Rossini Cocktail is a refreshing Italian low-alcohol drink made with fresh strawberries and Prosecco wine.
Rossini cocktail is a spin on the more famous Prosecco based aperitif, Bellini cocktail. For this reason it’s sometimes called Strawberry Bellini.
Thanks to the fruity component, its flavor is particularly pleasing to those who prefer slightly sweet and low in alcohol aperitifs.
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How Rossini Cocktail Was Created
The Rossini cocktail was invented in 1948 in Venice by Giuseppe Cipriani, owner and head bartender of the famous Harry's Bar.
It’s a variant of his famous Bellini cocktail. Since the latter needed fresh peaches, only available in summer, Cipriani thought of adding to Prosecco strawberries instead, so as to have a fresh, fruit-based drink to offer also during springtime and the early summer.
Ingredients
- Prosecco - an Italian light-bodied, sparkling white wine.
- Strawberries – use fresh, bright red color strawberries. Those bought at the farmer’s market during strawberry season or grown in your own garden are the best.
Since Rossini cocktail was essentially invented to “extend” the Bellini cocktail season, this means the creator of the recipe was striving to use only fresh seasonal fruit. - Lemon – a hint of lemon juice takes strawberry flavor to the next level. We are NOT using the zest so lemons don’t have to be organic.
- Sugar – to balance sweet and sour flavor in the macerated strawberries. Start with the amount indicated in the recipe below but feel free to add a tablespoon or few more if you like your cocktail a little sweeter.
- Mint Leaves (optional) – fresh mint leaves are perfect for garnishing but you can also tear a few in the strawberry mix and let infuse before pureeing the strawberries.
How To Make Rossini Cocktail - Step By Step
Make Strawberry Puree
- Wash and pat dry strawberries with paper towel. Cut in halves or quarters.
- Mix strawberries with sugar and lemon juice.
Add fresh mint leaves slightly rubbed between your fingers (optional). - Give everything a nice stir and let the mix macerate for 15-30 minutes.
- Remove mint leaves from the strawberry mix. Blend strawberries until you get smooth strawberry puree. Taste for sweetness. If desired add a little more sugar. Note: it should not be super sweet!
Now you can use it as is or do an optional step below.
OPTIONAL: pass the strawberry puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove any seeds. This will make cocktail smoother.
Store strawberry puree in a small pitch in the fridge until ready to serve.
Alternatively you can freeze strawberry pure in ice-cube trays and enjoy this cocktail anytime of the year!
Assemble Rossini Cocktail
- Fill ⅓ of a flute glass with strawberry puree.
- Slowly add well chilled Prosecco. Stir gently and pour more Prosecco to fill the glass.
- Serve garnished with a fresh strawberry.
Small Hacks for the Perfect Cocktail
- Store strawberry puree in a pitcher in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Make a bigger batch of strawberry puree and freeze it in an ice-cube tray to enjoy this cocktail all summer long and whenever you feel like it.
All you need to do is add 2-3 strawberry puree cubes to the flute and fill it with Prosecco! - Add these strawberry icecubes to make Strawberry Lemonade by adding them to this delicious thirst-quenching Italian Limonata.
How to serve Rossini Cocktail
Serve Rossini Cocktail well chilled in elegant flute glasses garnished with a fresh strawberry.
While you can skip garnishing completely, flute glass is a must. At the end of the day, these are the simple things that bring beautify and elegance to everyday life without any special occasion.
What is Prosecco and how to substitute it?
Prosecco an Italian light-bodied, sparkling white wine produced in the region of Veneto. Prosecco is a dry kind of wine, but it’s acidity can vary from brut (minimal amount of sugar) to extra dry to dry (with slightly higher amount of sugar). Although all Prosecco types are considered dry, they’re vibrant, fresh, highly aromatic and crisp wine which makes them taste sweeter than they’re.
Prosecco is a sparkling wine, however semi-sparkling and even still versions exist. For Rossini cocktail you’ll need the sparkling variety.
While Italian Prosecco is the only wine to use for the authentic cocktails, just like Bellini created it, you can still try it with Champagne or other white brut (dry) sparkling wines.
Looking for more refreshing cocktails for summer?
Try one of these easy iconic Limoncello Cocktails.
Most require 2 or 3 simple ingredients and burst with citrus flavor!
Full Recipe
Rossini Cocktail (Strawberry Bellini)
Ingredients
- 1 bottle Prosecco , Italian sparkling white wine
- 1.5 lb fresh strawberries , 700 grams
- ⅓ cup sugar , 70 grams - can go up to ½ cup (110 g) for sweeter version
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1-2 fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Instructions
Make Strawberry Puree
- Wash and pat dry strawberries with a paper towel. Cut in halves or quarters.1.5 lb fresh strawberries
- Mix strawberries with sugar and lemon juice.¼ cup lemon juice, ⅓ cup sugar
- Add fresh mint leaves slightly rubbed between your fingers (optional).Give everything a nice stir and let the mix macerate for 15-30 minutes.1-2 fresh mint sprigs
- Remove mint leaves from the strawberry mix. Blend strawberries until you get smooth strawberry puree. Taste for sweetness. If desired add a little more sugar. Note: it should not be super sweet!
- Now you can use it as is or do an optional step below.
- OPTIONAL: pass the strawberry puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove any seeds. This will make cocktail smoother.
Assemble Rossini Cocktail
- Fill ⅓ of a flute glass with strawberry puree.
- Slowly add well chilled Prosecco. Stir gently and pour more Prosecco to fill the glass.
- Serve garnished with a fresh strawberry.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Why not call it Strawberry Bellini?
The cocktail red color, which in Italian is called rosso, probably induced Cipriani to name the cocktail after popular composer Gioacchino Rossini, whose most famous work is the comic opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
The thing is, Rossini was commonly known as a great foodie as well.
As an adult he invented several recipes, all containing truffle, his favorite ingredient. For example, maccheroni alla Rossini (with porcini mushrooms, cream, prosciutto and truffle) or tournedos alla Rossini (tenderloin covered with foie gras and garnished with truffle).
He had all kinds of delicacies shipped to his house from all Europe: panettone from Milan, ham from Seville, maccheroni from Naples.
Many witty food-related quotes are attributed to him, such as:
- Appetite is for the stomach what love is for the heart.
- I don't know a better job than eating.
- Eating, loving, singing and digesting are the four acts of that comic opera which is life itself.
- It takes two to eat a turkey: me... and the turkey.
In light of all the above, naming a drink after him makes a lot of sense.
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