Sarti Spritz

The new taste of Summer

It far is too hot for food right now, so this week it’s alcoholic inspiration instead.

I love an accidental discovery, and this has to be one of my finest. Last weekend I went to my first ever festival, where in the thirty degree heat by Sunday they’d started to run out of all the drinks. I gradually worked my way down the bar menu - sadly no Pimms, no Aperol Spritz, no Hugo Spritz.

Thence, at the bottom of the Spritzy section, I stumbled upon the Sarti.

Once you get over the slightly frightening vibrant pink colour, this is utterly delicious. The festival version came in a plastic cup and with a solitary ice cube (also running out), in a massive tent with a male voice choir.

Sarti’s core flavour is blood orange, complemented by mango and passion fruit. When you drink it the flavours reverse, so you first get the fresh sweetness of the tropics, and then this fabulous citrusy zing.

Making this drink couldn’t be simpler. Take a nice tumbler with plenty of ice. Couple of slices of lemon or orange and a few mint leaves. Add equal amounts of Sarti and of Prosecco, and a spritz of soda water to finish.

Then sit back in the sunshine and sip. In a moment, you will be magically transported to a piazza in Capri, overlooking water that glows a brilliant electric blue, the floral scent of gardens and lemon trees filling the air, and the history of the world since Roman times at your feet and in your heart.

So this week I celebrate accidentally brilliant discoveries from the bottom of the drinks menu. Saluti ❤️