Luxardo Amaro Abano Recipe
A little fresh mint, a little grapefruit, a touch of anise, and some pine—that's the flavor of this fragrant amaro created on Croatia's Dalmatian coast, back when the region belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
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Ingredients
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Cocktail
Garnish & optional
Method
Cocktail
- 1
Brighten and build
In a shaker, add the fresh mint leaves, grapefruit juice, lemon juice and simple syrup. Gently muddle the mint with the juices and syrup about 6–8 times — you want to release bright aromatic oils without shredding the mint into ragged bits.
- 2
Add spirits and chill
Add the Luxardo Amaro Abano and the pine liqueur (or gin) to the shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 10–12 seconds until well chilled and slightly diluted.
- 3
Prepare serving glass
Fill a rocks glass or short tumbler with crushed ice (about 1 cup). If you prefer a colder glass, pre-chill the glass briefly in the freezer.
- 4
Strain and finish
Double-strain the cocktail over the crushed ice into the prepared glass to keep out mint bits and pulp. Use a fine mesh strainer in addition to the shaker strainer.
- 5
Garnish and aromatics
Express a grapefruit twist over the drink (hold twist skin-side down and give a quick squeeze to release oils) and drop it in. Slap the mint sprig between your palms to release aroma and place it atop the ice. If using, grate a very light pinch of star anise over the surface or float the dehydrated grapefruit wheel for visual appeal.
- 6
