Italicus Cocktail - A Bergamot and Camomile Gin Sour

A gin sour with bergamot and camomile. Garnished with egg white foam and dehydrated lemon

5 from 6 votes

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

Total Time10

Course: Alcoholic Drink

Cuisine: Italian, Worldwide

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 213kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Ingredients

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

1-2 Lemons

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

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

Video

Notes

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.

Nutrition