Bitter Lemon Spritz

Fun fact: I live for Friday night.

My roommate and I do a thing on Fridays, and it is straight up WILD, people. You’ve been warned…

Circa 6:30 p.m., I put on my finest pair of gray sweatpants and a nice soft t-shirt. If I’m feeling particularly fancy, I’ll match my shirt to my pants and tuck that shit in for good measure. (“Groutfits” are so hot right now!) I tee up a good podcast to keep me company, and then I set to work on the “Friday Pasta.”

Sidenote: For those curious about said pasta—a Friday Instastory staple—it’s the Penne with Spinach Pesto from The Dude Diet (p. 260). I half the amount of pasta and add a head of roasted cauliflower florets, a diced Idiotproof Chicken Breast (p. 257), and a generous sprinkling of goat cheese. And I save the leftover pesto to dress up my meals the following week. Highly recommend.

My roommate usually gets home around 7:30 p.m., which is when things really start to heat up. He too puts on a sexy sweatsuit and joins me in ze kitchen. We hang out and have a drink while I finish up dinner (Logan sometimes takes his shirt off because the space isn’t realllly meant for hairy multiple bodies while the oven is on) before retiring to the couch with our pasta and cocktails to binge watch extremely high quality television. Intermittent naps encouraged.

Like I said, it’s wild, and it is hands down my favorite few hours of the week. In fact, I secretly resent when I’m forced to put on real clothes and go out on a Friday. #couchisthenewclub

October is a busy month for big celebrations around here. There was the wedding thang and lots of birthdays, including Logan’s next weekend, but in keeping with my 2017 commitment to everyday merrymaking, I’m excited to celebrate a lot of smaller things this month too: Bath weather! Much needed QT with my favorite friends! A post-nuptial return to routine/normalcy! And last but not least, my first Friday night on the couch with my new husband (?!!).

While Château Logena’s Friday night c-tails are traditionally of the tequila or Moscow Mule varieties, I plan to up my bartending game tonight with a Bitter Lemon Spritz. A simple blend of muddled fresh lemon, Angostura bitters, vodka, lemonade, and a splash of club soda, this spritz is festive, light, and somewhat dangerously delicious.

I used Tropicana Premium Lemonade for this recipe because I love the taste (childhood favorite), and it makes impromptu cocktailing that much easier. (Reallly not trying to make my own lemonade on a whim.) If you’re feeling experimental, feel free to try their Tangerine Lemonade in your spritz—it’s delightful.

I like to add a rosemary ”swizzle stick” for a lil fresh flair, but the drink is also great with a sprig of thyme or sans herbal accoutrements altogether. Oh, and you can definitely sub gin for vodka if you prefer. You know I like it when you do you.

This recipe makes a single cocktail, but the proportions are easily multiplied for those celebrating with a crowd, so keep it in mind for holiday entertaining. If you do go the big batch route, simply strain out the muddled lemons before serving and float a few lemon rounds and rosemary sprigs in your punch bowl or drink dispenser. Guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Happy Friday, friends! Bottoms up.

Bitter Lemon Spritz

Author - Serena Wolf

Print recipe Save RecipeSaved!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Yields: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 lemon wedge seeds removed (I like to use a quarter of a lemon cut into two smaller wedges)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1.5 ounces vodka
• 3 ounces Tropicana Premium Lemonade
• 1 ounce club soda
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Instructions

• Add the vodka, lemonade and several ice cubes to the shaker and shake vigorously until chilled and frothy.
• Transfer the contents of the shaker to a rocks glass, add the club soda. (Add a few extra ice cubes if needed.)
• Serve with a rosemary sprig “swizzle stick.”

This post is sponsored by Tropicana. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep this site as fun and delicious as possible. As always, all opinions are very obviously my own.