Tropical Summertime Spritz 

Summer is upon us (finally) again! And what better way to celebrate the hot weather than a new spritz in your cocktail repertoire? 

This month I made a coconut fat-washed Campari as a base for a unique, crushable spritz to liven up your warmer months. The most involved process is not that involved, so don’t get nervous. 

Get yourself some unrefined coconut oil and for every four and a half ounces of Campari, add two ounces of the coconut oil. I’d recommend starting small with four-and-a-half ounces of Campari in case you don’t like the final product. If that happens, you haven’t wasted much alcohol. 

First make sure the coconut oil is liquid, which just means submerging its vessel in hot water for about ten to fifteen minutes. Once the coconut oil is liquefied, marry it with the Campari. Seal the liquid in a glass jar and allow it to sit at least four hours at room temperature. Next, put it in the freezer overnight. The longer you allow it to freeze, the more the coconut flavors will pop. I personally recommend twenty-four hours in the freezer. 

When you remove the jar, you will see the coconut oil solidified on top of the Campari. Remove the coconut fat and fine strain with a mesh strainer or cheesecloth to make sure none of the coconut fat remains. The result is a coconut forward, slightly bitter Campari. Yummy! 

The rest is even easier:

Coconut Campari Spritz

4 ounces seltzer water 

1 ½ ounce coconut fat-washed Campari

¾ ounce pineapple juice

½ ounce simple syrup

1 orange wheel, sliced about ¼ inch thin

Add all ingredients but the orange wheel to a highball glass, top with ice and roll between glass and half a shaker

Garnish with the orange wheel pressed against the glass, held in place with a straw

The coconut fat wash really mellows the Campari’s natural bitterness, which is only further pushed to the end of the palate by the pineapple juice and seltzer. This is a subtle, tropical and ever so slightly bitter spritz. If you’re a fan of an Aperol Spritz or an Americano, I’d recommend trying this at home.

Happy fat-washing!