The NA Sommelier
Quarter to Two
About the Recipe
My sister and I developed this drink while playing with Bottega Sparkling Life Rose from Italy. Bottega is a sweeter style rose made with grape must. We enjoyed some things about it, like the salinity and the beautiful nose of crabapple, cranberry, and plum, but it was a little too sweet for our pallets. So we did some tinkering using Wilderton’s Campari style Bittersweet Apperitivo to nod to Bottega’s Italian roots, bringing lemon and a splash of orange blossom water to round out the experience.
The result is a deliciously complex champagne cocktail that maintains the fruit and salinity of the Bottega but pairs it with bitterness and a delightfully languid citrus finish. These go down easy!
My partner tried the cocktail, and although he liked it, their pallet craved more bitterness. Thus, its younger twin, the Quarter after Two, was born a touch more rancorous with more of the Wilderton for a cocktail that increases in complexity and becomes more of an adult’s-only sipping experience.
Ingredients
1/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo
2.5 ounces Bottega Sparkling wine
a drop or two of Orange Blossom Water
*If you like something a little more bitter, try The Quarter after Two by simply tripling the Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo
Preparation
Step 1
Place 1/4 ouce lemon juice and 1/4 ounce Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo in champagne glass.
Step 2
Pour two ounces of Bottega Sparkling Rose into glass
Step 3
Add a drop or two of Orange Blossom water
Step 4
Garnish with a lemon zest
*Double recipe to fill a champagne glass and tripple Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo for more complex sipping experience.