Lillet Rosé

Imagine yourself sitting in the sunshine at a sidewalk café on a warm day. You crave refreshment, but want something that's not too light and crisp, not too dark and concentrated, but just the right shade of pink. Refreshing, with more oomph than a glass of wine, but not as much as a spirit or cocktail. Well Goldilocks, it turns out Lillet has just the thing. Introducing Lillet Rosé, a delicious new hue from the celebrated apéritif producer.

First conceived in 1872, Lillet is traditionally a blend of 85 percent wine from Bordeaux and 15 percent citrus liqueurs. Lillet Rosé is born of the classic white grapes of the region — semillon, sauvignon blanc, muscatel — mixed with orange liqueurs of fruits from Spain, Haiti, and France, and a hint of quinine according to 19th-century tradition. The color is imparted from additional red fruit liqueurs and splashes of Lillet Rouge, which contains a blend of wine from merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapes. The final result is a blush-colored drink with flavors of fresh berries, summer fruits, orange, grapefruit, and aromatic white flowers. It's bottled at 17 percent ABV, which puts it just a couple of notches above the typical alcohol content of wine.

It's terrific neat, on the rocks with an orange or grapefruit twist, or with a splash of soda or tonic. It can also do double duty as a fresh take on vermouth in cocktails.

Click here to see the Lil-Lilypad, L'Éléphant Rosé, and Rosie Reviver recipes.

— Amanda Schuester, The Spir.it