Beat the heat with an icy riff on gin and tonics and a more nuanced take on frosé.
A Sgroppino, flavored with rosé or gin and tonic, is just the thing for hot summer sipping.David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Long before the Grasshopper, the Piña Colada and the frozen daiquiri, there was the Sgroppino.
The slushy, lemony cocktail dates to the 16th century when, the story goes, a bright, cooling combination of lemon, sugar, ice and clear spirit was served at an aristocrat’s dinner party in Venice. Meant as a refreshing palate cleanser and digestive aid, the brisk, boozy drink was a hit and quickly became popular among the wealthy.
Today’s Sgroppino marries prosecco with vodka and sorbet, and it can be found in and out of Northern Italy. (And one no longer needs be a peer of the realm — or insanely wealthy — to enjoy it.)
Unlike other icy drinks, the Sgroppino remains analog: You need only a whisk and a bowl as blenders can introduce unnecessary heat and mess with the drink’s texture. To keep things as frosty as possible, especially on hot days, make sure everything — glasses and bowl, sorbet and spirit — is very cold. And, if your freezer has the space, throw the whisk in there, too.
Jacqueline Pirolo, the managing partner of Macchialina, Bar Bucce and Fluke in Miami, also suggests making a batch in advance, storing it in the freezer and taking it out five to 10 minutes before serving.
“It’s never going to fully freeze because of the vodka, but it will get close,” she said, adding that letting it sit out for a little bit will give your drink the “consistency of crushed ice that’s melting on a hot summer day.”
And don’t feel obligated to stay within the confines of the classic version. Use another sorbet flavor, such as a citrus-adjacent blood orange or grapefruit or a fruity raspberry or strawberry. Trade the Prosecco for another dry sparkling wine, such as cava, crémant or pétillant naturel.
Or make it swap in a nonalcoholic spirit and nonalcoholic sparkling wine, or, as Ms. Pirolo suggests, a high-quality sparkling lemonade.
If you’re staying the boozy course, switch out the vodka for another spirit. The Gin and Tonic Sgroppino is a bracingly slushy, tartly bubbled combination of lime or lemon sorbet whisked with botanical gin and dry tonic water. The complex Rosé Sgroppino skips hard alcohol altogether and mixes a red fruit sorbet (strawberry, raspberry or cherry) with a splash of bitter, digestive-aiding amaro and dry, sparkling rosé.
Keep in mind that, as with any drink that has a short ingredient list, the quality of said ingredients is important. In the matter of the Sgroppino, think less spiked Slurpee and more Venetian dinner party.
Served as a fizzy interlude between courses, a frosty dessert or a languid afternoon treat, a Sgroppino can be the ideal antidote to summer’s heat. And, drunk fast enough, it will still offer you a properly nostalgic brain freeze.
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