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Toasting brides with Ventura Limoncello

Flipping through mainstream cocktail books there are cocktails for bachelorette and bachelor parties, baby showers and even divorce ‘celebrations’, but weddings often skip a beat with the usual celebratory toast of champagne. Brides may dial up the classic Kir Royale for a fun Bridal toast, but the color lends itself to rubies and cooler months. Summer brides sparkle and shine with warmth and luster. Ventura Limoncello ideally captures that freshness with its youthful, summer freshness and natural appeal.

 

The Ventura Limoncello Limosa is perhaps the simplest cocktail to whip up on short notice for drop in guests or plan for in advance for large gatherings. The Limosa is a wonderful spring to summer cocktail destined for celebrations or the simple act of rewarding oneself. The original Limosa calls for 1 ounce of Ventura Limoncello with Prosecco topper. Since not all champagne flutes are sized the same my suggestion is to use a 1 part Limoncello to 4 part Brut Champagne ratio. To dress this up a bit add in a simple lemon twist. If you really want to add a twist of unique to the cocktail, use Zipang Sparkling Sake as the topper rather than Brut Champagne. 

 

1 part Ventura Limoncello - chilled

4 parts Brut Champagne

Lemon Twist Garnish

 

Place chilled Limoncello in champagne flute. Top with champagne. Garnish with lemon twist. In the event your Limoncello is not chilled: Place Limoncello in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for a few seconds until chilled. Strain into the champagne flute. Top with champagne. Garnish with lemon twist. It is important both liquid components are chilled or the entire cocktail will warm too quickly while building in the glass. 

 

The aroma of Ventura Limoncello is nice lemony fresh without that distinct cleaning polish scent some artificial lemon sugared products end up with. This one definitely carries a spirit aroma, but non-offensively. There is slight lemon peel in the nose, but no bite with it. Gentle sweetness flows even before the first taste.

 

Speaking of taste, that gentle sweetness carries right on through. Rather than obnoxious sugar overload of heavily syruped liqueurs, Ventura Limoncello goes light and flavorful. There is deep lemon zest without the acid tartness. The finish lingers just a bit with an unusual mellowing. Then again I sampled Ventura Limoncello neat rather than chilled as recommended, so the tiny settling at the end would be crisper chilled. Ice cold obscures and softens many slight variables and complexities in the finish that area actually character rather than flaw. 

 

All in all, Ventura Limoncello is an excellent product. While many consumers love sipping Limoncello as is chilled from a glass, my thought process turns to the mixed cocktail. With Ventura’s light touch and wonderful freshness the possibilities abound especially where summer wedding cocktails are concerned. Rather than disappear within a cocktail, Ventura could create emphasis and shine. Ventura Limoncello would pair lovely with a blanco Tequila that contains some peppery spice but not too much, possibly even a reposado with rich buttery tones. White sangria with summer fruits mixed with Ventura Limoncello would make a beautiful pitcher presentation for the eye and palate. The Ventura Limoncello site contains many cocktail ideas to enjoy with their product as well as where to purchase.