Bottle Buy: Luxardo Bitter Bianco

Hello again! I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, though I've been quite active on Instagram - if I want to just snap a single photo of a drink it often ends up there instead of on here.  I've also had the opportunity to partner with some additional brands like The Elan Collective and Coco Sky on recent (and upcoming!) recipes. So be sure to check it out if you want some additional drinks and pictures!

Today I want to introduce one of my new favorite bottles: Luxardo Bitter Bianco. This herbal liqueur is a bitter like Campari, Aperol, or Suze. In fact, the popularity of swapping Suze for Campari to make White Negronis seems to have been one factor that influenced Luxardo's creation of the colorless Bitter Bianco. It's made with a number of different botanicals, including wormwood, quinine, rhubarb, cardamom, bitter orange, and three mystery herbs. While it is definitely a bitter liqueur, it has notes of bright citrus and a good bit of sweetness to it.

Versatility is usually one of my main criteria when I add a new bottle to my bar, but with this one I had a single drink in mind. I absolutely love a Negroni made with Luxardo Bitter Bianco. Called a Negroni Bianco, it's usually made with blanc or dry vermouth to keep it entirely colorless (while one made with Suze is called a White Negroni, even though it's actually yellow). I've got recipes for both of these in the Negroni Round-Up I posted not long ago. I honestly prefer the Negroni Bianco to a traditional Negroni, and if you're a Negroni newbie I think it's a perfect gateway cocktail. It's definitely less polarizing than the classic, while still keeping with the spirit of the drink.

But my love for the Negroni Bianco doesn't mean that Bitter Bianco isn't versatile. It's similar enough to Campari in spirit that you can safely try substituting it anywhere its bright red friend is called for. It's more approachable and less bitter than Campari, which might even make it more versatile. I haven't played with mine nearly enough because I can't stop making the same few delicious recipes with it.

Luxardo Bitter Bianco

Price: $25-30
Alcohol Content: 30%
Popular Cocktails: Negroni Bianco

Since I love the Negroni Bianco, I wanted to use the Luxardo in another riff on the Negroni, the Negroni Sbagliato. Translating roughly to "mistaken Negroni," this drink was supposedly invented when a bartender poured prosecco into a Negroni instead of gin. It doesn't exactly seem like an easy mistake to make, but we can suspend belief in favor of a good story.

The Negroni Sbagliato is usually made with equal parts sweet vermouth, Campari, and prosecco. Before I looked up the recipe, however, I had it in my head that it must be equal parts gin, Campari, and prosecco, and I was excited to take advantage of the Luxardo's lack of color to let the gorgeous purple of Empress Gin shine through. When I realized my mistake I decided to go ahead with my recipe anyway. And it's quite good - a lovely, bitter, sparkling aperitif. You can substitute a non-purple gin, or go with a more classic Sbagliato using dry or blanc vermouth instead.

Sbagliato Errato

1 oz. gin (Empress)
1 oz. Luxardo Bitter Bianco
2 oz. prosecco

Combine gin and Luxardo in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a champagne flute and top with prosecco. I garnished mine with dried orchid petals.