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Food & Wine / Photo by Greg Dupree / Prop Styling by Thom Driver / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer
This lemony cocktail float marries the flavors of a French 75 with an added citrusy, floral zing from Italian limoncello. Topping the glass off with sparkling wine yields a bright and bubbly summer sipper, while the finishing scoop of lemon sorbet blurs the line between tipple and dessert in the most satisfying way.
Stirring together the limoncello, gin, and lemon juice along with cubes of ice before straining the drink serves two purposes: It chills down the ingredients and also slightly dilutes the alcohol.
Since this drink relies on store bought sorbet (though you can certainly make your own) adjust the sweetness of the cocktail depending on how sugary the sorbet is. Add more lemon juice to tamp down the sweetness, or a touch more limoncello to add more.
Though this recipe makes just one drink, don’t forget that you can easily scale the proportions up to serve a crowd. If you’re opening a bottle of sparkling wine, why not use all of it?
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
If you’re not a fan of gin’s floral notes, consider trying vodka instead for a more neutral spin on the drink.
Ingredients
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1 1/2 ounces limoncello
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2 ounces gin
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2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
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4 ounces sparkling wine
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1/4 cup lemon sorbet
Directions
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Stir together limoncello, gin, and lemon juice in an ice-filled mixing glass until mixture is well chilled and slightly diluted, about 30 seconds.
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Strain mixture into a rocks glass or a wine glass. Top cocktail with sparkling wine and lemon sorbet, and serve with a spoon.