Italicus Cocktail - A Bergamot and Camomile Gin Sour
This Italicus cocktail contains the exotic flavours of bergamot and camomile. It may look like a classic gin sour cocktail, but the flavours are sure to surprise, delight and seriously impress.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Total Time10 minutes mins
Course: Alcoholic Drink
Cuisine: Italian, Worldwide
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 2
Calories: 213kcal
For the Camomile Syrup
- 100 ml Water
- 75 g White sugar
- 1 Camomile tea bag or 1 heaped teaspoon dried camomile flowers
For the Italicus Cocktail
- 80 ml Gin London Dry
- 40 ml Italicus
- 60 ml Lemon juice
- 40 ml Camomile syrup
- 1 Egg white approx 30g
For the Dehydrated Lemon Wheels
Make the Syrup
Pour freshly boiled water into a pan containing the tea and let steep for 5-10 minutes
Either remove the teabag or, if using loose tea, strain through a sieve. Add sugar and heat to dissolve, then let cool
Decant into a bottle and keep refrigerated for up to 3 weeks
Make The Cocktail
Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and dry shake (without ice) for 30 seconds
Add ice and shake for another 30 seconds
Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel (or spirals of orange or lemon zest) and serve
Make Dehydrated Lemon Wheels
Thinly slice 1 or 2 lemons (¼cm thick) and lay them onto an oven-proof wire rack suspended over a baking sheet
Bake at 60C/ 120F for 5-6 hours (turning over every 90 minutes) until completely dried out
Set aside to cool then store in a sealable glass jar for up to 1 month
- Make the camomile syrup the day before to get ahead if desired - it stays fresh for up to 3 weeks
- The flavour profile of this Italicus cocktail means that most gins, especially London dry gins - be them citrussy, floral or herbaceous - should work well
- Perhaps avoid using more bespoke gins such as Old Tom or Genever
- And definitely do not use fruit flavoured gins (e.g blackberry, rhubarb etc...) in this recipe. It will up-skittle the balance of flavours in both the cocktail and the fruity gin
- After the dry shake take a taste of the drink and add a little more syrup if it is too sour for your tastes
- If using dehydrated lemon wheels for garnish note that they do need to bake at a very low temperature for around 6 hours, so make them in advance
- Alternatively, use spirals of lemon zest or a few dried camomile flowers to garnish the drink instead
Make it Vegan
Replace the egg white with aquafaba to make this drink vegan and keep the foamy top. Alternatively, it's perfectly acceptable to just leave the egg white out if you don't mind foregoing the foamy top.
Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg