Roman Holiday Recipe

Chill glass

Place a coupe or Nick & Nora glass in the freezer or fill with ice water to chill while you build the cocktail.

Gather ingredients: Carpano Antica, Averna, fresh lemon, simple syrup, fresh mint, ice, and tools (shaker, jigger, bar spoon, strainer, muddler).

In a cocktail shaker, add the fresh mint leaves and 0.25 oz simple syrup. Gently muddle the mint 4–6 times: press and release to bruise the leaves and release aromatics without shredding them.

Add 1.5 oz Carpano Antica and 0.75 oz Averna to the shaker.

Measure and add 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice to the shaker.

Fill the shaker with plenty of ice (about 1 cup) and cap it. Shake vigorously for 10–12 seconds until the shaker is very cold and slightly frosted.

Dump the ice or water from your chilled glass. Double-strain the cocktail into the chilled coupe or Nick & Nora using a Hawthorne strainer and a fine-mesh strainer to catch mint fragments and ice chips.

Express a lemon twist over the drink by holding the twist skin-side down over the cocktail and giving it a firm squeeze to release oils, then rub the rim with the peel and drop the twist into the drink.

Garnish with a fresh mint sprig: slap the sprig once between your palms to release aromatics, then place it on the surface of the cocktail.

Serve immediately.