Highballs and long drinks · Wine
A big wine glass full of ice, a pour of golden Lillet and a fizzing pink top. Orange peel and honey from the aperitif meet red berry sweetness and a hint of quinine bitterness, all at a gentle strength that suits a long summer evening.
1¾ oz
Lillet BlancBuy on Amazon →
3½ oz
wild berry tonic berry flavoured tonic water, well chilled
4
berries raspberries or strawberries (optional)
Garnish: Fresh berries, mint and cucumber · Ice: Ice cubes
Lillet Wild Berry
Fruity and lightly bitter with orange peel, honey and red berries. Low in alcohol, fizzy and refreshing.
Lillet is a French aperitif from Podensac, south of Bordeaux, made from Bordeaux wines blended with fruit liqueurs, mostly from citrus peels. The house dates back to the 1870s, and Lillet Blanc became famous among cocktail lovers for its role in drinks such as the Corpse Reviver No. 2 and, in its earlier Kina version, the Vesper.
The Lillet Wild Berry is a much younger idea: a simple two-ingredient spritz built from Lillet Blanc and a berry flavoured tonic water. It became a hugely popular summer drink in Germany in the second half of the 2010s, helped by the brand's own promotion. It needs no bar skills at all, which is a big part of its appeal.
One part Lillet Blanc to two parts wild berry tonic, for example 50 ml and 100 ml, over plenty of ice.
Lillet Blanc has 17% ABV, so the finished drink is only around 5 to 6% ABV.
Another white aromatised wine or a dry white vermouth works, but it will taste different; a Lillet Wild Berry needs Lillet.
The perfect sound
Light berry aperitif on a Parisian rooftop.
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