Lillet Spritz

A Lillet Spritz: equal parts club soda and Lillet Blanc equal the perfect drink to help cool you down this summer! Serve over ice and with an orange slice. Et voilà!

Recently there was buzz about Taylor Swift’s favorite cocktail, The French Blonde. And rightly so, it’s beyond delicious! However, that left a ton of the Lillet Blanc wine leftover. While I don’t mind having a cocktail here and there, I actually prefer to go for a kombucha before anything else. Regardless, that got me thinking of how best to use up the rest of the Lillet Blanc. Enter a Lillet Spritz. Equal parts club soda and Lillet Blanc make a light and refreshing bubbly that will be perfect come summertime, or currently spring in Miami.

If you’re not familiar with Lillet yet, you’re in for a wonderful treat! Pronounced lee-LAY, Lillet Blanc is a French aperitif wine that is fortified with a mix of citrus liqueurs. Lillet Blanc is the original variety and is made with a mix of white Bordeaux grapes. While the flavor is a bit difficult to describe, it has hints of candied oranges, honey, pine resin, unique fruits, and flowers! A little goes a long way. At 17% “ABV” (alcohol by volume), it’s not like a true spirit, but it’s much higher than wine, that is normally in the 10-12% range.

There are actually three types of Lillet. All of them have hints of candied oranges, honey, pine resin, unique fruits, and flowers. The Lillet Blanc has a light clear color as it’s made from white grapes. The rouge is made from red grapes and the Rosé is made from a blend of the blanc and rouge grapes and can give a nice splash of color to your drink! As I had leftover Lillet Blanc, I made sure to put it to use!

Ingredients: Lillet Spritz

One of the best things about this drink is not only that it is super simple to make – it’s just two ingredients – but it’s a perfect drink for a get together/celebration. An impressive cocktail that only seems fancy but really is just mixing Lillet Blanc with club soda. Read on for a few tips and tricks!

• Lillet Blanc: pronounced lee-LAY, is a French aperitif wine that is fortified with a mix of citrus liqueurs. Lillet Blanc is the original variety and is made with a mix of white Bordeaux grapes. While the flavor is a bit difficult to describe, it has hints of candied oranges, honey, pine resin, unique fruits, and flowers!
• Club Soda/Seltzer: Make sure to grab a plain variety rather than a flavored variety. The flavor of Lillet is very light, so if you were to choose a flavored variety it could over power the Lillet. Another important note to make is make sure not to grab tonic water. Tonic water has a very strong flavor and that may not suit your taste. Additionally, tonic water is similar to soda, so it will add extra calories. Opting for a simple spritz here with just club soda and Lillet keeps it light and refreshing.

How To Make A Lillet Spritz

1. Fill a wine glass with ice cubes.
2. Add Lillet Blanc and equal parts club soda.
3. Garnish with an orange slice and serve! Cheers!

Tip: Once opened, you must store Lillet in the refrigerator (same for vermouths, as they are all wines). Lillet will keep for up to one month. A recipe on the Lillet bottle shows a mix with club soda with a squeeze of citrus to make a nice spritz. I’ll definitely be experimenting with other drinks to find at least one more use!

Additionally, I would not recommend shaking in a fancy shaker and/or even a mason jar. The club soda is fizzy and can ‘explode’ so to speak, so be careful if you do try to shake and add some frothiness to your drink. Don’t feel like you need to have fancy equipment to make certain drinks.

Other Refreshing Drinks

• Aperol Spritz
• Hugo Spritz
• Blood Orange Mocktail

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