Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur

750 ml, 40% ABV

Solerno was created by Lesley Gracie, master distiller for Hendrick's Gin.

"Solerno is made and bottled in Sicily from local produce in three separate small batch distillations using copper alembic (read cognac pot type) stills.

First is the distillation of the meat of the Sanguinello orange – referred to here in the US as the blood orange – (for those unfamiliar with its appearance, watch the opening sequence on HBO’s Dexter).The second distillation is of the zest or outer skin of the orange to capture the citrus oils. The third distillation is of Sicilian lemons (some of the finest in the world) to balance the liqueur and give it a bit more structure (read so it isn’t just some overly sweet juice/syrup with alcohol like many of late). It is made without any dyes so the color is all natural and honest – clear.As to sweetening it is made with sucrose from sugar beets, not the devils sweetener, corn syrup, which ruins a lot of liqueurs with it’s taste and body." Spiritsreview.com

"With a handful of popular variations such as the White Negroni and Boulevardier, the general breakdown of a Negroni is spirit, vermouth, and bitter. This is a fun and citrusy variation on a Negroni that will be well enjoyed. This recipe has great balance if you follow the recipe closely." —Sean Michael Johnson

Blood Orange Negroni
Ingredients
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
3/4 ounce Luxardo Bitter
3/4 ounces Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
8 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1 1/4 ounces gin
1 slice blood orange

Steps to Make It
Gather the ingredients.

Pour vermouth, Luxardo, Solerno, Peychaud’s, and gin into a short rocks glass.
Add a large ice cube and stir for 10 seconds until cold.
Garnish with a blood orange slice, and serve.

If you want to make dehydrated blood orange slices for garnish, just slice up some blood orange wheels, put them in the oven at 160 F for six hours.

Recipe Variations
To make this into a Mexican-style Negroni, you could just swap out the gin for blanco tequila, and the Solerno with Ancho Reyes liqueur.
If you’re more of a whiskey fan, just switch out the gin for rye whiskey, and you’ll have a Blood Orange Boulevardier.
The French version of this Negroni is just simply swapping out the Solerno for Grand Marnier, and the gin for cognac.
If you want to make a Green Fairy Negroni, swap out the dry vermouth for Dolin Chanbery Blanc vermouth, swap the Solerno for absinthe, and swap the Peychaud’s bitters for lime bitters.