Cocktail

Sgroppino (Lemon Sorbet Cocktail)

by:
December 30, 2014
6 Comments

Every Tuesday, Italian expat Emiko Davies is taking us on a grand tour of Italy, showing us how to make classic, fiercely regional dishes at home.

Today: A refreshing Venetian cocktail that doubles as a digestif.

Shop the Story

The Venetians know a thing or two about mixing a good drink -- take the Aperol spritz and the Bellini -- and the sgroppino is no exception. A wonderful palate cleanser or a refreshing digestif, a sgroppino is basically a mixture of softened lemon sorbet and Prosecco (a dry sparkling wine from the Veneto and Friuli regions), whisked together until frothy. 

An age-old refresher that once graced aristocratic Venetian tables, this was often served between courses as a palate cleanser, particularly when moving from a seafood to a meat dish. Today, it is often served as an after-dinner drink in place of dessert and is commonly boosted with a splash of vodka (or more untraditionally, limoncello or even sambuca). The fact that the name of this drink comes from the Venetian word to “un-knot” or “to loosen” is no coincidence -- this is a welcome cocktail to enjoy after a big meal.

There are more versions of this drink than there are bartenders, and you can find it in a thicker form more like a smoothie, with a higher ratio of frozen sorbet to Prosecco. More uncommonly, you can even find it in an unmixed version, a little like an elegant ice cream soda, the Prosecco topped with a scoop of lemon sorbet. 

More: Serve this as dessert at your no-fuss New Year's Eve dinner party.

The consistency of this light and frothy cocktail is key. There are those that suggest to blend it in a blender, but purists will argue that it should be hand-whisked, as the blender melts the sorbet too quickly (and blending sparkling drinks leads to a flatter cocktail) -- and I have to agree. Hand whisking is no more laborious than it is to clean up a blender, and it doesn't take long. You'll have these refreshing, smooth-as-silk drinks in your guests' hands before you can say cin-cin!

Sgroppino

Serves 4, generously

2 cups (500 milliliters) lemon sorbet
2 cups (500 milliliters) Prosecco

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Emiko Davies

Tags:

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Ellen39
    Ellen39
  • jackie
    jackie
  • CrabCakes
    CrabCakes
  • Emiko
    Emiko
Emiko
The Australian-Japanese cookbook author has lived in Florence (where a visit to a cheese farm once inspired her to start a food blog) for over 10 years with her Tuscan sommelier husband and two kids. Her third cookbook, Tortellini at Midnight, is out now.

Popular on Food52

6 Comments

Ellen39
Ellen39 December 31, 2014
The first time we saw these delivered to guests at a restaurant in Venice I said to my husband, "They can't be having a glass of milk after dinner!" So we ordered one to find out what it was. And then we ordered another. And then..........
 
Emiko
Emiko December 31, 2014
fantastic, I love stories like these! :)
 
jackie
jackie December 30, 2014
No vodka?
 
Emiko
Emiko December 30, 2014
Hi, if you read the article you'll see the mention of vodka (and a couple other things you might also find in place of the vodka) but the traditional one (and the one I prefer) is sorbet and prosecco. ;)
 
CrabCakes
CrabCakes December 30, 2014
Any thoughts on substitutions for a non-alcoholic aperitif?
 
Emiko
Emiko December 30, 2014
Hmm, it's such a simple cocktail with only two ingredients, if you take out the prosecco you really just have slushy sorbet. I don't see much point in it but you could perhaps put soda water to make it a bit fizzy/loosen the sorbet a bit?