for a girl’s night out! While at our studio, freshen up your cocktail skills with a hands on tutorial with Little Bitte! Learn 2 new botanical cocktail recipes and the best ways to garnish them— the perfect addition to any upcoming dinner party!

Light refreshments will be served throughout the class and all materials and supplies will be provided. Each attendee will be able to take home their own floral necklace as well as the cocktail recipes.

#ohyesitsladiesnight

It’s the Summer of Mezcal, and This Is the Frozen Raspberry Drink of Your Dreams

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“A good berry picker moves with her hands, not her feet.” The words have been emblazoned into my mind from years of driving up the dirt road to the berry patch at Macomber Farm. I can still see Mr. Macomber whizzing down the path on his clunky mountain bike, all wheels and spokes, a cloud of dust trailing behind him to meet me by the fence and the “Pick UR Own” sign. Strewn on the picnic table, an inviting stack of green paper baskets would be waiting to be filled to the brim with the ripe berries of the moment.

Even today, as I approach a different farmer, questions dart through my mind: Will he have any strawberries left? Are the raspberries ripe yet? When do the blueberries usually come in, again? How many berries is too many to eat in the field? Damn it, did I leave my sun hat in the car? Yes, I am sure I did…

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My favorite mezcal cocktail is the Raspberry Frezcal. I know it sounds Seussian, but it’s the name that’s stuck, summer after summer, when the fresh berries come in. Frezcal is like the older sister of frosé (yes, that’s frozen blended rose) that only leaves the house in kitten heels – vibrant, pink, frothy, and a bit of an ice queen. I love Raspberry Frezcal….

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For the Raspberry Frezcal recipe & the full article visit: www.puddingstonepost.com

Many thanks to Sweet Berry Farm, Kat Cummings, baby Amon, &  Emelyn Daly

for playing the muse!


<3 Little Bitte

 

PIMM’S Cup R&D

It’s that time of the year again to revisit one of our favorite classics— the Pimm’s Cup!

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 An exquisite vehicle for fresh summer fruit, herbs & produce, the Pimm’s Cup reigns as one of the best cocktails to ring in the golden hour.

Inquire about our Pimm’s signature cocktails!

#raisethebar #pimmsoclock #gardentoglass #drinkrealcocktails

<3 Little Bitte

The Grade A Pisco Sour: A Classic Updated for Maple Syrup Season

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The traditional pisco sour gets updated with maple syrup, a nod to sugaring season across New England. 

In 1641, King Philip IV of Spain sanctioned heavy taxes on all wine produced in Peru. Instead of revolting, his indignant overseas subjects evaded the burden by distilling their grape harvest into booze. Talk about the mother of invention.

Pisco (which means “bird” in the indigenous Quechua language) remains a popular spirit today. The clear brandy-like libation is named for the Peruvian port from where it was first exported. Made from grapes fermented with their skins still on, it goes through a single distillation, meaning there’s no water added; each batch is pure and unaltered…

This is culinary alchemy: The culmination is light but rich, tart and ambrosial.

Visit  Puddingstone Post for the full story & the Grade A Pisco Sour recipe.